Page 1 of Ripper's Property
PROLOGUE
THE PRINCESS DIES
Rory
Growing up, I’d always believed my father was an all-powerful king. The royal leader of our city. After all, that’s what everyone called him: “King.” He made the laws and people would obey. And if they didn’t, they’d have to answer to his court of men. Men who were known as the Savage Knights. Men who my naïve little brain believed were true knights. Their duty: to protect the king and his kingdom. Their uniform: black leather jackets with skulls and crossbones on the back— meant as a warning to anyone who tried to hurt my dad. The Knights demanded loyalty and respect, and they received it.
Everywhere they went, men would cower to them. They would tuck their heads and avoid eye contact. Some even scurried away like terrified mice. Women, on the other hand, admired them, like they were the true king’s guard. They’d smile and bat their eyelashes, always hoping to gain the guys’attention. Always going up and praising them for keeping the town safe.
And then there was me. The little girl living in her delusional world, believing she was a true princess. After all, that’s what they called me: “Princess.” My father told me from as far back as I can remember that I wasn’t like the other kids. I was special. Powerful. And everyone needed to bow down to me. I was the daughter of the king, after all. And if people didn’t treat me with respect, his Knights would “handle” them.
My guards were always with me. Two giant Knights lurking on the sidelines of my life. Always scanning the periphery, ensuring I was safe at all times. Making sure my teachers treated me with kindness and respect, and that kids were nice to me. And just like a princess in all the fairy tales I had ever read, everyone worshipped me. I was loved and adored and spoiled. And I was happy.
But it was all a lie. A true fictional story made up by naivete and delusions.
I was ten years old when I learned the truth. My father woke me in the middle of the night, yanking me out of my huge canopy bed, tearing me from my light pink fluffy blankets. He rushed me downstairs and out the back door of our house into the freezing night air where his “Knights” were waiting. All of them. His entire army of leather-clad warriors. All sitting on their huge, rumbly motorcycles, ready to ride off into battle. Every one of them armed with weapons.
It was all a blur. The chaos. My father’s anger. And the fear that ran down my spine. Something was wrong, but I didn’t know what. All my tired little mind could conjure up was that someone was trying to siege our castle. An enemy was trying to attack and we needed to flee to safety.
God, how naïve I was.
They shoved me onto the back of Ripper’s motorcycle and he slipped his leather jacket over me, whispering that he would always keep me safe. Then my father revved his engine, rolling his finger in the air, and led the pack out. Driving us away from my home. Away from everything I had ever known. Leaving everything we owned behind.
And…we never went back.
The night turned into dawn. The city lights turned into long, dark roads. Buildings turned into rolling hills and tumbleweeds. There was nothing but land for as far as the eyes could see. We drove and drove. Only stopping for gas and food. When I was too exhausted to hold on anymore, the adrenaline of my fear having long crashed, we stopped at a motel. The men parked their bikes in the rear of the building. Ripper carried my exhausted frame into a room. Then I fell into a restless sleep. The deep rumble of voices echoing in my dreams—words of murder, retaliation, and protecting the princess. And when I finally woke up, the sun already high in the sky, another dark night threatening to arrive in a matter of hours, I learned that my fairy tale was over. The nightmare of my reality had officially begun.
It turns out, my father wasn’t the king. He was a villain. And I wasn’t a princess. I was the daughter of the Savage Knights MC President. Not a girl of royal blood, but the mere spawn of a ruthless killer.
1
Rory
“You 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’rebegging 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 goshopping 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.
