Page 3 of Ripper
Her eyes scanned my entire body, every single tattoo that was exposed on either of my arms and even my sweaty brown hair. She wasn’t flirting anymore. She looked like she was gonna fucking shit herself.
“H-here you go,” she said, handing me the little black receipt holder.
I reached into my pocket for some cash, and she flinched when I took it out.
“You good, darlin’?” I asked.
“Y-yes.”
She was short with me, but I wasn’t in the mood to ask any questions.Them cops probably told her to stay away from bikers like me. Probably told her someone like me shot up the fucking strip club.I sighed, sliding out of the booth and walking right out the front door without so much as looking back.
I got onto my bike, hearing the engine spit at me again before I took off, but I couldn’t help but feel like someone was watching me. I glanced behind me at the practically empty lot, lit up by the fluorescent white lights overhead. I shook it off, driving out, but I was only halfway to home before I heard the sound of bike engines following me.You gotta be kidding me. Can’t a guy catch a fucking break around here?
I glanced over my shoulder once to see that there were two black bikes following me. The bikers’ domes were fully blacked out, and I couldn’t see who they were, but that didn’t matter. I had a pretty damn good feeling I knew exactly who they were. I turned some tight corners, feeling my baby’s performance start to slip, and I knew this really wasn’t the time for this kind of shit to happen.You can’t give up on me now. Hang in there until we get you fucking fixed tomorrow. Please.
The bikers started to catch up to me now, and they ran me right off the fucking road. I skidded on the asphalt, feeling it burn into my bare skin, and when I finally came to a stop, so did they. I couldn’t get back onto my feet. The pain seared through me, my head began to spin, and I laid back for a second, knowing this shit was about to go down. They got off their bikes, taking off their domes so I could get a good look at them. One of them had a long, thick beard that curled up when he smiled. His arms were covered in tattoos, and he looked like he could crush my fucking skull between his pointer finger and his thumb. The other one was lanky, tall, looking like those Freeway Fucks just picked his ass off the street and handed him a jacket with their sigil. He was the cocky one, inching closer to me, bending down so he could spit right on my damn face.I’m gonna wipe that fucking smile of yours right off your damn face, you motherfucker.
I tried to get to my feet, but I struggled as the pain started to set in.
“You took a hard fucking hit, Rebel.”
I glanced over to see my bike was laying on its side. It was covered in sand and dirt. I wasn’t even sure the poor thing was gonna run anymore.
“The fuck do you want?”
“What we’ve always wanted. We want you fucking Rebels dealt with. Once you’re gone, we can finally claim Mascid. It’s gonna happen, bud, even if we have to take you all out one at a time.”
I looked down to see that he had a gun in his hand. I was waiting for him to press it up against my temple, but he didn’t. I watched the way the other one shifted around, like he was just waiting for me to fucking retaliate, but I kept my cool. I waited for the right moment, the single chance I had to disarm that motherfucker and deal with ’em the only way I knew how. He was about to get up when I lunged forward, knocking the gun right out of his hand. Before he could even reach for it, I pulled out my own, and he cowered in fear. I got onto my feet, feeling the wound on the side of my rib cage burn with such intensity it made me feel like I was gonna fucking vomit. I didn’t care. These fuckers needed to go. There was no better person than me to put them in their damn place.
“Woah, woah. Let’s not get crazy here, okay?”
The two of them were backing up trying to get onto their bikes, and that’s when I started firing off shots. I held my arm steady, but it was no use. It shook violently as I tried to get my shots in ’em. I had landed on it so hard that it fucking hurt like a bitch. I managed to get one shot in the arm of one of ’em, but he kept himself upright, riding off into the night while I was the one left for dead.Fuck.
I collapsed right back onto the ground, rolling my eyes. I pulled my cell phone out, dialing Tank’s number.
“Ripper? What’s up?”
“I just got run off the road by some Fucks. They’re fresh meat, but I’m fucked. My bike is fucked. Think you can get someone out here?”
“Yeah, man. I’ll send Crow. Hang tight.”
I laid there on the hot Arizona asphalt staring up at the night sky for an hour. My body was starting to sink into the hot gravel beneath me, my eyes struggling to stay open. I felt like I was going to vomit, turning over every few minutes to spit a little blood out of my mouth. When I finally heard the sound of a bike approaching, I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned my head to the side to see Crow’s combat boots coming toward me.
“It’s about damn time.”
“Sorry. Traffic,” he teased, helping me to my feet.
“Ha. Just get me outta here. I had enough shit today.”
“Yeah. We’ll come back for that. Thing’s fucked.”
“Axle will deal with it. Just get it to him. I’m borrowing your bike to go with Tank tomorrow.”
“No, you’re not. You’re taking one of Axle’s rentals.”
“Fine.”
He chuckled, helping me onto the back of his bike to get me back home in one piece.
