Page 68 of Ride Long
Chapter 21
Sloane
The moment Delucaand I reached the garage, my gaze swept over the assembledmen.
“We’ve got them on the run,” Ram wassaying.
“The compound’s clear?” Gasketasked.
“For now.”Stewie.
“Where is he?” Iexclaimed.
Heads swiveled toward me as I whirled across thegarage.
“Sloane,” Spike started, but I wasn’t listening. Reason could go fuckitself.
“Gasket!” I roared, the revolver heavy in my hand. “Where’s Marini? Where’s myfather?”
He grasped my shoulders and held me steady. I pressed into his palms, my hand tightening around the revolver. I hadn’t realized I’d taken itout.
“He’s alive,” Gasketsaid.
“Iwant—”
“Come here,kid.”
He let me go and guided me through the assembled men to a car sitting on the garage floor I’d scrubbed so diligently with my barehands.
Gasket opened the trunk, revealing his prize. I stared down at my father, unable to feel a single thing. He was bound with his hands behind his back and ankles taped together. A blindfold covered his eyes, earplugs were stuffed in his ears—the super industrial putty kind—and a strip of duct tape was stuck across his mouth. Total sensorydeprivation.
He was conscious because his head flicked back and forth as if he sensed the light on hisskin.
“I want to talk to him,” Isaid.
“Not yet, kid,” Gasket said. “We’ve gotta get out of here first. The others will come back, and we can’t defend thecompound.”
“How didyou…”
“Someone tipped him off,” he explained. “Knew we were coming for him, just didn’t know when. If we’d waited any longer, he would’ve gone foryou.”
I shivered and rubbed my hands up and down my arms. Had it really come thatclose?
“This won’t end here.” Chaser appeared beside me and attempted to peel the revolver out of my fingers, but they were glued to thebutt.
Gasket slammed the trunk closed and turned to the assembled crew. “We can’t hope to hold the compound with ournumbers.”
“We’re split down the middle. Fifty-fifty,” Rhodesstated.
“We’ve still got the women to think about,” Stewie said. “They’re tough, but I’m not about to put a gun in Kelly’s hand if I can helpit.”
I curled my lip, and Chaser took my hand, knowing I would have a great deal to say about the abilities of the fairersex.
Ratchet glanced at our linked fingers and narrowed his eyes. “Fuckin’ knew it,” he drawled, causing the others to follow hisstare.
“That’s it,” Watts said. “Hell has frozen over. Chaser has a fuckingheart!”
“Shut your mouth,” Chaser spat, letting me go. “We need a place to regroup. Somewhere that’s easily defendable with a road that we can watch from multipleangles.”
