The Long Ride Read Online Free Page B
Author: Amy Love
too strong."
"You sure are taking on a lot, boss. I mean, I've known some PTSD's before. Hell, we all have. You know that it never really goes away, and the state she is in now—she may not come back. Doc said that, and I think you know it, down deep."
Elias nodded, looked out at the dark freeway and watched the light traffic. "You're right, I know that. But, after feeling that house without her in it, and my bed without her beside me, I know I've got no other choices. Whether it’s hard or not, Chelsea is my woman, and the only one I want. As long as I am breathing, I'm going to stand by her."
They were silent together for a long time, just feeling the night and watching the road. Then Jeff said, "You're a lucky man, boss. If I had what you two have, I wouldn't let it go either, and I'd kill whoever tried to take it from me."
"That's the way of it," Elias agreed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Seeing Steve-O and Wild Bill in the pack of forty-one riders pulling into the gas station was surprising, but a welcome surprise. Elias really wasn't sure how the trio honestly felt, or how the pack would react to the idea of possibly going up against Houston PD, until this moment. And it was a good moment.
"How you doing, brother?" Steve-O asked as he came up and clapped Elias on the shoulder.
"Better now," Elias admitted.
Steve-O seemed to sense the feelings shifting through Elias' mind and heart. He nodded. "Until they actually show up, you never really know about friends, do you?" he offered.
Elias sighed. "I should know, but, no, I didn't really know."
"Yeah, that's just the way every one of these men felt two seconds before you arrived at their door and took on their problem like it was your own, including me," Steve-O told him. "John was on his bike, and in the pack. Wild Bill and I talked him out of it. We told him we needed a general at home watching our back. Really laid a heavy guilt trip on him to get him off of his bike, but I want you to know, it wasn't easy."
Elias nodded, and looked around, "Only forty?" he smiled.
"There were over a hundred. We cut it down to just the guard, with Bill and I. There are three of them at your house right now, five more patrolling your neighborhood, and a pack of twenty more up on I-40 by now, coming around to Phoenix from above, just in case we are delayed in getting there, or something unfathomable goes amiss. Another twenty are staking out the other stash houses and watching Tomas' place. John said this ends by the weekend. If Tomas happens to make it back before we do, the bounty on him is fifty grand. So if you want him, you better get him on this trip."
"Kind of fucked up to pay a man's bounty with his own money," Elias said with a grin. "But that's my kind of fucked up."
"Yeah, mine too. Everyone else, of the group that showed up to back you, is out riding the streets, keeping tabs on the people Chelsea has ID'd as partners, and reporting back to John and his crew of home base men and women," Steve-O finished.
"That's a lot of man power," Elias said, feeling so warm inside his leather felt stifling.
"So, what's the deal?" Wild Bill asked as he strolled up. "We gathered most of it from Eric's side of the conversation, and he filled in a few blanks before we got back on the road." Eric walked up to them beside Bill and the rest were now gathering around.
All of them—the whole group of forty-six men—were well-armed and well-trained except for Duffy, but Elias had the gut feeling that if anyone was being watched over by one god or another, it was Duffy. The group was solid, knew each other well, and had ridden down more than one dark road with each other.
He looked at Eric, who, if he had to leave the White Wolves because of Chelsea, he was going to recommend as the new Sergeant at Arms. Eric's instincts were superb, his loyalty unquestionable, and his experience exceeded Elias'.
"Eric, I
"You sure are taking on a lot, boss. I mean, I've known some PTSD's before. Hell, we all have. You know that it never really goes away, and the state she is in now—she may not come back. Doc said that, and I think you know it, down deep."
Elias nodded, looked out at the dark freeway and watched the light traffic. "You're right, I know that. But, after feeling that house without her in it, and my bed without her beside me, I know I've got no other choices. Whether it’s hard or not, Chelsea is my woman, and the only one I want. As long as I am breathing, I'm going to stand by her."
They were silent together for a long time, just feeling the night and watching the road. Then Jeff said, "You're a lucky man, boss. If I had what you two have, I wouldn't let it go either, and I'd kill whoever tried to take it from me."
"That's the way of it," Elias agreed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Seeing Steve-O and Wild Bill in the pack of forty-one riders pulling into the gas station was surprising, but a welcome surprise. Elias really wasn't sure how the trio honestly felt, or how the pack would react to the idea of possibly going up against Houston PD, until this moment. And it was a good moment.
"How you doing, brother?" Steve-O asked as he came up and clapped Elias on the shoulder.
"Better now," Elias admitted.
Steve-O seemed to sense the feelings shifting through Elias' mind and heart. He nodded. "Until they actually show up, you never really know about friends, do you?" he offered.
Elias sighed. "I should know, but, no, I didn't really know."
"Yeah, that's just the way every one of these men felt two seconds before you arrived at their door and took on their problem like it was your own, including me," Steve-O told him. "John was on his bike, and in the pack. Wild Bill and I talked him out of it. We told him we needed a general at home watching our back. Really laid a heavy guilt trip on him to get him off of his bike, but I want you to know, it wasn't easy."
Elias nodded, and looked around, "Only forty?" he smiled.
"There were over a hundred. We cut it down to just the guard, with Bill and I. There are three of them at your house right now, five more patrolling your neighborhood, and a pack of twenty more up on I-40 by now, coming around to Phoenix from above, just in case we are delayed in getting there, or something unfathomable goes amiss. Another twenty are staking out the other stash houses and watching Tomas' place. John said this ends by the weekend. If Tomas happens to make it back before we do, the bounty on him is fifty grand. So if you want him, you better get him on this trip."
"Kind of fucked up to pay a man's bounty with his own money," Elias said with a grin. "But that's my kind of fucked up."
"Yeah, mine too. Everyone else, of the group that showed up to back you, is out riding the streets, keeping tabs on the people Chelsea has ID'd as partners, and reporting back to John and his crew of home base men and women," Steve-O finished.
"That's a lot of man power," Elias said, feeling so warm inside his leather felt stifling.
"So, what's the deal?" Wild Bill asked as he strolled up. "We gathered most of it from Eric's side of the conversation, and he filled in a few blanks before we got back on the road." Eric walked up to them beside Bill and the rest were now gathering around.
All of them—the whole group of forty-six men—were well-armed and well-trained except for Duffy, but Elias had the gut feeling that if anyone was being watched over by one god or another, it was Duffy. The group was solid, knew each other well, and had ridden down more than one dark road with each other.
He looked at Eric, who, if he had to leave the White Wolves because of Chelsea, he was going to recommend as the new Sergeant at Arms. Eric's instincts were superb, his loyalty unquestionable, and his experience exceeded Elias'.
"Eric, I
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