Page 3 of Ripple Effect, Vol. 4

So stupid.

Had I known Rip was tight with Rook, I’d have never gotten myself caught up in this crap. I’d have bolted right out of the damn door when he’d offered me my freedom.

Boots pound the pavement from behind, and a whimper escapes me, knowing one of them is gaining speed. I hop on one foot, removing the one shoe that’s slowing me down and twist just long enough to chuck it at him.

Rook lifts his hands and ducks, but his pace only falters for the split second it takes to bat the shoe away.

I keep on down the street, eyes peeled for one single means of escape. A street sign zips in my periphery and a moment of panic sweeps over me as I question whether or not it says what I think it says.

My fears are confirmed when the road tapers off to a boarded-up abandoned home on a dead end. “Shit! Shit!” I whisper, looking around for anywhere I can lose him.

A force hits me from behind, like a truck slamming into my back, and the ground flies toward me, smashing against my cheek.

“No!” I claw at the earth to get away, but my body is flipped over until I’m on my back, staring up at vacant, evil eyes. A fist strikes my cheek from the left, kicking my head to the right. Another punch knocks my head to the left. My jawbone rattles with pain, as if it’s come unhinged. Still, I kick and scream, swinging my arms, until my fists connect with Rook’s throat.

With nothing but a grunt, he slides my arms under his knees, locking them beneath his weight.

“Punishing you is going to be my favorite fucking pastime, baby girl. Like hitting me?” His fingers dig into my jaw before a smack snaps against my cheek. “Huh? You like fucking hitting me? I’m going to leave so many bruises on your pretty face, whore, no one will recognize you by the time we’re finished.”

Randy slides in beside him and shoves his hands under my flattened legs. “Let’s get her back to the house and make some calls. Fifty bucks a pop.”

Rook’s face stretches with a grin. “Hear that, sweetheart? You’re gonna work for us now. Thirty dicks later and we’ll make fifteen hundred in one night.” He shoves a hand down my shirt and his fingers brush over my nipple in a sickening caress that makes me want to burn the skin he’s touched. “End of the week, we’ll have rounded ten grand. Bastards around these parts don’t get fine, young pussy like yours often.”

My stomach sinks at the same time tears stream down my temples.

Rook lifts off of my legs, and I kick Randy square in the face. His fist slams into my shin, and I cry out behind Rook’s palm. “Sick of you kicking my face, bitch!”

Rook flips around and shoves his arms under mine, hoisting me up. My body arches with every twist as I squirm and kick. Randy grips tight, keeping me bridged between the two of them with every futile punt.

Fire burns in my muscles and my body trembles with a sob. “Uncle Randy! Please!”

A burst of laughter echoes through the empty street. “Uncle Randy. You hear this shit, Rook? Uncle fucking Randy? Bitch you haven’t called me uncle since the day I took your ass in.”

“Please don’t do this.” My voice wavers as they turn the corner, toward a two-story bungalow, boarded up and falling into disrepair. This rat-infested shithole is where I’m going to die. “I’m begging you! Please!” I kick out again, the resistance slowing my movement as he tightens his grip of my ankles.

“Your begging’s just begun, sweetheart. Welcome to your new home! Rook and I are going to get you settled. Then we’ll invite a few friends over and have a little party.”

Still squirming and kicking, my heart shrivels inside my chest when we enter through a side door and a waft of mold and rot hits my nose. The realization sinks in like an anchor, pulling me away from any hope that I’ll get away—they’re going to hold me in this dirty fucking place and let a bunch of dirty fucking men violate me a million different ways. “I won’t say a word! Please! I promise!”

“To who, your friend?” Rook’s voice carries an air of sarcasm. Up the staircase, both men carry me, and I reach out to grab the railing along the way.

Rook tears me away from it and curls his hands around my wrists, keeping me in place. “Let me tell you something about Ripley. He ain’t got no love for nobody except himself. That’s how killers are, baby girl. We don’t give a shit about sweet and innocent little bitches like you. You’re nothing but food for the wolves as far as we’re concerned, and Ripley has had his fair share of the meat. He’s too damn smart to lock horns with me. People I know would put a bullet in his skull without thinking twice.”

As we near the top of the stairs, I arch my back again, hoping to knock one of them on their ass.

“I know Ripley’s wanted to kill me for a long time now.” Rook tightens his arms around me. “Can see it in his eyes every time he looks at me. He knows better, though. He knows what can happen if he crosses my brother. Rip works for me, so he ain’t coming for you, doll. Your fuckin’ fairytale is over. Hope it was fun while it lasted.” He lifts my wrist to his face and licks the tattoo. “This mark? It’s there for a reason. You’re my bitch. My property.”

Rip works for him?

I feel numb. Both immature and stupid at what has become vividly clear in my mind. Ripley is as bad as I imagined. He works for Rook, which makes him just as despicable, if not worse.

Whatever glimmer of light I may have seen in Ripley was nothing but chimera. A mirage I’d made up in my own head.

He isn’t going to save me.

He never was.

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