Page 2 of Ripper’s Property (Savage Knights MC: NW Chapter #4)

Rory

“ Y ou know if Ripper catches you smoking, he’s going to be pissed.”

I look up at Raid and bring the cigarette straight to my mouth, taking in a long, deep drag.

Feeling the smoke fill every crevice of my lungs.

The embers glow in the dark, burning like the rage inside my blood.

I blow the smoke out slowly and watch as the gray cloud spirals up in the air, blocking my view of the judgement in his narrowed eyes.

I’m tired of being told what to do. Everyone always treating me like a kid. My every move is controlled and dictated for me. The law says I’m a legal adult, allowed to vote, smoke, and make my own decisions. But the law of the club— doesn’t give me any freedoms.

“He’s not my father,” I state, looking back out at the dark sky, taking in another drag.

Waiting for the nicotine to kick in and calm my mind.

The stars are twinkling tonight, like they’re begging to be wished upon, but I stopped making wishes years ago.

None of them ever came true. And the only thing I want now is the only thing I’ll never be able to have.

“It’s your funeral, princess.” He shakes his head.

Princess . Oh, how I once believed I was.

Maybe I am in some sick and twisted way.

The princess locked away in her ivory tower.

Only, it’s not really a tower, and I don’t exactly have ladies-in-waiting catering to my every whim.

It’s a ten-by-ten box with paper-thin walls and a sheet metal roof, and the ones who cook and clean are girls not much older than me.

Girls who strut around nearly naked, wanting to spread their legs for all the knights.

Hoping they’ll be made an “old lady.” Some of them may actually get their wish. Lucky .

And then there’s my father. Who may very well be the king in his own world, but he is not noble. He is a corrupt and ruthless ruler who shows no mercy for anyone who crosses him. If you don’t obey, you pay. And the punishment is never worth the crime.

“Let him dig my grave,” I say, taking another drag.

Ripper’s already buried me ten feet under the weight of my jealousy tonight, he may as well throw the dirt into the wound and rub the truth of my pain in further.

That’s exactly why I’m out here smoking.

I came out of my room to get a drink and found him fucking Cherry.

Buried deep. Grunting hard. His entire body locked tight.

He didn’t even notice me in the room—too caught up in the heat of his moment—so he doesn’t have a clue I’m out here having a smoke.

I pull out another cigarette and use the butt of the one in my mouth to light it.

“You doing okay, Rory?”

I laugh, a raw and ragged sound. No, I’m not okay.

I’m never okay. I’m the daughter of an MC president who has a hit over her head.

I’m an eighteen-year-old girl who doesn’t get to go anywhere because it’s “too dangerous.” Girls my age get to go shopping with their friends.

They get to have their nails done and go to sleepovers.

They see movies in theaters and attend school dances.

I don’t get to leave the compound. Ever .

I don’t get to go to prom and wear a pretty dress, dance the night away with some handsome guy.

The idea is as fictional as my childhood delusions.

And this spring, while everyone puts on a cap and gown and attends their big lavish graduation ceremony, listening to inspirational speakers talking about the incredible adventures they’re about to have, and then going to parties afterward to celebrate their big accomplishment, I’m going to print my online certificate, walk outside to a bunch of hoots and hollers, eat some barbecue, and watch the guys haul some sweetbutt onto their laps and practically fuck them right in front of me.

The men will get drunk and crazy, the jealousy will grow too heavy, and when I finally can’t take anymore, I’ll shlep myself down to my room, lock my door, and listen to the sounds of wild sex and heavy metal music blasting in the background as I drown in my loneliness and cry myself to sleep.

“Yeah, I’m peachy, Raid.” I take another drag of my cigarette, desperately wanting to feel something as I stare up at the moon.

It’s almost full tonight. A gibbous. Though, that little piece of information will never do me any good.

Hours spent in front of a computer, taking online classes, for what?

I’m never going to go to college. My father will never let me go out and get a job.

So, what was the point? My brain is filled with useless facts that will never do me any good.

I’m trapped. A prisoner in my father’s world.

Raid takes a seat next to me, patting me on the head like I’m a child.

They all see me that way. I’m their little princess.

Not a young woman about to turn nineteen.

Not a girl who has dreams and aspirations, who wants to live life and experience the world.

I have wants, feelings, and needs, but I’m trapped in their overprotective bubble.

Too young. Too na?ve. Too weak to protect myself.

“You want to tell me what’s going on, sweetheart?”

He yanks the cigarette from my hand and takes a drag, not giving it back. Thief .

I don’t really want to talk about it. What’s going on inside my head is a fucked-up mess. A world of confusion and utter chaos. Forbidden thoughts that are strangling my emotions.

Ripper has been like a father to me. He’s been my guard, my protector ever since I was a little girl.

But somewhere along the way, my feelings morphed into an insane longing.

My emotions stepped into the dark, traveling down that forbidden path, and now I’m lost. I can’t find my way back.

And tonight, I got the pleasure of watching him fuck the queen bitch of all the groupies, “Cherry.” His favorite sweetbutt.

And I hate her for it.

She hasn’t paid her dues. She hasn’t spent years with him, getting to know what makes him tick or where he came from.

What his past was like. She doesn’t know the reason he joined the club.

She doesn’t know anything beyond the black leather cut and dark tattoos.

All she sees is his incredibly handsome face, dark hair, toned body.

His intense eyes. She doesn’t deserve to be with him.

And yet, she was the one gripped in his possessive hold.

The one getting to feel his intense power as he fucked into her.

She was the one receiving his pleasure. Feeling the tension of his desire.

She was the one connected to him in the most intimate way.

“I’m just worried about my dad,” I lie, realizing Raid is still waiting for me to speak. Still looking at me with so much concern crinkled around his thoughtful eyes.

“He’ll be fine, princess. The East chapter just needs some help with a few things. I’m guessing King will be back in a couple weeks. A month tops.”

A month? I thought he was only going to be gone for a few days.

That’s long enough for me to take a trip and get back before he even finds out I was gone.

But Ripper would never allow it. Honestly, he’s worse than my dad.

Stricter. Grumpier. Although, when he’s dick deep in that slut, he’s oblivious to anything concerning me.

I could’ve walked off the compound and he wouldn’t have known.

Though the guards would’ve alerted him the moment they saw me coming.

Then he wouldn’t have just been pissed I broke the rules, he’d be pissed I interrupted him.

“Raid, what’s Disney World like?” I no longer want to think about the villain inside the clubhouse. The one terrorizing my thoughts.

Disney is a place of magic. It’s where all the fairy tale princesses live.

My only female role models as a kid. I used to watch the classics on repeat, studying their smiles and the way the princesses held themselves.

Learning how I should behave as one of them.

I used to think I was as smart as Belle, as sweet as Cinderella, and as strong and brave as Merida.

And I looked like Elsa with my long blonde hair, but I had Ariel’s big blue wondrous eyes.

But now…I’d say I’m more like Rapunzel. Locked away from the world, staring out at the sky and seeing how vast the universe is, but never knowing any of its beauty or wonders.

My universe is a total of two hundred acres with barbed wire fencing lining the perimeter and a few warehouse-looking buildings scattered throughout the property.

Although, there are a bunch of beasts in my world.

All rugged and burly with their long hair and grizzly beards.

Bodies covered in tattoos, marking their anger, reminding them of their past sins.

Raid crushes out the butt of the cigarette and flicks it across the yard. The sweetbutts will be cleaning them all up tomorrow when they’re on trash duty. Pity .

“I’ve only been there once as a kid.” He hugs his knees. “But I remember it being one of the best days of my life. The rides were fun. Every section was themed. It was a good time.”

Sounds exciting.

“Do you think I’ll ever get to go?” It’s a far-fetched dream. One I wished upon the stars one too many times as a kid.

He turns to me, sighing. He’s always been the nice one. My two guards: Ripper and Raid. Ripper: demanding and controlling. His strong jaw locked tight. Dark eyes glaring. Watching everyone who crossed my path. Shoulders stiff with tension, locked for war. And always telling me “No.”