Page 21 of Ride Long
Chapter 7
Sloane
Three days later,my bruises finally started tofade.
I covered up the knuckle imprints on my cheek with makeup, but the splotches still showed through. When a man had a battle scar on his face, he wore it with pride, but when it was a woman, people automatically jumped to the domestic violence conclusion. Pigeonholed gender rolessucked.
Sam had taken her responsibility of looking after me a little too seriously, I hadn’t had another run-in with Harley, my father had seemed to have forgotten all about me, and Chaser haddisappeared.
They were all absent, apart from Sam, but I wasn’t naïve enough to think I wasn’t being watched. I wanted to give the timid blonde the benefit of the doubt, but I knew she was easily manipulated. The poor woman was squashed under Harley’s thumb so hard she was borderline broken. The only eyes I could trust belonged toChaser.
Three whole days of testing the Fortitude boundaries had passed, my tattoo was getting crusty, and I still hadn’t ventured out to the garage to seeGasket.
I’d seen some familiar faces among all the new, but they’d kept a wide berth. I was marked with the club logo now, but it wasn’t a one-way ticket into the brotherhood. My father had circulated one of his usual threats most likely.Stay away from my daughter or get your balls shot off. Or something to that effect. Trouble was, he would actually do it if he thought someone was disobeying a directorder.
Still, when I walked toward the exit that led to the garage, no one stopped me. Not like they had when I’d tested the doors elsewhere in the compound. I’d been greeted with a wall of biker every time and shoved backinside.
Hated to say it, but I was getting lonely, and it had only been three days. What did that say about me? I didn’t know, but I missed Yvette’s fashion advice. Even Bobby the bald bouncer’s unquestioned protection and the sleazy one-liners from Teasers’ clientele. Don’t get me started on Brittany and her strawberry milk. When I was missing wailing kids, I was really introuble.
The scent of grease and exhaust fumes filled my nostrils as I entered thegarage.
It was a hive of activity with music blaring from speakers set into the roof, a car hoisted up into the air, another on the ground next to it, and a row of motorcycles against the wall beside me. On the far side was a large room that looked like it was used for spraying paint and detail, and an office sat at the front by the double rollerdoors.
The entire place was painted with a tattoo inspired mural, which had me thinking of Ratchet. Fortitude Customs was written in script while colorful flames and a scantily clad woman writhed on amotorcycle.
I recognized Spike, glimpsing him before he rolled underneath the chassis of the car he was working on. Glancing around at the other faces, I smiled when I saw Gasket on his knees, working on amotorcycle.
He was grayer than I remembered. His slicked-back hair and full beard were silver with flecks of dark chestnut, and his face was hard and weathered. Paired with his broad shoulders, ripped torso, and thighs the size of tree trunks, the hair color seemed to be the only thing that hadchanged.
I wasn’t surprised to find him still here, but what got me was him getting wrapped up inlegitimatebusinessopportunities.
Gasket had been with Fortitude from the beginning as a lieutenant in the tricycle army. I would like to say he and my father were best of friends, but as the years wore on, it was clear whatever they’d had back then was no longer a thing nowadays. Not since my mother and I came along. Don’t get me wrong, he was still a loyal soldier, but friendship had no place with what Marini hadbecome.
Crossing the garage, I stood next to him. I kind of got why he never sought me out, considering the politics in this place were screwed up to the extreme, but the rule book didn’t forbidmeto makecontact.
He glanced up at me, sensing I was looming over him. “Well ain’t you a sight for soreeyes.”
“Old eyes, more likeit.”
Gasket stood, towering over me, and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “It’s good to see you, kid, though I wish it were under bettercircumstances.”
“You and me both,” I replied, pulling away. He still smelled like spice, though it was now laced with motoroil.
“Never thought I’d see you again.” His eyes sparkled. “Thought you’d gone off and started some new life far away from thisshit.”
I shrugged. “I hear you convinced Marini to let you open thisplace.”
“Five years now.” He nodded. “Best thing he ever did. We’ve got a good rep going forcustoms.”
I didn’t want to have ‘the conversation’ about what had happened to me in the last two weeks, let alone the last seven years, and especially not in front of the other guys. Gasket knew what was going on. He always did. That was why he didn’t stop me the night I left Fortitude. He’d put his hand on my shoulder, gave me a look, then let mego.
“What are you working on?” Iasked.
“I’m tuning the engine on this hunk ofjunk.”
“How do you do that?” I asked, kneeling besidehim.
“What? You want to get your hands dirty? With pretty fingernails like those?” Gasket grinned and shook hishead.
