Page 62 of Ripper
“Where’s Uncle Axle?” I asked.
“Oh, yes, Axle. Well you see, you didn’t hold up your end of the deal, Ronnie. I told you what would happen to Axle if you didn’t meet my demands. Man lived a long, thrilling life. Too bad that shit had to come to an end. Your fault, sweetheart. Not mine,” he spat.
“No. You didn’t. You didn’t—”
“Oh, I did, sweetheart. I sliced his neck like a ham and watched that fucker bleed out on the damn floor of my basement. Was a real sight. It’s such a shame that you’re probably gonna end up the very same way. Again, that’s on you,” he said.
My heart sank into my stomach, and it turned so violently that I thought I was going to vomit. I glanced down at my bound feet, just so this asshole wouldn’t see the tears that were welling up inside my eyes. It broke my heart to know that I couldn’t save him. It hurt to know that if I would’ve just held out a little longer, I may have been able to bring him home.
“What? Nothing to say now?” asked Anna.
I glared at her, wishing I could claw those bright blue eyes out. Hearing the words leave his mouth ignited something inside of me. It set my entire body ablaze, and I knew I couldn’t let them get away with this. I waited until they were on their way out again with their backs to me so they wouldn’t catch me glancing around the room. There was a single workbench on the other side, with something shiny glinting under the fluorescent lighting. It would take me ages to scoot over to it and back, but I had to try.
I wasn’t just going to wait around for Ray to kill me the way he killed my uncle. I needed to put an end to him. I needed him to suffer just like Uncle Axle did. I blinked the tears away, convincing myself that crying wasn’t going to help. I focused all of my attention on that workbench. I paid attention to how much time I had before someone would come in to check on me.
Once every hour, one of the Kings would make their way inside to make sure I hadn’t moved. My feet and wrists may have been bound, but I wasn’t tied to anything. Ray and Anna didn’t pay me another visit for the rest of the night. When the sun finally came up, and I could see it filling the dark room with the slightest bit of light through the amber glass, I knew enough time had passed.
I’d drifted in and out of sleep the entire night, desperately trying to keep myself awake in case one of the Kings tried to mess with me. I waited patiently for the check-in, watching the door open and someone approach me, bending down to slap my cheek to ensure I was still breathing. I counted down the seconds for that door to close, and once it did, I was on the move.
It’s go time.
***
I felt the cool concrete through my worn jeans but dragged myself across the floor until I was close enough to grab the shiny, pointed object. I bent down enough to take it between my fingers, then started moving back. I was just a few seconds away from my last spot before the next check-in, but I made it in time before the door swung open again. I shifted slightly, feeling the sharp scissors underneath me, digging into my jeans.
I waited for silence to fall again before I started sawing away at the rope bindings, feeling a bit relieved to find that they weren’t as strong as they felt. Once my hands were free, I worked on my feet, realizing that I had no choice but to move now. My heart started beating fast as I approached the door, bracing my back up against the wall at the side with the scissors in my hands.
My hands were shaking, but I did what I could to steady them. Like clockwork, the door swung open and the biker made his way inside, smelling strongly of cigarette smoke like he’d just had one. It took him a second to realize I wasn’t curled up in the corner where I was supposed to be, but in that time I managed to jam the scissors into his neck with every last ounce of strength I had.
He tried to fight me, pushing me to the ground, but it was too late. The puncture was too deep and blood gushed from his neck. I felt like I was going to hurl, but I held it together long enough to get out. I shut the door slowly, sneaking around the corner to make sure I stayed out of sight. There was no one around here, and I couldn’t quite figure out where I was. The building was pretty much empty, aside from the few cigarette butts and broken beer bottles on the ground.
I made my way down a long hallway, getting to a window. Hope flooded me.Maybe I can find a way out of here after all.But I couldn’t get it opened. It looked like it had been sealed off ages ago. But there was a road outside, different from the one Ripper and I had come up. I was somewhere else entirely.
But that didn’t matter now.
I knew I needed to be quick because the minute they figured out I was gone, the entire place would be swarming with the Kings ready to stick me right back in that room, or worse, kill me.
I could barely hear anything over the sound of my heart beating in my ears, but I kept moving. I made it all the way to the small kitchen when I heard murmuring coming from the front room. Without thinking, I reached for the closest door, escaping down into the basement of the house, and I heard pained groans coming from the corner of the room.
I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering who the hell would be down here sounding like that and not up assisting the rest of the Kings. The place was practically empty when I made it out and that made me think they were on the road, probably going to make their return any second. I fumbled around for a light switch, and when the room finally lit up in a soft warm hue, my jaw dropped to the floor. There he was, hanging onto the little life he had left, and I rushed to his side.
“Uncle Axle?”
“R-Ronnie?”
He was beaten, blood crusting on the side of his head, and a black eye that made him barely recognizable. I tried to help him, but before I could move, I heard the yelling coming from upstairs.Fuck. They know.
Chapter Fifteen
Ripper
An entire day had passed me by. I spent every fucking moment out on the streets searching for Ronnie. Every chance I got I was kicking myself for letting them get a hold of her. My heart hurt, my stomach was a fucking rollercoaster thinking about what she could be going through right now. I sat on the couch in the clubhouse living room after Archer and Claymore had to practically peel me off the streets, digging my fingernails into the leather fabric. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep, and I sure as hell wasn’t gonna get any fucking rest until she was in my arms again.
“Ripper, we’re gonna get her back, man. Okay? Ain’t nothing gonna happen to Ronnie,” said Claymore.
“Yeah? You don’t think Ray would kill her just to prove a fucking lesson? You know damn well he would. This is my fucking fault. I should’ve waited for back up before we went in there,” I responded, running my palms along my face out of pure frustration.
“Wrench and Tank are out there now looking. They’ve got the day shift, and once they find something, we’re gonna head back out. Ronnie is one of us now. She ain’t just a prospect, she’s your old lady. We’ll bring her home.”
