Page 84 of Griz Rides Tall

“No, no, Becca,” Ripper said. “You stay. Like I said, I got off on the wrong foot with you when this all started and I want to make up for that. You’re involved with this as much as anyone. You’ve got as much to lose as anyone. So stay.”

“All right,” Becca said, shrugging since her shock at Ripper’s change of heart gave her nothing else to do. “I guess. It’s better than trying to stab worms onto hooks.”

“Yeah, I never took to fishing much myself,” Ripper said. “I’ll just buy the shit at the store, you know?”

Wow, I actually just found some common ground with a guy named Ripper, Becca thought.Talk about unexpected.

“So who’s your gun contact?” Griz said.

“Now I know what you’re going to say, so just hear me all the way out, okay?” Ripper said.

“Okay,” Griz said.

“I know a guy who got me into contact with one of the local reps… from the cartel,” Ripper said.

Griz’s shoulders sagged. “The cartel?”

“I know, man. Just, hear me out.”

“The cartel?” Becca said. “Like, the cartel, cartel? That’s bad, right? I mean, all I know about them is from watchingOzarks, but still. It seemed pretty bad on that.”

“Well, it’s not quite like the TV shows, Becca,” Ripper said.

“Yeah,” Griz said. “It’s worse.”

“They’re just another gang, Griz,” Ripper said. “Another organization. Like us. Except they have access to the kind of firepower we need, and that could shift the balance of this war with Death’s Head in our favor.”

“I don’t know,” Griz said.

“I realize that it seems like an extreme solution. But I’ve had some preliminary talks with this guy, and I think it could work.”

“What are they going to want from us, though?” Griz said.

“Well, we’ll work all that out,” Ripper said. “I have a meeting set up tonight, to check out what they’ve got, and to work out the details of the deal.”

“And if the details don’t look good?” Griz said.

“We walk away. Just like that. If it’s no good for the club, it’s no good, period.”

“That simple?”

“It has to be,” Ripper said. “What I’m after, is to make our club stronger. And I don’t want to see any more of our people getting shot. Not you, not anybody. And that includes you, Becca.”

“Me?” Becca said. “I thought you hated me.”

“You’ve got some fight in you,” Ripper said. “A little attitude. I can appreciate your spirit. It’s always good to have someone around who can keep everyone on their toes.”

Becca was now stunned into complete silence. Ripper, actually being complimentary to her? She was starting to feel like she’d fallen into an alternate dimension. If this sort of thing kept up, she’d have nothing left to complain about concerning the MC.

But Griz seemed concerned about this mention of the cartel, and that had Becca a little spooked. Anyone who made Griz nervous, made her nervous.

“I’ll have to think about this,” Griz said.

“Of course,” Ripper said. “I mean, that’s why you’re out here, right? So you can think? That’s why your old man always came out here.”

“Yeah.”

“Cool,” Ripper said. “I’ll let you guys get back to your fishing, then.”

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