Page 49 of Ripper
“Tiger. Razor. I’m gonna have to steal my lady away. We’ve got work to do.”
“Yeah, man. Good luck on the run,” said Razor, patting me on the back.
“Thanks.”
I watched as they walked off, heading out the back door to chill on the porch, and it seemed to me like they were already done for the day. I leaned down to plant a soft kiss on Ronnie’s lips before taking her into my arms, giving her a tight squeeze before we had to head out.
“What exactly is going to happen on this run?” she asked.
I watched as her eyes darted around the room for a moment like she was nervous, but I knew she had it in her to get this done.
“We’re gonna be stealing some weapons off some lone riders tonight. Things are bound to get heated so I’m gonna need you to stay real close to me. It’s better we take one bike. The load isn’t much, but the weapons are supposed to be real good shit. Besides, I’m liking having you as a back warmer, sweet pea,” I said.
We made our way outside, taking in the cool, evening air. I reached into my holster for my handgun, taking it out, and waving it around at her. Her eyes followed its every movement closely, and she gulped.
“Something tells me you haven’t had much practice with one of these before.”
“I’ve never even held one.”
“Well, there’s no better place to learn than directly in the field. Come here,” I said.
I placed the cool metal in her hands, standing behind her so I could guide her fingers to the right places. Once her finger was safely on the trigger, I pulled her hair back, whispering in her ear.
“Point and shoot. Don’t overthink it. Don’t wait for the right moment. Sometimes, you just gotta go for it.”
“What kind of advice is that? What if I hit you or something?” she asked.
Her eyes widened while she shot me a blank stare, biting her lip worriedly.
“If you think you’re gonna shoot me, try to aim for a spot that ain’t gonna hurt too bad.”
“Ripper!”
“Okay, okay. Uh, Razor! Bring your beer bottle over here. Tiger, tell everyone inside we’re just gonna do a little quick practice before we head out so they don’t think we’re under attack.”
Tiger rushed inside and Razor made his way over to us with his chained belt clanking as he placed the beer bottle down a safe distance away.
“Come on, sweet pea. Aim, point, and shoot. No hesitation,” I told her.
She took a deep breath, and I looked up to see Razor backing away, probably worried she was gonna accidentally blow his head off. Two seconds went by before the bullet rang high in the air and the bottle shattered into a million little shards of glass.
“That’s my girl.”
“That was a bottle. I don’t know what’s going to happen if I have to do that to a person,” she said.
I could practically hear the fear in her voice, but I took the gun from her, slipping it back into my holster.
“You just needed to know that you can do it, Ronnie. The chances of you needing it tonight are slim, but I just had to make sure you could point and shoot if you needed to,” I said, with a chuckle.
“I don’t know.”
“You got this, sweet pea. Trust me, when you’re out there, it’ll feel like second nature. You ready?”
I watched as Ronnie took a deep breath, nodding at me.
“Let’s go.”
***
