Page 31 of Ripper
“W-what?”
“I have your uncle, Ronnie. If you don’t do exactly as I say, he’ll be dead before you know it.”
“W-what do you want?” I asked, feeling my heart nearly rip right through my chest.
“I need you to put your connections to good use and get me information on where the Blazing Rebels are handling their shipments. You do that and your uncle will live. You fail, and I’ll have fun watching him bleed out for old time’s sake. Fucker was always loyal to the wrong damn club,” he said.
I heard the sound of a distressed groan in the background and I wondered for a moment if that was Uncle Axle.
“Let me talk to him.”
‘This is not a negotiation, Ronnie.”
“I need to know he’s alive.”
I heard the man sigh and the static on the phone grew stronger until it went silent. I listened closely, feeling the tears start to well up in my eyes.
“Ronnie. It’s okay, Ronnie. It’ll be okay.”
“Uncle Axle!”
“Get to work, Ronnie. I expect information real soon. Have a great night.”
“No, wait!”
The phone line went dead. I clutched it hard in my hands trying to figure out what to do. My fingers were shaking violently, my eyes glazed over with tears that made it hard to see. I texted him quickly:Hey Ripper. You down to meet tomorrow morning? I have something I want to talk to you about.
Chapter Seven
Ripper
I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing incessantly, and I was just about to chuck it across the room when I realized it was Tank calling. My throat was dry as I tossed the covers from my legs and sat up on the side of the bed.
“Yeah?”
“How you feeling? You were supposed to have your fucking injuries checked yesterday. I ain’t gonna keep calling to check up on you like this,” he said.
“I’m all right, man. Just a little banged up. I just need to sleep it off, that’s all.”
“I got Crow covering for you today. The doc’s gonna be there in fifteen minutes. Get your ass out of bed long enough to get your shit checked. Remember, we ain’t know what kind of trouble we could be walking into soon. We all need to be well-rested and ready to fucking fight if we need to,” Tank reminded me.
“Speaking of trouble.”
“What? Did something happen?”
“Not yet anyway. Guess who fucking showed up on my doorstep two nights ago?”
“Who?”
“Anna’s back. I don’t know what the fuck she’s doing in town, but ever since things ended with her, she promised me she’d make my life hell eventually. Usually I wouldn’t be too worried about this kind of shit, but with the timing of everything else, it’s a little fucking weird, no?” I asked.
“Think it’s got something to do with the Freeway Fucks?”
“Possibly. Anna likes to go wherever she’s getting the most attention. If Ray’s taken her in, we’re in for more trouble than we may have thought, Tank.”
“Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it. Steer clear of her. Get some damn rest, okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
