Page 70 of Ride Long
Chapter 22
Chaser
The city morphedinto the desert as the convoy left the outskirts of LosAngeles.
Sloane sat behind me on my motorcycle with her arms wrapped around my waist and her crotch melded against my ass. If it had been any other night, my dick would’ve been hard, but it was flaccid asfuck.
Before we’d hit the highway, the group had split off into fives, weaving their way through the suburbs. If anyone were following us looking to take Marini back on the road, they would have a hard time figuring out which group. Five cars with three bikes a piece. We were low on numbers, but it was enough to get the jobdone.
Sloane and I were following a decoy that held Shondra and Hopper, and Watts and Spike brought up the rear on theirbikes.
We weaved our way through the outskirts of the city, watching for any tails, but we managed to escape detection, and by the time we’d finally merged onto route sixty-two, we were clear. The sunrise was the only thing that chased us to JoshuaTree.
Deluca said the property lines crossed those of the National Park, but there were no fences out here, so who knew how much was theirs and how much was his. No one had ever cared to check. I took it to mean his family had done a lot of questionable shit outhere.
I brought my bike to a stop and turned off the engine. Peeling off my helmet, I felt Sloane do the same behind me. When her feet were on solid ground, I kicked my leg over and stood besideher.
“Okay?” I asked, keeping my voice low as more bikes and cars rolled in behindus.
Her eyes were on the others, scanning for Gasket no doubt. The dawn was bright, the fire of it lighting her skin with a dusty orangeglow.
“With you driving?Always.”
It wasn’t what I meant, but I would take it. My gaze fell to her lips, and for the first time, Ihesitated.
“I think they all know by now,” she murmured. “You’re all up in my personal space. If I had a cock, you’d be onit.”
My lips curved, and I dropped my helmet and caught her face in my hand. Our kiss was swift, hot, and did nothing to douse the longing my cock had endured these past weeks. There would be time to fuck. Maybe out under thestars…
Hell, for now, it was enough not to pretendanymore.
“Everyone’s accounted for,” Watts said, his voice breaking Sloane and me apart. “We set the women up in the workshop for now. None of them wanted to stay in the mainhouse.”
“Why?” Ratchet asked. “It would be more comfortable forthem.”
“They don’t want to be in the same place as Marini,” was hisreply.
“Why not hold him in the workshop?”Rhodes.
“It’s not secure,” Deluca said. He’d know. “There’s a basement under the cabin. It’s tighter than an asshole downthere.”
Sloane snorted, and I leaned intoher.
Gasket thumped his fist down on the trunk of the car. “Basement it is. Chaser. Give us ahand.”
I glanced at Sloane, and shenodded.
She watched us drag Marini out of the trunk and dump his ass onto the ground. He groaned and squirmed, trying to fight his way free of his bonds. It was a pathetic sight, really. His struggle was pointless. There was no freedom for himanymore.
“Follow me,” Deluca said, leading us into thehouse.
Gasket and I carried Marini between us. I had his feet, and Gasket had his arms hooked under hisshoulders.
The basement had been carved out of the bedrock underneath the house. How they ever got the permits for that, I would never know. Likely, there weren’t any. Either way, it was secure, isolated, and the only place we could keep Marini locked up. If miracles existed and he got free, there weren’t many places he could worm his way out of. Upstairs or through the access window. Beyond, there wasn’t anywhere to go that wasn’t arid and full with the men who’d defected toGasket.
And Sloane. She was out there, armed with his favoriterevolver.
We threw Marini down on a chair in the middle of the dank basement. Gasket pulled out a roll of duct tape from his back pocket and taped him to the metal. A knife split the bonds on his ankles, and he was lashed to each leg of the chair before his arms were secured behind his body. His shoulders looked like they were about to be dislocated, the angle was so unnatural. It looked uncomfortable, which was fine withme.
