Page 8 of Ride Forever
Chapter 3
Chaser
Icouldn’t deny Sloane had changed after the other night. I still didn’t know if it was for better or worse, but something had shifted.
That night, I drifted off to sleep beside her, pulsing from another release inside her body. Sometimes, the tension was palpable between us. We argued, we called each other names, but it always circled back to this. Always. Three months wasn’t a long time to be with someone and know who they were, but with Sloane and me… Sometimes people just fell, I guessed.
The Halcyon was a gross example of wealth that always made me want to choke. A doorknob in this hellhole was worth more than I made in an entire year.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist playing the hero,” a voice boomed, echoing through the empty theatre.
A spotlight switched on with a heavy click, illuminating the stage. The glittery backdrop sparkled in the sudden shower of light where, not an hour ago, scantily clad women had waved their pussy’s around, titillating the cocks of their audience for the evening.
Now, it was empty, save for me, King, the unknown number of snipers in the shadows, and my wife.Madison.
King thrust his hand into her chestnut locks and forced her head up. She swallowed a sob…until her gaze met mine. A cry of terror tore from her throat, piercing my heart. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her mascara smeared across her skin. She was terrified…and it was all my fault.
My grip tightened around the gun in my hand, and I stepped forward, murder on my mind. Something metallic pressed into the base of my skull, and I tensed, stopping in my tracks.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” a voice said behind me.
“Let this be a lesson to you,Gunnar Mason,” King drawled, pulling a gun from behind his back. “No one crosses me and gets away with it.No one.”
He aimed, then fired, the boom tearing through the theatre, and Madison fell.
“No!” I roared, twisting to the side. I knocked the gun away from me, the man startled by my sudden outburst. I fired, the shot hitting him in the stomach, and sprinted toward the light, but King was already gone.
Vaulting onto the stage, I skidded on my knees and grasped Madison’s shoulders. The bullet had torn through her neck, and blood poured from the wound. She gasped for breath, but she was only inhaling blood, the wet, sucking sound choking her to death.
“No, no, no, no…” I pressed my palms against the wound, but I knew it was useless. I couldn’t stop this.
Her sightless eyes shone with unshed tears that were trapped in the moment death.
“Chaser, we’ve got to go.”
I woke with a start, my chest heaving.
Kicking my feet out of bed, I leaned forward, my elbows digging into my legs. A sob burst unbidden from my throat, the dream clinging to my mind like a parasite.It had felt so real.
“Chaser?” Sloane’s voice was a whisper in the darkness.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw she was lying among the blankets, her hair splayed across the pillow.
Climbing back into bed, I draped myself over her, pushing my thigh between her legs.
“Chaser…” Her eyes were full of questions I didn’t want to answer. “Have you been… Have you—”
I cut off her question with a kiss, forcing my tongue between her lips. She opened to me with a sigh, unable to resist my touch. Madison was gone, and Sloane was here.
My fingers probed her neck, tracing the lines of an old bruise. The one she’d gotten from Harley that night on the roof of the Fortitude compound. He’d tried to choke her.
“Chaser?” she whispered. “What’s going on?”
“Shh,” I murmured, moving over her so I was between her legs.
She spread without complaint, allowing me to enter her. My cock stroked through her wetness, coaxing life into my psyche. Sloane was here. Sloane was real.She was real.
She moaned as I slapped against her clit, my muscles tensing as I lost myself in the moment. I fucked away the memory of my dream, chasing the demons and locking them back in their box. It wasn’t fair on Sloane, but I couldn’t bear it.
