Page 46 of Ripper
“Yeah, yeah. I’m good.”
“You look real pale. You need some water or something?”
“Nah, I’ll be fine. Thanks, Archer.”
“Yeah. No problem.”
I walked away, taking my position at the front of the pack so I could get back to moving crates, but I could feel Archer’s eyes staring at me from behind. I tried to ignore it, tried to keep my head held high because if I let things slip now, I could practically kiss the chance of seeing Uncle Axle alive again goodbye.
Once we made it back to the clubhouse, I curled up on one of the empty couches waiting for Ripper to arrive. I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail, feeling the air from the fan blow the few strands around my face while I tried to relax. I convinced myself that things would eventually get better, that I’d find a way out of this mess because as far as I knew right now, Uncle Axle was still alive.
I knew that if I held out a little longer, I could possibly find something that might tell me where he is, but I couldn’t go charging in anywhere until I could protect myself. I needed to learn and fast. There was only one person I could trust to teach me and that was Ripper.
***
I held onto his torso while we rode out to a small, empty street about a half hour from the clubhouse. There was a row of houses that all looked like they hadn’t been lived in for years, but I watched closely as Ripper pulled up to one of them. I took in the overgrown grass, the single broken toy bike that was sitting in the front yard, and the rusty old gate.
“What is this place?”
“This is the house I grew up in. I wanted you to see where I came from,” he said.
He led me up the porch stairs, fiddling with the lock on the front door for a moment until it gave way to the stuffy, old house that certainly had a lot of history. There were blankets and trash everywhere. It was clear that someone had been squatting here for a little while. I ran my fingers along the wallpaper that was peeling off the walls, and I turned to look at Ripper.
“I know. The place is a dump.”
“No, no. I’m glad you brought me here. I’m glad you’re showing me all of this,” I said, caressing his cheek softly.
“This is where little Eli grew up hoping that his parents would one day give a shit about him long enough to care. They were both druggies. My dad was a drunk. Used to beat the shit out of me when I was little. I left home when I was fourteen and never looked back.”
“Oh my God, Ripper. I’m so sorry.”
“A lot of the guys grew up like this. A lot of us had nowhere else to go, and the club really is the only family we have,” he murmured.
I felt apangof pain in my chest remembering what I’d just done. The feeling of betraying Ripper after everything he’d done for me, after how close we were now, was truly eating me alive.
“I’m honored to have a chance to be part of that family,” I said.
“I hope you don’t think that this was the special place I was bringing you to tonight.”
“This seems pretty special to me, Eli,” I teased.
“Elias Serrano. That’s the name.”
“It’s a beautiful name, but somehow, I like Ripper just as much. How exactly did you land a name like that?” I asked, curiously.
“Tank gave it to me the day he found me. I got into a fight at a bar across town after some biker cheated me out of the money after a job. I ripped off his club patch. He threatened me, and I told him if he ever showed his face around town again, I’d rip his face off too.”
“Did he?”
“Nope. You did ask me once if I had any danger in me, and you still have yet to see that side of me,” he said.
I could see the apprehension in his eyes, the slight worry that I somehow would turn right around and run for my life.
“Like all the sides of you I’ve seen so far, I just know I’ll love it. You’re not dangerous because you’re recklessly trying to wreak havoc. That danger is there because you protect what you care about most. How can anyone not love that?”
He smiled brightly at me, pulling me in by the belt straps of my jeans, kissing me hard. He wrapped his hand in mine, leading me back to his bike, and we were off. I rested my head on his back the entire ride, and when we eventually pulled up to the small Italian restaurant nearby, I was in awe at how beautiful it was.
The building itself was aged. The bistro chairs and red umbrellas on the patio were absolutely stunning, the fairy lights overhead warmed up the entire place. Ripper greeted the hostess and waiters that passed by, and I watched as their faces lit up when they saw him. We walked over to the small patio table in the back and I felt the wind on the back of my neck, the calm that settled inside of me as we finally sat down.
