Page 34 of Ride Long
“You should’ve let me help you,” Gasket said with a growl. “Given me a way to contact you. I would’ve given youmoney.”
“You did enough.” I narrowed my eyes in warning as the door to the compound opened, and Spike walked in. “The kicker is he always knew where Iwas.”
“Hey, Sloane,” Spike said, raising hishand.
I nodded his way and glanced back at Gasket. “So, where do I start…boss.”
“Theoffice.”
“I’m not going to be your little bitch of a pencil pusher,” I said with apout.
“Let her get her hands dirty,” Spike said. “That’ll be something tosee.”
“You want to work in here, you start at the bottom like everyone else,” Gasket said like he was delivering a philosophical lesson. Like wax on, wax off from that movieThe Karate Kid. Striding over to the shelf, he took down a black plastic bottle, a pair of rubber gloves, and a scrubbing brush. Pushing the load against my chest, hesmirked.
“What’s this?” I scowled at Spike, who was stifling alaugh.
“Stuff in here goes on there.” Gasket tapped the black bottle, then pointed to an oil stain on theconcrete.
The men, who’d multiplied to six by then, laughed as I let out a wail. Knowing this was a test—like when poor kids got sent to the hardware store for left-handed hammers and spotted paint—I got to work, dumping some of the solution from the black bottle onto a nasty grease stain. When scrubbing actually worked, I knew there was no such thing as a fake scrubbing brush trick. Not in this garage,anyway.
Losing myself in the task, I thought about Chaser. Where had he gone? What was he doing for Marini? He hadn’t actually talked about what he did around here, not any specifics, anyway. I’d assumed he roughed people up who owed Fortitude money, but the further we’d gone on our road trip, the more I suspected it was something more sinister. The scars on his body had told a different story to the one that had passed hislips.
Chaser was a mystery I wasn’t sure I would ever completely unravel, but at least I knew where his loyaltieslaid.
Knowing he was out potentially murdering someone for my father didn’t sit well. It made me positively sick, and it had nothing to do with the chemical fumes,either.
I made it halfway across the garage floor before Gasket relieved me of myduties.
“Go and have some lunch with the boys,” he said, laughing. Pointing to the sparkling concrete, he added, “You’ve done a goodjob.”
I sighed and pulled off the gloves. “This apprentice thing is hard work. I can’t feel myknees.”
“Welcome to Fortitude,woman.”
“Sierra is going to kill me,” I muttered, inspecting my nails. “Beauty and I weren’t meant tomix.”
“You’re beautiful, Sloane,” Gasket said. “I know all the menchaseyou. You went and grew all the wayup.”
“Gross. You’re old enough to be my dad.” I frowned, the emphasis he placed on the word chase not goingunnoticed.
“Outside,” he said, pointing to the roller door. “Don’t try anything,either.”
I smiled sweetly and fluttered my eyelashes. “Who,me?”
“Yes,you.”
Wiping my sweaty hands on my jeans, I wished I had some shorts. The weather seemed to have worsened since yesterday, and the compound was one big sweltering cesspool of eternal stench. Picking myself up from the ground, I screwed up my face as my joints ached…and I’d just gotten over the beating on thetrain.
Glancing at Gasket in the office, I turned toward the outside world where I could hear the men talking and laughing among themselves. Were these guys any different from Pube Face Bailey, Blue Eyes, or any of the men that had hunted Chaser and I on the road? What was Idoing?
I closed my eyes and said a prayer, but I couldn’t help the image of blood and broken skulls that invaded my mind’s eye. It would catch up with me eventually, all the horror, but not today. Not yet.Chaser…
Outside, a slight breeze had pickedup.
“Hey, Sloane,” Spike called out. “Wannabeer?”
“Fuck, yeah.” I walked over to the group of bikers and took the bottle Rhodes offeredme.
