shot the shit and told stories until we were red in the face from laughing so hard.
But when we were all separated? When Link called for church?
It was a stark slap in the face.
The first week passed us by in a blur as we all scrambled to come up with a plan to take Skeleton down. But we knew any plan of ours would do us no good if we couldn't get home safely. And that was when Sly volunteered to be the one to go into town. Dressed in regular clothes with regular shoes and a pair of sunglasses on his head, he set a course for the grocery store not too far away from the Iron Horse. His instructions?
To get a feel for the situation before bringing some supplies back.
While he was gone, we all tried to come up with a plan. The guys and I huddled in Link’s trailer while the girls hung out around the fire again, giggling up a storm like they always did. And while I helped the guys come up with a plan to end the vicious cycle that was Skeleton, it took Sly a while to return to us.
But when he returned without groceries, it filled me with hope.
“Well?” Link asked.
Sly parked his truck and hopped out. “Well, that was fun.”
Bowser paused. “Fun, how?”
Sly grinned. “You would believe there isn’t a fucking Fed in sight?”
I blinked. “What?”
Sly nodded. “Yep.”
Ash folded his arms over his chest. “That doesn’t make sense.”
Sly shrugged. “That’s what I saw. That’s why it took me so long to get back. I actually went looking for them.”
Link clicked his tongue. “You got any idea where they might have headed to next?”
Sly grinned. “Oh, I’ve got something much better than that.”
As Sly started talking, it all fell into place: why he was gone so long, why he didn’t bring back supplies, and why he had that cheeky-ass grin on his face. Granted, that damn thing was always there, almost like a taunt. But it always grew whenever he had an ace up his sleeve.
And damn it, he came back with a few.
Not only had the Feds vacated our town, but they were blazing a clear trail that smelled like Skeleton. According to Sly, they raided not only the motel that had been sold off, but the warehouse we clocked that I was supposed to check out.
“My best guess?” Sly asked. “They’re tracking Skeleton hard. They probably saw we had run-ins with him, but once none of us could be found they kept on trucking. Ten bucks says they’ve already touched down in Chalk Borrow or whatever that town was called.”
I paused. “Cherry Branch?”
He pointed at me. “That’s the one.”
I looked over at Link. “What do you think?”
We all waited on pins and needles as our president racked his brain for the right answer.
“And you’re sure about all of this?” Link asked.
Sly nodded. “I’d bet my damn life on it. I even felt safe enough to contact one of our connections in the police. Brody?”
Ash chuckled. “The hell did that bastard have to say?”
Sly shrugged. “He told me the Feds were in and out in less than two days. And you know what that means.”
I nodded. “Yeah. It means they already found what they were looking for.”
Link took the reins of the conversation. “Did they go by the Iron Horse at all? Do you know?”
Sly nodded. “Went there, too. Bartender and staff say no one came in to question them or take pictures. Not even as much as a peep of them snooping around.”
Bowser clicked his tongue. “So… we left for nothing?”
I shook my head. “Not for nothing. This really got us off their radar. They’re so far deep up Skeleton’s ass right now they probably don’t even give a shit about us.”
Sly pointed at me. “I… actually wouldn’t go that far.”
We all turned to face him as Link cocked his head. “Why?”
Sly sighed. “I don’t have any proof. It’s just a gut feeling.”
Link didn’t miss a beat. “Don’t care. Spill it. What’s your gut telling you?”
He looked at every single one of us before his ass fell into yet another chair.
“I still think they’re watching. Even though all the evidence points to the contrary, I think they’ve got someone watching us.”
Bowser paused. “But you’ve got no proof of this?”
Sly shrugged. “I don’t know. Something was just off about the entire thing. It was a bit too perfect, if that makes sense?”
Link nodded. “Makes perfect sense.”
Ash sighed. “But you didn’t come