Page 40 of Ride Long

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I tensed, readying myself to buck with all the energy I had left…but his hands slackened, and his head jerked to the side. He fell to the ground, his head cracking on the concreteroof.

Chaser stood over us, a plank of wood in his hands, his expression full of rage. Deadly, chilling, pulse-poundingrage.

Harley didn’t get up. He didn’t even twitch, but I knew he wasn’t dead. Chaser wouldn’t killhim.

Scrambling away from the edge of the roof, I coughed, my throat scratchy as hell. Why did men like choking so much? What a mystery to be thinking about now of allmoments.

Chaser threw the plank, and it clattered to the ground as I climbed to my feet, my head still spinning from the decreased levels ofoxygen.

“What did you do that for?” I shrieked, shoving him as hard as Icould.

“What the hell?” His mouth fell open, and he threw his hands into the air. “What the fuck is wrong withyou?”

“I’m trying to win people to my side!” I exclaimed. “Then you come in to fight my battles.Mine!”

He cursed, rubbing his hand over hisface.

“I had him,” I said, knowing full well there wasn’t much truth in that statement. “I hadhim.”

“Me fighting for you is not weakness,Sloane.”

“They won’t just follow anyone, let alone a woman. I need to give them a reason to followme.”

“By more of the same?” Chaser asked, raising his eyebrows. “By being a bigger maniac thanMarini?”

I shoved him, and he stumbled, his boot barely missing Harley’s ugly unconsciousface.

“If I fight for you, the manwho’s—”

“Indentured to my father,” I interrupted. “You fight for him. Not me. You saved me on his orders. See thedifference?”

“Be careful,” he said. “This was our battle,remember?”

“Don’t patronize me. I know what I said. I promised to get you your revenge. That didn’t include asking you to fight forme.”

Reaching out, Chaser cupped my cheek in his hand and stroked a thumb across my lips. “Don’t lose yourself to this,” he murmured. “That’s all Imeant.”

I’d never seen him look this…tender. It threw me for a second, and some of my anger slipped away. Was he right? Was I forgetting what all this was about. If he hadn’t turned up when he had… I couldn’t say with one hundred percent certainty I would’ve been able to stop Harley from throwing me over the edge of theroof.

“Go get Gasket,” Chaser said. “I’ll stay here withhim.”

“But—”

“Sloane.”

I hated when he said my name like that. Like I was being a naughty child. I wanted to rule the world. I wanted to be the strong one, no matter what. Maybe it wasn’t worth thecost.

“Harley needs to answer for this,” Chaser went on. “It’s not about being Marini’s daughter. It’s about defying his president’s direct orders. This attack is against Fortitude.” He gave me a pointed look. “GetGasket.”

I nodded and rubbed at my neck before pushing through the door. Moving back into the compound, I was hit with a wall of stifling heat as I found my way to Gasket’srooms.

I knew it was coming. Harley’s revenge. Knowing didn’t make it easier to face or to deal with theaftermath.

I rapped my knuckles on Gasket’s door until I heard thumping from within. When it wrenched open, his expression turned from annoyed as all hell to surprised in under a second. He was shirtless and wearing nothing but a pair of silky boxers. It so wasn’t the time to give him shit over his choice in underwear, but I so wanted to take a dig atit.

Gasket grasped my face in his big hand and tilted my head to the side. “Whathappened?”

Twisting away, I scowled. “Harley.”