Page 10 of Ripper
I nodded, hearing the sound of feet dragging on the ground, and I looked over to see Crow standing there like he hadn’t slept in ages.
“How’s Jade?”
“She’s hanging in there. She lost a lot of friends. She’s worried that she might lose more if the Kings decide to roll back in. You know what I don’t get? Why the fuck would they shoot up Tease when they have members working there too?”
“They weren’t the ones that ended up dead. Maybe that’s how they managed to get their fucking weapons in through the front door in the first place,” I said.
“I just don’t get what the fuck is happening. By now, they’d hit back. They’d make it known they were trying to ruin us, but this laying around waiting for the right time to strike shit just isn’t like them,” said Crow.
I shrugged. I felt a pat on my shoulder, and in came Claymore with his dirty blond hair and thick beard. He took one look at my bandaged arm and bloodied face, raising his eyebrow at me.
“You really don’t know what bed rest is, do you?”
“Ain’t no one got time for that now, Claymore. I put a few Kings in the ground, but for some reason they just seem to keep coming back. Any idea why?”
“Looks to me like the Kings are ramping up their cavalry. I won’t be surprised if they manage to smoke us out soon.”
“Great.”
***
I sauntered out to the back porch where Tank was curled up with a cup of coffee, staring out into the barren land before him. Our clubhouse was smack dab in the middle of nowhere, sitting alone in the desert where we knew we’d be safe from the cops and those Freeway Fucks. It was our own little safe haven, and it never failed to make me feel a little better about all the shit we had to deal with.
The morning sun was warm, inviting, not like the shit we dealt with when midday rolled around. He looked up at me, and I could see how fucking worn out he was. The army green T-shirt he’d been wearing still had some blood crusted around the collar. His jeans were washed out and covered in sand like he didn’t have a chance to fucking change them since his last run. I sat down in the plastic chair next to him, propping my head up with my knuckles, just as he cleared his throat.
“The fuck’s going on, Tank? First the shooting, then the police chase, then those fuckers that ran me off the road the other day? Something is up, and I sure as hell don’t like it,” I said.
“I’ve got everyone patrolling Mascid, Ripper. Some shit’s about to go down, I can already feel it. I don’t know what those Freeway Fucks have planned, but we need to be ready for anything. This place is crawling with those motherfuckers. Every time I think I’m finally gonna catch a break, they pop right back up. Soon, I’m afraid they may just outnumber us,” he confessed.
I couldn’t believe that something like that could fucking happen. We’ve been the longest-standing club here for as long as I could remember. We were the largest, the most feared, and now we had to settle the score with some foreign blood. They didn’t belong in Mascid. Hell, they didn’t belong anywhere.
“So, what the hell are we gonna do, Tank? You remember what happened the last time we let those fuckers get too close,” I reminded him.
I still had the scar, and every time my fingertips barely grazed it, it was like I could feel the pain begin to set in all over again. I was cleared, back on my feet, but I still remembered just how harrowing it really was. Every time I thought about it, all I wanted to do was rip those motherfuckers to shreds. I knew I’d get my chance eventually, but right now we just had to do what was best for the damn club.
“We’re gonna make ourselves as much fucking money as possible in case we need to go grab ourselves some shiny new toys when the Freeway Fucks come rolling in. If any of them get too close again, you know what we have to do.”
“We pop ’em.”
“That’s right.”
“All right. Walk me through the plan,” I said, ready to get back in the fucking ring.
We handled business around the clubhouse for the rest of the day until the sun finally started to set. Tank and I met back up out front, and he had a new pair of wheels for me until my shit was fixed. It was old, clanky, and I wasn’t sure it was gonna be that good of a ride, but I’d take what I could get at this point. I was running on fucking adrenaline right now, and I was in the mood for a little fun.If all goes well and we get back here in one piece, maybe Tank will put me on patrol. That way I can find those fuckers that left me for dead on the side of the road and give ’em a little taste of what’s to come.
Tank handed me a duffel bag with the goods in it. It was heavy, filled to the brim, and when I unzipped it, I saw some real good weaponry stuffed inside. I slung it over my shoulder, grabbing my dome.
“You ready for this? It’s gonna be a long ride out there to Phoenix.”
“You said these guys were high-profile, right? The kind that’s gonna pay double?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’m fucking ready.”
He smiled, nodding at me before we both slipped our domes over our heads, starting up our engines, riding out into the night. It was cooler than usual and the evening breeze felt good on the bare skin of my arms. I felt my gun press into my back when I made a sharp left turn right on out of the city, following Tank’s lead in case there was any fucking trouble on the horizon. Part of me was hoping we’d run into some of those fuckers again, have us another standoff where Tank and I could finally show those fuckers whose boss. To my surprise, we got to Phoenix in one piece. The place was bustling even at this time of night, and I could already taste the celebratory drink I was gonna have when this shit was over.
Tank started to slow down near an alleyway across the street from an old laundromat, and I pulled up right beside him. He switched off his engine, pulling his dome off, and resting it on the seat.
