Page 64 of Ride Long
Chapter 20
Sloane
Icouldn’t sleep.Not that night or thenext.
I tossed and turned, my body sluggish yet wired to blow. It was a weird sensation, being on the edge of such a jaggedcliff.
Fortitude went about business as usual, yet there was something in the air that didn’t sit well with me. The garage was quieter than usual, the metallic clangs and the blaring rock music dulled as if I were swimming underwater. I knew Gasket was going to give the order soon, but not knowing was making me break out intohives.
My head swam with what-ifs and worst-case scenarios until the night after the meeting on the roof when there was a knock at my bedroomdoor.
Thump, thump,thump.
My heart hammered in my chest, and I sat up in bed, swiping at the sweat beading on my forehead. I rubbed at the dampness under my boobs as well, cursing the heat and the sweats caused mostly bynervousness.
“Sloane.”
Chaser. Sliding out of bed, I stuffed my feet into my boots and unlocked the door. He slipped through the crack and enveloped me in his muscled arms. He smelled like spice and musk with a tang of sweaty boy stink. Usually, it was rank, but it worked on him. His pheromones were calling out to mine, but this nighttime appearance wasn’t about sex even though I was thirsting forit.
“Is it time?” I asked, holding himtight.
He buried his nose in my hair and breatheddeeply.
“Chaser?”
“They’re already on the move,” he replied. “They’re moving the women to a secure location within the compound. When they’re safe, they will corral the men pledged to Marini, then takehim.”
I snorted, the notion of women being guarded like lost kittens not sitting well, but I knew it was the right thing to do. A lot of the women I’d made friends with weren’t fighters. They didn’t even know how to fire a gun, which struck me as strange considering where they lived, but I suppose they relied heavily on their men for protection. Maybe, when this was all over, I could teach them. Give them some power of theirown.
“I need a gun,” I said, pulling away fromhim.
“Sloane, you can’t go out there,” Chaser said, holding me back. “Gasket’s gotthis.”
“I won’t sit back and let everyone else do the dirty work,” I argued. “I wanted this, and I will be a part of it. I’m prepared to faceMarini.”
“I can’t let you put yourself indanger.”
“We aren’t on the road anymore,” I said, placing my palms on his chest. “You don’t have to put yourself in between every bullet. Notanymore.”
“This isn’t the same,” he murmured. “This is more than that ever was. There’s more to lose thanever.”
He was right, but this was about saving my own ass from being sold off to the Hollow Men. It was about paying back Marini for all the shit he put me through as a child. It was about my mom and her death at the hands of the Venturas MC. It was about protecting all the women still within thesewalls.
“I was the catalyst, Chaser,” I said. “Everything we’ve done has led to this moment. There are people out there I swore to protect, and I can’t do that from in here. I have to see thisthrough.”
“Gasket and I will go after Marini,” Chaser said. “Go with Hopper and protect thewomen.”
I knew I was being kicked down a few rungs, but I would take it. I wasn’t sure I could face my father and point a gun at his face and not falter. That was an admission I had to face now or potentially suffer the consequences for in the heat of the moment. Chaser and his irritable ass had taught me something on the road, afterall.
“Where arethey?”
“The upstairskitchen.”
I made to turn, but I hesitated. He had to know how important this was to me, right? I wanted my father to know I had a hand in his downfall. I wanted to see the look on his face when I walked into the room. When I saw him, I would finally know how he truly felt aboutme.
“I want to look him in the eye and…” I didn’t know what I would say to him. All this time planning and plotting and I hadn’t thought about what I’d say tohim.
Chaser grasped my waist and squeezed. “You’ll get yourchance.”
