Page 30 of Ride Long
Chapter 10
Chaser
It’s about time,don’t youthink?
Staring at the photo of Madison I kept in my wallet, I thumbed the bentcorner.
It might’ve been a hallucination compounded by the blood loss from my leg, or her ghost had visited me. There was no way of knowing for sure. She’d been real enough, but letting go was hard…and falling for another woman was evenharder.
Taking Fortitude was what Sloane wanted, but I had my doubts. I admitted the impossible after what happened on the train. That I cared about her. That I was ready to move on from what had been taken from me with Madison. I knew what we were getting ourselves into by coming back to Fortitude, but the reality was different to what I wasexpecting.
Being apart from her… It was tough. It was tougher admitting it,too.
The lights of LA spread out before me, the skyscrapers shining so bright they dulled all but the brightest stars in the sky. Below, I could hear the music and ruckus from the yard behind the compound. The scent of grilling meat wafted up in the sweltering air, calling out to my empty stomach. I was starving but not enough to leave my quiet sanctuary on the roof. No one came up here, which made it the perfect place for me to separate myself from my sentencedownstairs.
Leaning back against the air-conditioning stack—which didn’t work and Marini was too cheap to pay to get fixed—I picked up the can of beer beside me and downed a mouthful. It was warm but better thannothing.
The roof door screeched as it opened, and I slid the photo back into mypocket.
Glancing up, I saw Gasket had found his way out to my hiding spot. The old man was a fixture of level-headed composure around these parts. He was as good as a biker running drugs and laundering money and weapons through his ‘legitimate’ business couldget.
The only reason he was up here was that he had something he needed to hash out with me. We weren’t the best of friends. We didn’t hang out. We didn’t chat over a beer. We didn’t anything. Whatever he had to say was about club business, meaning Marini must have a job forme.
“How’s the leg?” he asked, standing overme.
“Getting there,” I replied. “I’m a fasthealer.”
Gasket snorted and sat beside me, leaning his back against the air-conditioning stack. He screwed up his face as he settled. “I’m getting too old for this shit,” he muttered, rubbing hisknee.
“What do you want, Gasket?” I asked, curling mylip.
“I’m worried about Sloane.” He shook his head. “She was always Betty, and now she calls herselfSloane.”
“And why do you think I care?” The words tasted like acid, but this was the game she wanted us to play. She promised me revenge, and I promised I would watch over her. The trick was getting the old man to talk without catching on to the fact I wanted to know about Sloane’s comings andgoings.
“That girl was always like a daughter to me,” he said. “After her mother was murdered, she latched onto me for better or worse. Had no one else. Not even her father cared to comfort her. Marini was always too busy with revenge. Now… I don’t know who she isnow.”
“Couldn’t say,” I replied blandly. “Two weeks on the road with her was enough forme.”
“Two weeks in a life-and-death situation?” He raised his eyebrows, waiting to see if I would take his bait. He should really know better bynow.
“It’s myjob.”
“You took a bullet and got knifed forher.”
I glared at him. “So?”
He snorted and shook his head, turning to stare out at the Los Angeles skyline. What a shithole. All glitter on the surface, but one steaming turd underneath. I was sure there were good people out there, but with the way the world was these days, it was every man for himself. Even for the people who actually paid their taxes and had perfect little houses with picket fences. Madison always wanted to live in Pacific Palisades, and I would drive her past the houses by the water so she could dream her dreams, but we’d never been able to afford the million-dollar price tag. The prices had only gone up since. I didn’t know what Sloane wanted, but maybe that was a good thing. No expectations. Only me andher.
“She’s gone and got herself tattooed,” Gasket went on. “Went and beat up Harley, too. Bruised his cock, and broke hisnose.”
My face twitched. There was no way he missed it.That was the woman I’d diefor.
“I’m going to be straight up with you,Chaser.”
“Here we go,” Idrawled.
“You care about her,” he declared. “You and her… More happened out there than you’ve admitted. More than she’s let on,too.”
