Page 37 of Ripper
“How many?”
“I’m actually trying to get to Vine and Seaview. Do you know where that might be?”
“Yeah, it’s not too far from here actually. Head down this street right here and at the next two lights, take a left. After that, another right and you’re good to go,” she said, with a warm smile.
“Thank you so much.”
I returned to my bike, slipping my helmet back on, heading straight for the mysterious address. For a moment, I began to worry about Ripper, about the cops chasing him, but I reminded myself that he did this sort of thing pretty often. The adrenaline was wearing off now, and I felt a crash coming on, but I took a slow, relaxing ride down to the address, passing each house until I found the right number. I pulled up on the side of the street, peering at the quaint little house with its clean-cut lawn, and I listened to the soft bark of the Labrador that was probably sunbathing in the backyard. It was then I saw Ripper’s bike sitting proudly on his driveway, and I looked up to see him standing on the porch with his arms crossed over the bulging muscles of his chest.
“Looks like I’m going to have to tell Tank you passed your initiation. I’m glad to see you made it out of there without getting booked,” he said with a chuckle.
“Glad to hear it,” I responded.
I felt my cheeks flush and I had a feeling he was about to invite me inside when my cell phone started to buzz in my pocket. I nearly jumped right out of my skin, but when I pulled it out and the screen lit up, I realized I was already running late.Fuck. I forgot. Anna.I let the call go to voicemail, glancing up at Ripper to see him standing there with furrowed brows and his head tilted to the side.
“Ripper, I’m so sorry to do this, but I promised a friend I’d meet her this evening,” I said, feeling the disappointment well up inside of me because all I wanted to do was get close to him again.
“It’s okay, Ronnie. Look, we’re gonna be spending a hell of a lot of time together now that you’re a prospect for the Blazing Rebels. That means I’ll have plenty of time to take you out on another date. What do you say?”
“I say yes.”
I was beaming. I thought about the last time he kissed me, the way it instantly made me wet, and I knew then I wanted more. The entire ride to the thrift shop I felt a familiar warmth in between my legs, and every time I thought about Ripper, it only ever got stronger. I tried to ignore it, tried to push it from my mind, but there was something about Ripper that was so captivating, I just couldn’t let it go.
I parked my bike in the lot, and hearing the sound of heels clacking on the concrete, I saw Anna approaching me with her vibrant red leather jacket and low-rise jeans. Her skin peeked out from the black T-shirt she was wearing underneath, and she seemed rather giddy even though I showed up an entire fifteen minutes late.
“What took you so long? I only ask because this place closes at six,” she said.
“I got a little held up. I actually made prospect for a club today.”
“Oh? Really? Which one?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
It was then I saw the softness in her expression start to melt away. She stared at me with a blank look in her eyes, her jaw tensing like that made her upset for some reason. I furrowed my brows wondering what that could’ve been about.
“The Blazing Rebels. Have you heard of them?”
“I don’t think I have. I’m just a little disappointed because I thought that after all the fun we had you’d be joining mine. Boo. I guess I’m just going to have to steal you away whenever I can then,” she murmured.
“I don’t think that’s how this works, Anna. Did you bring my cut?”
“Oh, feisty, are you? Yeah, I brought it. Look, let’s just try to have a good time today, huh? I still think we can be great friends,” she said.
I watched her take out the wad of cash in a manila envelope, handing it to me, and I stuffed it into the pocket of my jacket. I tried to shake off how angry I still was. I had to because she was probably the only person that would know how to deal with this situation I’m in. The stakes have never been this high, but something told me that Anna must’ve dealt with something like this before with how much trouble she seems to get herself in.
I smiled awkwardly at Anna as she held the door open for me and we headed inside. I felt my stomach turn, and I was immediately hit with a wash of anxiety that nearly knocked me off my feet. I tried to focus on the good. I tried to focus on how good it felt to be so close to Ripper now, to be a part of his team because I knew that when the time came, I had to do the one thing he’d never be able to forgive me for. I shook it off, trying to focus on the endless racks of clothes before me, picking out a few options to show Anna.I’ll play along. For now.
I slung some T-shirts over my arm as I perused the jackets next, and the entire time I kept glancing over at Anna, wondering if I should tell her what was going on. She seemed so certain in the experience she had, so capable when it came to dealing with the difficult things, and before I could stop myself I blabbed to her.
“Anna, I need to be honest about something, and I don’t know how you’re going to take it.”
She stared at me blankly, nodding at me supportively while I off-loaded all of the confusion, worry, and stress onto her shoulders.
“When we did that job, it scared the hell out of me. I was pretty sure I’d never want to do something like that again, but that’s when I got the phone call. I don’t know who it was on the other end of the line, but someone threatened my uncle unless I did something for them, something that would mean I needed to be part of a biker gang like the Blazing Rebels,” I confessed.
Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped the jeans in her hands while she listened to me. I didn’t know how to tell her the whole story because I was so afraid that the person threatening me would somehow find out, making saving my uncle a pointless mission. I had to stay as tight-lipped as I could, but I knew that if there was one person that could help me find a way out of this, it’d be Anna.
“If someone’s threatening you, Ronnie, you need to know how far you’re willing to go to protect the ones you love. That’s one of the reasons I left all of my family behind. This life, being a biker, it’s more than just long rides and petty theft. It is and always has been about surviving. Do whatever you have to do to get the job done,” she said.
I gulped, hanging onto every word because she was absolutely right. If I wanted a true escape, a way to protect my uncle without destroying the life that I’ve slowly begun building ever since I returned home to Mascid, I’d have to figure it out on my own.
