Page 71 of Ripper
I looked over at the bleeding body of that Freeway Fuck Anna managed to catch a ride with. He was now coming to after blacking out for as long as he did, and I grabbed ahold of my gun, pointing it directly at him, firing twice.
“See that? One to kill and one for reassurance. This is the fucking end for you, Anna.”
I pointed my gun directly at her face and her eyes widened like a deer in headlights.
“Ripper. No. Please don’t do th—”
I shot her twice.One to kill and one for reassurance.
***
I hadn’t moved from Tank’s couch ever since I made it back. My mind was fucking reeling, my heart was beating out of my chest for hours on end while the doc was working on Ronnie in the kitchen. I heard the sound of the metal tools clanking against the trays, equipment beeping, and I couldn’t see past the plastic curtain Tank hung up.
We were all gathered in his living room, and Claymore brought me over a beer just as the sun was starting to come up. It’s been hours now, and I was losing my shit waiting around, wondering what was gonna happen to Ronnie.
“Think you might need this,” he said.
“I think I need something stronger than this. Ray’s in the wind again, Ronnie’s barely hanging in there, and I’m not ready to lose the woman that I’m fucking in love with,” I spat.
Tank took the lukewarm beer from me—Claymore had probably snagged from his fridge before the doc started moving his makeshift hospital bed in there. He made his way over to his bar cart, pouring me a glass of whiskey, handing it over to me.
I took the glass from him, swishing it around before throwing most of it back like a shot. It coated my throat, helping to take the pain away, and the impending headache that was starting to brew. Tank put his hand on my shoulder, patting it lightly.
“She’s gonna pull through. She’s gonna still be a part of this family and soon she’ll be on her way to becoming a member. Forget Ray right now. Now, we need to just make sure that one of our own is well taken care of.”
“Thanks, Tank.”
I heard the plastic curtain pull back, and the doc came out looking as exhausted as ever.
“Well?”
“I finished a while ago, but I’ve been monitoring her to make sure she stayed stable. She’s waking up now, and she’s gonna be fine. She’s gonna need to take it easy during her recovery, but she was lucky. A few inches to the left and she would’ve been a goner.”
“Thanks, doc.”
He held the curtain open for me, and I rushed inside to see Ronnie laying there, her eyes slowly fluttering open.
“Ripper?”
“My God. You scared me shitless, sweet pea,” I said, brushing the loose strands of her hair out of her face.
“What happened?”
“You don’t remember?”
“I remember you telling me to keep my eyes open. I remember the pain. I don’t know what happened after that.”
“You were shot. My guess is that it was Ray. The minute you started drifting away I thought I was gonna fucking lose you. The minute those eyes shut I thought—”
“I’m here now, Ripper. I’m looking at you now,” she said with a soft smile.
“I love you, Ronnie.”
“I love you too, Ripper.”
I kissed her softly and carefully so I wouldn’t hurt her, but she pulled me in close by the collar of my T-shirt, kissing me hard. I beamed, feeling a tremendous weight being lifted off my shoulders. The pressure started to subside, and for once in my fucking life, I could just be.
Chapter Twenty
