Page 64 of Ripper
“She’s gotta be down there. Right?” I asked Tank.
I could see the apprehension and worry on his face, but I made my way down the creaky, old wooden stairs anyway.
“Ronnie? Ronnie, you down here?” I called out.
That’s when I heard the muffled sounds in the pitch-black room. I carefully made my way down the stairs, realizing they turned a corner which kept the whole damn room dark. I couldn’t even see the light at the top of the stairs when I made it to the bottom landing. I felt around on the wall for a light switch, finding one with sheer luck, and I watched the room slowly turn a warm hue.
I glanced down at the ground to see Ronnie’s dark hair and a gag in her mouth. She was tied down with ropes so tight they were digging into her skin. She sat next to a body that was keeled over on its side, and when I moved around to see his face, I realized it was Axle.
“Tank! Arch! Down here.”
I rushed over to Ronnie, undoing her bindings, removing the gag in her mouth to see that it was covered in blood from her bleeding lip. I didn’t even think, lifting her chin, kissing her hard, but she winced from the pain. She pressed her forehead to mine, and I saw her eyes gloss over with tears before they started flowing freely, cascading down her cheek.
“I’m here. I’m here, Ronnie. I’m so sorry.”
I heard Tank’s voice behind me, barking orders at Archer to help Axle. Ronnie was so distraught, her whole body was shaking so violently that I had to hold her still, trying my best to calm her down.
“Ronnie. Hey, hey. Look at me. Everything’s going to be okay,” I told her.
“What’s going to happen to him?”
“We’re gonna get him help. He’s gonna pull through. He’s a strong one.”
I rubbed her shoulders comfortingly until the shaking subsided. She took a few deep breaths, and it wasn’t long before she was ready to help us with Axle. He was in bad condition. His wounds were deep, probably infected. He was malnourished, his skin pale, his eyes bloodshot.
“How the fuck we gonna get him out of here?” asked Archer.
“We can’t move him. Not yet. His injuries are too bad. I called the doc down here. We’re gonna have to stay with him until he can stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time,” said Tank.
“I guess putting him on the front of my bike is not an option.”
“Not even close.”
I turned to Ronnie to see her arms were crossed, she was biting her lip, and her body was tense. She softened the moment I embraced her, resting her head on my chest, and that was exactly where she was gonna stay until we were sure Axle was gonna pull through.
“Thank you, Ripper.”
“For what?” I asked, softly.
“For showing up for me.”
“I’ll always show up for you, sweet pea. Always. Don’t you ever forget it. I’m just sorry this happened to you in the first place.”
“It’s not all bad. If it didn’t happen, I may never have found Uncle Axle or got to him in time. I owe that to you. At least this is one less thing for me to worry about,” she said.
“Trouble’s not over yet, sweet pea. Those fuckers responsible for all of this are out there. Ray and Anna are in the wind. I promise you I’m gonna find ’em, and I’m gonna put an end to this once and for all.”
“Not without me you’re not. We’re in this together. You have my back.”
“And you have mine. Now, I just need to get you a gun. Seems to me like you’re really gonna need it,” I said.
“Oh, I’m sure I will.”
Chapter Sixteen
Veronica
I sat around in the strange, abandoned house, twiddling my thumbs and rocking my knee while I waited to hear how Uncle Axle was doing. The room was stuffy, my heart was pounding harder than it ever had before, and I was so scared that I was going to lose him. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Ray and Anna standing there ready to beat me down for trying to escape, and I was surprised they didn’t try to kill me then.
