Unbeautifully (Undeniable, #2)(24)

Eyebrows raised, Cox glanced at him and he shook his head in response. Marcus had made a big mess and he had to go to ground. It didn’t matter if Mama Vi had used a motherf*cking cannon to gank him, Marcus had one responsibility and he’d failed. Now he was deadweight.

Sighing, he bent down and pressed the muzzle of his nine to Marcus’s temple.

Knowing he was worm food, Marcus began thrashing in earnest. “Dude! Please! Gimme two weeks and I’ll make back what I owe ya! Please, man, I got f*ckin’ kids!”

Ripper snorted. Marcus knew the game, had been living in it his whole damn life, and knew having kids didn’t mean jack f*cking squat.

About to pull the trigger, the front right pocket of his leathers started vibrating.

“Gimme a sec,” he said, tucking his gun back in his pants and reaching for his phone.

“Wat up?”

“Where are you?” Deuce barked.

“Edge of town, at the abandominiums.” Using his shoulder, he held his phone to his ear while he pulled his smokes from his cut and lit one up. “’Bout to do Marcus in.”

“The woman?”

“Ain’t no woman, Prez,” he said around an exhale of smoke. “Big Jay’s little sister outta LA.”

Deuce cursed. “You square that shit?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s that costin’ me?”

“War. And more than likely me goin’ to ground.”

Because Mama Vi wasn’t kidding around. He knew a sociopath when he saw one; that bitch had the same cold, dead eyes Frankie had. Eyes that lit up with a whole lot of crazy only when blood was involved.

“You ain’t goin’ to ground,” Deuce growled. “Not on my watch. They want a war, they’re gonna f*ckin’ get one. Put the word out, club’s goin’ on lockdown.”

“On it.”

“And Ripper?”

“Yeah?”

“Spoke to Dimebag earlier. Eva’s at the club, so’s Cage, and Danny ain’t, meaning she’s home alone. So I need you to grab her on your way back.”

What? No. Fuck no.

“Can, uh, someone else get her—”

“You got somethin’ else to do?”

Fuck.

“No.”

“Yeah, well, the boys got families they gotta get, you don’t. And the less traffic in and out of the gate, the f*ckin’ better. And I ain’t real sure why I gotta explain shit to you that you already motherf*ckin’ know. So shut the f*ck up and go get my daughter.”

“Yeah,” he muttered. “On it.”

He shoved his phone back in his pocket, dropped his smoke onto the dirty carpet, stubbed it out with his boot, and pulled his piece.

“NO!” Marcus screamed. “No! No! N—”

The bullet cracked through Marcus’s skull. Instant quiet.

“’Bout f*ckin’ time.”

“You coulda done it, so stop f*ckin’ whinin’.”

“Fuck off. Was that Prez?”

Ripper nodded. “We’re on lockdown. Go grab your kids and that crazy bitch of yours.”

Cox gave him a sideways glance and grinned. “Jealous.”

After tucking his gun back into his leathers, Ripper used his forearm to wipe Marcus’s blood spatter off his face.

“Dude, ain’t no one jealous of you. Dumpin’ Anna for Kami was like tradin’ in a sweet little kitty cat for a bloodthirsty tiger.”

“Yeah,” Cox drawled, grinning. “Half the time I don’t know whether to come or cry or both, but f*ck me if she ain’t worth it.”

He watched Cox walk off, wondering what bitch on earth would be worth Kami’s level of bullshit and came up empty. That bitch was on a level all her own.

CHAPTER TEN
I was curled up on the couch with my pink fleece blanket, wearing Hello Kitty pajamas, just flipping through the channels when the doorbell rang. I glanced over at the clock. 1:34 A.M. Which meant one of two things—either Eva had lost her keys or there was urgent club business. I was betting on the latter, since Eva hadn’t come home after my father had left her naked and crying on their bedroom floor, leaving me to clean up another one of his messes. Tossing aside my blanket, I shuffled quickly through the family room, the living room, and into the foyer, where I simultaneously flipped on the hallway and porch lights.

On my tiptoes, I squinted into the peephole…and froze.

Ripper.

What was he doing here?

I placed my suddenly shaking hand over my pounding heart and tried not to hyperventilate.

Was he here to see me? Or had he been sent here?

And if he was here to see me, for what? To make sure I hadn’t told anyone about what happened at the lake? To have sex with me again?

I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally berating myself for that errant thought, and how my body had warmed at the mere suggestion of his body…and my body…and—

“Danny,” Ripper called out, sounding annoyed, knocking loudly on the door. “I know you’re standin’ there and I ain’t got time for this bullshit. Club’s on lockdown and I’m here to bring you in.”

Oh.

Oh.

Feeling stupid and strangely hurt, I flipped the lock and swung open the door. With his stature—those broad shoulders, his legs spread, thickly muscled arms folded across his chest—he practically took up the whole doorway.