Page 1 of Ripper
Chapter One
Ripper
The Mascid sun beat down on me as the engine roared menacingly. My hands gripped my bike handle tighter, and I tore through the streets with ease on the way back to the clubhouse. I could still feel apangof pain where that fucker shot me, but I brushed it off. I pulled up on the dirt path in front, hearing the coos from the others and the popping of their bike engines right before they turned them off.
“Dead man walking, huh? Good to see you back on your damn feet. Shit ain’t the same around here when you ain’t barking at the fresh meat.”
“Someone’s gotta keep these fuckers in check. Tank’s got his hands full. Any idea why he called this shit? Things have been real quiet around here lately, Arch,” I said.
“Ain’t gonna be quiet for much longer. Shit went down at Tease last night. The place was run through. Didn’t even bother cleaning up the mess they left either.”
“How bad?” I asked, pressing my fingers against my lips.
“Too fucking bad. Come on.”
He put his hand on my shoulder, dragging my ass inside to where everyone was waiting. I could smell the morning cigs and beer in the air. It smelled like home, but I didn’t even have any damn time to relish in it.Back on my feet and back to fucking work. Someone’s gotta do it.I took my place behind Tank, who was going over all the shit we managed to score over the last few weeks. I had a feeling he was gonna start winding down the work now that we were back in wartime, but I still wondered how big of a threat this shit really was.
“I know you’ve all been working your asses off to get the club back to where it was before those fucking Freeway Kings ripped right through us. We got cash flowing again, and we ain’t even had to settle for selling birdie powder to get there. We ain’t seen the last of ’em, trust me. I was waiting for the next hit since we last pummeled those fuckers. It happened last night at Tease. Some of the Freeway Fucks made their way over into our territory, they fucked with our people, and they shot the place up when they were fucking done. That’s a goddamn message if I ever saw one,” Tank spat.
“Place was a bloodbath,” said Wrench.
“So, what the fuck we gonna do about it? Last time we just sat on our asses and let shit go down, Ripper nearly got popped.”
“Calm your shit, Crow. Right now, them Freeway Fucks want us to act. They want us to fucking retaliate, and that’s exactly what we’re not gonna do. We need to know what the hell they’re up to first.”
“What do you want us to do?” I asked.
Tank turned his attention to me, folding his arms across his chest, and I could tell he was trying to keep shit from erupting again. There were too many of us that were fucking tired of the Freeway Fucks. I had a feeling that if shit hit the fan this time, they ain’t gonna be walking away alive again.I still owe them a couple of shots. That’s for fucking sure.
“Ripper, you and Crow head down to Tease to canvas the place. Crow, take Jade with you. I’m sure she can help. Wrench, you and Arch take a ride around and make sure none of them fuckers are out on the streets. The rest of us will hold down the fort here for now,” Tank instructed.
The meeting disbanded, and I met Crow outside and saw him consoling Jade. He had his arms wrapped around her, and she was fighting back tears. She lost a lot of her friends last night, many of them that had been with her from the very fucking start when she had had her stage debut. Now, they’re all gone.More innocent lives taken by those fucking Freeway Fucks. If I see any of them again, they’re dead.
“You sure you’re up for this, Jade? I know what Tank said, but it’s gonna be one hell of a sight once we get there,” I told her.
She nodded at me, wiping the tears from her bloodshot eyes.
“Yes, I have to go. I need to find out how this happened, and I need to make sure every single one of my friends is laid to rest. This should’ve never happened, and it can’t happen again. We need to find those Freeway Kings and put an end to this,” she said, fumbling over her words.
“Oh, we will. Trust me, we fucking will, but that don’t mean I’m gonna put you in harm’s way,” Crow murmured.
“Crow…”
“Nah, Jade. You know what happened to the girls there last night. That place is a fucking shitshow, and we don’t even know what we’re really about to walk into here. Please, let Ripper and me handle this,” he begged.
“I’m going, Crow. These were my friends. I need to know what happened. I need to go. Come hell or high water, if there’s a problem, we deal with it. That’s how this works, right?”
“You fucking bet it does,” I chimed in.
Crow handed Jade her dome, and she slipped it on over her wavy hair. She grabbed onto Crow’s torso as he started up his engine, pulling out of the clubhouse yard. I followed right behind him and we rode down to Tease.
It was so strange to see the parking lot this dead and to see the place in broad daylight. The neon sign was still lit, and there were still cars parked outside from the people who just wanted to blow off some steam but got their brains blown out instead. I walked in first and was immediately hit with the stench that made my stomach turn. I was surprised to see that the cops hadn’t shown up yet, but I knew they usually turned a blind eye at this kind of shit.Those lazy fuckers don’t care about the lives of these people, not unless they think they can find something to finally bust us.
I walked over each lifeless body, some in their little lingerie, blood splattered across their sparkly legs. There were others in button-ups and leather jackets, their eyes rolled to the back of their skull and bullet wounds straight through each of their heads. The Freeway Kings had one hell of a wild night, and they were gonna make damn sure that we knew about it. I glanced over at Jade, who was fighting the urge to scream. Her hands were shaking as she clutched onto Crow, and for a second there, I thought she was gonna lose her shit.
There was something shiny glinting underneath the warm red hue, and I bent down to pick it up. It was a bloody bullet casing, and as I continued looking, I saw the whole fucking place was littered with them. I followed the trail right over to the red velvet curtain, pulling it back to reveal a dark hallway of dressing rooms and private areas. One of the doors was cracked open, and I entered, seeing a jacket slung over the side of the velvet, bloodstained couch. I picked it up, taking a good look at the back to see the Freeway Kings Road sigil plastered onto it.
“Find anything?” asked Crow.
