Page 30 of Ripper
“I’m surprised that someone’s going to pay you quite a bit of cash to do what the mail does,” I said, and she turned around, laughing at me.
“Oh, honey. We’re not just doing what the mail does. We’re doing something that has to remain off the books. That’s how we makerealmoney around here.”
I was frozen in place. My heart started to pound loudly in my chest, but Anna switched off her bike engine, approaching me, and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“You’re not afraid, are you? If this is too much, Ronnie, you don’t have to go through with it. I understand. I mean, I’m down to keep all the cash anyway,” she said.
Flashes of Uncle Axle’s shop rippled through me. Every broken door hinge, old tool, and tattered workspace made me think that if I could just get this done, all of his troubles would slowly start to dissipate. I gulped, turning to look Anna right in the eye.
“How much cash are we talking?”
She smiled brightly at me like that was exactly what she was waiting to hear. I felt her fingers press into my shoulder and her lips parted slowly.
“Ten grand.”
“There’s no way. What the hell are you delivering? A stolen car?”
“Oh, God no. That’s way too much work. We’re going to steal a few small, more transportable goods and deliver them to our client. Once that’s done and we’re paid, we’ll split it in half. I’m sure five grand sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“Y-yeah, it does.”
“All right then. There’s a small apartment building a few blocks down. We’re gonna sneak in, grab us some powder, and get out before anyone notices we were there. Got it?”
“Drugs? Anna? Really?”
“Come on now. You can do this.”
I gulped again, following her lead. The wind blew up the back of her jacket, and I caught sight of the handgun clipped into the holster on her jeans. I trembled slightly, feeling my hands start to shake as I followed her through the entrance of the building. I heard soft groans of some of the residents that were still living there, and I walked up the creaky stairs behind Anna until we arrived at the front door of one of the apartments. She did the old bobby pin trick on the door, the one I’d only ever seen in movies, and before I knew it, we were inside, grabbing thick pouches of cocaine.
I felt my heart rise in my chest as we stuffed them into our jacket and jean pockets. I’d just started to calm down when we heard a sound coming from the bathroom.
“What was that?”
“Ronnie. We need to go. We need to go now.”
A large, hulking man came barreling out with his gun firm in his hand. He started shooting at us, and we ran down the short flight of stairs until we were out in the open again. We rushed over to our bikes, but he was quick. He followed right behind us and before I could start my engine up, a bullet grazed the side of my arm.
“Ah! Fuck!”
“Oh my God. Okay, Ronnie. Just drive. Get away from this fucker. I’ll take care of the rest on my own. Don’t worry. You’ll get your cut. Go. Go!”
I couldn’t even think. Everything was moving so fast. My hands gripped the bike handles as I tore through the city. The man was long gone now, but that didn’t seem to calm me down in the slightest. I drove for what felt like ages until I was safely back in the driveway of Uncle Axle’s house. I rushed inside, slamming the door shut, and locking it.
I’m okay. I’m okay.
I took a deep breath, trying to slow my thumping heart while I made my way upstairs to get out of my clothes and into something more comfortable. I slipped out of my jacket and T-shirt, inspecting the bullet graze in the bathroom mirror. It wasn’t much of a cut, but it hurt like a bitch. I managed to clean it up and bandage it before heading into bed. I needed to rest after the day I’d had. The sun was still high in the sky when my eyelids started to shut, but I didn’t care. I was exhausted and still in shock that I allowed myself to go through with something like that.
I thought about Charlotte’s warning, how worried she was that Anna was bad news, and I was starting to see that she was absolutely right. I’d fallen asleep for what seemed like a few minutes, but when I woke, it was pitch black outside. I heard the television downstairs, and I knew Uncle Axle was probably fast asleep on the couch in the living room. I glanced over at the small digital alarm clock on my nightstand to see that it was just after three in the morning. Before I could turn over to sleep again, I heard my cell phone start to buzz.
“Hello?”
“Oh good. You’re awake. It’s nice to finally speak to you, Ronnie,” I heard an unfamiliar voice say.
“Who is this?”
“That’s none of your concern right now. What you should be concerned about is that I found a way into that small house of yours and grabbed ole Axle when he just arrived home to relax after a long day.”
I sat up quickly trying to process what he’d said.
