Page 6 of Ride Forever
“What about the bodies?” I asked. “What happened to those? They’d have club insignia on them and tattoos.” I held up my hand and wiggled my thumb at Chaser. “They’ll trace them back to us, then…”
“I left a couple of guys behind to clean up,” Gasket explained. “Not entirely honest but we can’t afford cops on our tail. It’ll only complicate things.”
I glanced at Chaser, wondering how detailed ‘clean up’ was. I had a vague recollection of dragging my father’s dead body through the desert.
“Don’t worry, Sloane,” Chaser said placing his hand on my thigh. “This isn’t a first for us.”
“So, what now?” I threw out into the void, hoping I would like the answer.
“We’re going back to the compound and clearing it out,” Gasket said. “It’s only a matter of time before the cops link the cabin to Fortitude. We have to clear it out before they toss it down. Then we’ll track down the rest of the renegades. Chances are they’ll make it easy for us and come knocking.”
“How do you know they aren’t already waiting?” I fretted.
“We’ve got eyes on the place, Sloane. It’s free and clear. Don’t worry about us, okay? You’ve got bigger fish to fillet.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “You sure you’re not CIA? You’ve got some real network there, Gasket.”
He laughed, the deep, throaty sound comforting. “Nope. I’m just an old dog who’s been around the block a few times.”
It was more confirmation he was the perfect choice to be president of Fortitude MC. To think I had the gall to stand up and throw my hat into the ring. Even as part of a revenge plot, I wasn’t leadership material.
“I’ll be in touch if I have more news,” Gasket said. “If you need anything…”
“We’ll let you know,” Chaser replied.
“Good luck.”
Chaser ended the call and put the cell phone back on the charger.
“So that’s it,” I murmured. “We’re on our own.”
“It was always going to be this way.”
“Yeah, I still don’t like it.” I leaned back against the wall, propping a pillow behind me. “You and me against the mafia to end all mafias. I bet King owns a casino. A really big one.”
“King has a large stake in one of the big casinos on the Strip,” Chaser confirmed. “Apparently, he owns three-quarters of the Halcyon and maintains the upper three floors and penthouse as his personal residence.”
“That isn’t reassuring,” I drawled. “It’ll be locked up tighter than a virgin’s butthole.”
“A virgin’s butthole?” Chaser cocked an eyebrow.
“It makes sense in my mind. A hole that’s never been touched.”
He snorted and shook his head. “Anyway, you’re right. Security is tight. I’ve never done a job that required me to crack such sophisticated measures.”
My ears pricked up at the mention of his work. Chaser hadn’t spoken in detail about what he did before and after he was conscripted into Fortitude. FBI, mercenary, assassin,husband. He’d been all those things.
“Then how do we get close?” I thought about it and began imagining scenarios where we took on different aliases and wore wigs. I could impersonate a stripper. I’d been around enough of them.
“We’re going to have to do a lot of surveillance,” Chaser said. “You good with that?”
I sighed and shrugged. “You know I’m an impatient bitch.”
It was Chaser’s turn to sigh. He stretched out on the bed beside me, throwing an arm around my shoulders. I nestled against him, his warmth comforting. I’d almost acclimatized to the dry heat of the desert, though I longed for the milder weather of the east coast.
“Chaser?”
“Hmm…” he muttered, tightening his grip around me.
