Page 43 of Thunder

“Busted. But I’d do it whether or not the Phantoms called in a favor. You’re under our protection, just like you are theirs. Consider yourself double fucking blessed and leave it at that.” Ripley’s smile was disarming. It was sweet and wholesome looking compared to her leather and ink. Andy knew she was a badass bitch in a little package.

“My client is a friend from back in the day.”

Ripley seemed unsure. Andy needed her to say yes, so she said words that tasted like battery acid on her tongue.

“We were practically sisters, so it’s all good. How about if I call Styx as soon as I finish up and promise not to leave without her?”

Andy had to get her to agree. She could not let Tracey linger in her life a second longer. She didn’t plan on inking her to begin with, which Ripley would notice if she hadn’t got distracted on her phone. Her room wasn’t set up for a client.

“Ripley, I’m not above begging. Please. Thunder and I aren’t going to work out, so I don’t plan on sticking around the Phantoms. I just need to get through the next few days while they lock everyone up without losing my heart.” Few people knew a lot about Ripley’s private life, including Andy. But she knew she’d recently went through a nasty breakup. Andy was not above using that to her advantage.

“Okay, but the second you sani-wrap your friend, you call Styx. Set the silent alarm and wait inside.” Ripley fiddled with her phone, then looked at Andy expectantly. Andy’s phone rang once, then stopped. “That’s Styx, just hit last number redial and she’ll be on her way.”

Andy breathed a sigh of relief that she convinced Ripley to let her stay. Just as Ripley was leaving, there was a banging at the door. Tracey had finally arrived.

Tracey looked like a wet turd when Andy opened the door. Her face morphed as Ripley headed toward them. “Hi, my friends call me T. You must be Ripley.”

Andy bit her lip to keep from laughing when Ripley ignored her hand and looked at her like she was something she stepped in.

“We aren’t friends, so I don’t give a fuck what they call you. If you know who I am, then why the hell are you approaching me like you know me.”

They weren’t questions, not the way Ripley spoke. Ripley’d turned her attention back to Andy, ignoring a now pouting Tracey. “You sure you’re good?”

Tracey looked like she was going to respond. Andy knew Ripley would kick her ass out if she didn’t shut the fuck up.

The look in her eyes said she was second-guessing her decision. “I know Granite is worried, but I’m—” Ripley cut her off with a sharp look from her to Tracey. Damn. Rule number: whatever Lexi had said it was.Do not talk about the club with outsiders, ever.“I’ll stay safe, promise.”

Ripley nodded once, then brushed past Tracey without a backward glance. Tracey stumbled and winced like she was in a lot of pain, but Andy didn’t give a shit.

“So, that’s the infamous Ripley, president of the Shadow Angels?” Tracey scoffed. “She didn’t seem like all that to me. I could take her with one hand tied behind my back.”

“You could try.” Andy breathed in a barely audible tone.

“You know, you used to not be such a bitch back when my brother and I were teaching you manners.”

Shocked was an understatement, Andy was pissed. She knew, somewhere deep down, she’d always known that Tracey never saved her. She was just as bad as Justin, if not worse. At that time, though, she’d needed someone to give her that push, and she allowed Tracey to pretend to fill the role she needed filled. Is that why she always felt she owed Tracey? Maybe a little bit.

It was over. Andy wouldn’t let Tracey manipulate her anymore. Any debt owed was paid.

“You mean back when I didn’t have a backbone? Yeah, most people don’t like it when others grow out of the role they assigned them.” The look of confusion on Tracey’s face had her almost not elaborate. But she wasn’t saying the words for Tracey’s sake, she was saying them for herself.

She reached for her phone and textedreadyto the last number that called her. Now she couldn’t chicken out. It would take Styx a little around ten minutes to arrive. She’d be blunt and efficient, cutting Tracey out of her life for good. By the time Styx showed, Andy could go home and cry over Thunder while eating a pint of Rocky Road ice cream and drinking a bottle or two of cheap Chardonnay. Then, she’d get over him. The old Andy wouldn’t pine away for some guy, so the new Andy wouldn’t either.

“Yeah, I grew a backbone and neither you, nor Justin wanted that. Nope. You wanted me under his thumb as much as he did.”

Tracey crowded her a little. She was smiling and calm. Not affronted by Andy’s words at all. It was a look she now recognized for what it was. “Really? Is that what you think of me? Then why did I tell you he was cheating? Why did I tell you about his kids? And why did I encourage you to stand up for yourself? The only reason you can even say those hurtful things right now is because of me.”

That was it. Now she was really fucking pissed. She had played into Tracey’s plan all the way.

“You’ve got some fucking nerve. It took me years, hell, some I’m just now figuring it out, but it’s all falling into place. You wanted me to bend to please him, and by extension, you. So, at first, you tore me down little by little, by helping meimproveto keep him from straying. How am I doing so far?”

Tracey didn’t say a word, just crossed her arms over her chest and waited. Almost like she enjoyed hearing how clever she was.

“That’s what I thought. After that, for reasons I can’t put my finger on yet, you wanted to hurt Justin. You knew me leaving would be that ultimate smack in his face. A blow to his pride. Plus, without my income, he’d actually have to work for a living.”

In that moment, Tracey’s normally guarded expression became somewhat transparent.

“You were also playing the long game, weren’t you? You kept me on the board in case you ever needed me. And lo and fucking behold, here you are, trying to get in with the Phantoms and looking to use my roommate to do it.”

---