Page 50 of Ride Long
Sam gave me a tentative glance and shuffled across the room and sat with the other women. They proceeded to fawn over her with thin reassurances and fake compliments. Exchanging a look with Gasket, he shrugged. Women weren’t histhing.
I really wished Sam had stayed in herroom.
Chaser was nowhere to be seen, and my heart sank. Would Marini makehim—
Gasket appeared next to me and dragged me back against thewall.
“I know about you and Chaser,” he whispered in my ear. “We’re on the same side here,girl.”
“What?” I jerked away andglared.
“Shh,” he soothed. “Don’t get allhostile.”
Suddenly, it all made sense. Why I was drafted into working at the garage, how Chaser always held something back when we had our stolen moments together, how he’d conditioned me not to ask too manyquestions.
I hadn’t been in control at all. This whole plan I’d cooked up was a joke, and they were humoring me like a child playing at a grown-up’s game. Gasket had just taken a huge crap all over everything I was and thought I couldbe.
“You piece of shit.” I hissed at him, my hacklesrising.
“This game is moving faster than yourealize.”
“Don’t patronizeme.”
“Marini will get rid of Harley, and Chaser will be next on hislist.”
I froze, my heart stuttering in my chest. I asked him to come here.I askedhim.
“Do you think he’d try to killhim?”
Gasket shrugged, which didn’t instill much faith in thematter.
“Chaser knows what he’sdoing.”
“Why didn’t you tellme?”
“The less any of us know, the better. Knowing too much is a one-way ticket to getting us all six feet under,girl.”
I wanted to ask him ‘what now,’ but I clamped my mouth shut. I was supposed to already know, being the mastermind, and I didn’t want to admit that Gasket was right. I was in over myhead.
“This is going to end badly,” I said, throwing a look at Sam. “You helped meonce…”
“I can’t make any promises. You know that. I can’t do anything that could out me with your father. My leverage inside Fortitude might be the only thing that saves your ass if your plan blowsup.”
I opened my mouth to counter, but something felt…off. A gunshot rang out, and everythingstopped.
Heads turned toward Marini’s rooms as the boom echoed through the compound, silencingeveryone.
“Oh, God,” Samwailed.
I snapped into action. Striding across the room, I grabbed Sam’s wrist, hauled her to her feet and dragged her from the common room, ignoring the eyes followingus.
“Sloane,” she cried, practically running after me. “They shot him… They…Sloane!”
“Shh,” I hissed. “Hurryup.”
I couldn’t chance taking her back to her own rooms, so I went in the other direction, taking the long route back to my own bedroom. We made it back with no one challenging us. Shouting and thumping echoed all around as I shoved herinside.
“Stay in here, and lock the door,” I said. “Barricade it if you have to, but don’t open it for anyone except Chaser or me. Gotit?”
