Page 27 of Ripper
“Yeah, maybe.”
***
Anna came to pick up her bike the next morning as I wrapped up the final repairs. I gave it one last inspection before I handed it off to her. She stuffed a large manila envelope of cash in my hands.
“This should cover the repairs, right?”
“Yes. Uh, hold on, let me go get your change.”
I stared in shock at the giant wad of cash she handed me, wondering where someone would even get this much money or why they would have it on them in the first place.
“Nah, keep it. It’s cool. Maybe you can finally fix that wonky garage door now,” she said, and we both turned our heads to look over at it.
It was then I got a good look around the shop at all of the things that Uncle Axle had been trying to get repaired for ages. I heard him on the phone with the bank talking about how strapped he was for cash, and even though he did good business during the summer months, it wasn’t enough to get him through the entire year. Bikers tend to travel, and when a lot of them weren’t around, the shop was usually dead.
“If I’m honest, there are a lot of things in here I wish I could fix for my uncle. This place is great on its own, but I wish I could take some of the worry off of him.”
“If you’re looking for extra work, I can help you out, Ronnie. Meet me at the bus stop on Maple Ave on Friday at three o’clock. I’ll be on my way to handle a job there. Something small. It won’t take long. We can split the profits,” said Anna.
“That’s really nice of you to offer. What exactly does this job entail?” I asked curiously.
“Nothing you aren’t already good at. Trust me. See you on Friday!”
She hopped onto the back of her bike, starting up the engine, and before I could get another word in, she was long gone. I shook it off, telling myself that Uncle Axle could definitely use the money to stay afloat when the busy season died down. It was the least I could’ve done for him after everything he’d done for me over the years.Something small, right?
I headed down to the Ironhead Tavern to meet Charlotte for lunch. She was getting ready to go on her break and when she spotted me at the entrance, her eyes lit up.
“Hey! Ronnie! I’m almost done and then we can grab something to eat, cool?”
“Yeah, take your time!” I called back out to her.
I waited at the bar until she came back out, undoing her apron, and folding it before tucking it under the bar. She grabbed two menus, leading me to one of the back booths where we finally had a chance to chat.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. How have you been?” she asked, waving down one of the other waitresses to take our order. One of them came over with a pitcher of cold water to start us off, and I was glad because the heat was starting to give me a headache.
“I know! Things have been so busy down at the shop. I also have been spending a lot of time with this biker I met that came in for a repair on her ride. She’s quite the impulsive one. She’s the reason I ended up with this,” I said, reaching over the table so Charlotte could get a good look at my little pistol tattoo.
I was expecting even the slightest bit of excitement from her, but when she looked up at me with true concern in her eyes, I raised an eyebrow.
“Ronnie? Please tell me that this tattoo was all your idea and this girl didn’t just drag your ass to a tattoo shop,” she said.
“Why? Wait, is this too basic? I should’ve gone with something a little more exciting, huh?”
“Weren’t you the one that told me you never wanted tattoos, but you always liked them on other people?”
“Yeah, but this one is so small, and Anna practically begged me to get it. She said something about it being a rite of passage to becoming a real biker,” I said, and Charlotte shook her head at me.
“She sounds like exactly the kind of biker that’s going to get you in trouble, Ronnie. Trust me, I see many of them come through here, all looking to make friends until they can get what they want out of you. When they’re done, they either rope you into their shit or they toss you aside. I’ve known you longer than she has, and I wouldn’t even drag you to a tattoo shop.”
“Oh, Charlotte. She just doesn’t know anyone else here and she’s just trying to be friendly. I don’t know if I’d call her trouble.”
“Whatever you say, Ronnie. Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise,” I said, smiling warmly at her while we got ready to order.
The rest of the afternoon flew by, and I turned my key in the lock of Uncle Axle’s house, feeling the soft vibration of my phone in the pocket of my jeans. I pulled it out, answering it quickly.
“Hello?”
