Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Ripley (Ripper)
Moisture clings to the back of my neck, and the thick summer air tests my patience. Doesn't matter. Nothing will keep me from stalking Cassie.
I could say I'm watching over her, protecting her, whatever, but I'm not one to shy away from the truth. I've been stalking this woman for seven years, since Maddox first started dating her.
It started off with curiosity about who could entrance one of my lovers away from our bed. The moment I saw Cassie smile and flip her fiery red hair over her shoulder, I understood. She's stunning. But that wasn't what hooked me. No.
On the second night, I followed her to the club she goes to with her friends. I had the pleasure of watching her shift her hourglass frame between a man and her friend. The punch she threw at the asshole's throat immediately stole my focus.
She didn't see who dragged the guy out back and beat him to a bloody pulp, but that's okay. Cassie may have defended herself with a snarl on her pretty face, yet there's no way she can stomach the shit I do on a daily basis.
I'm the fucking Ripper. I've torn men’s arms from their sockets for simply glaring at an innocent woman. She'll never know I have a soft spot. Hell, Cassie doesn't even know me. Nor has she seen my face.
The focus has turned into an obsession. Each night I twist restlessly in my bed as I wonder what other trouble she might get into. She seemed way too comfortable putting herself in the face of danger and escalating the situation instead of calling for help.
Cassie is a risk for many fucking reasons, but more than that, I fear she's a risk to herself.
Fear. I can't afford to be afraid for someone who will never speak my name. So I watch and feed the feral beast inside me that demands I check on her.
It means nothing. Especially when I force my gaze to look at other women when I'm out. There's always an enemy watching, studying, trying to find our weakness.
Cassie may never know who I am, but I know her, and there's no way in hell she will be dragged into the middle of our silent war. If only I could keep away. My mind would be where it should be. Death and carnage. If only I could stop fucking caring.
I miss the days when I only thought about the guys and my next target. Cassie is a complication we don't need. Little does she know, she's wormed her way right into the center of our problems and has the ability to blow shit up if she's found out.
"Do you fucking see this?!"
My phone vibrates in my hand, so I pull it down and glance at the photo Koa sent. I roll my eyes, trying to force the heat in my veins to cool down. Placing my phone back to my ear, I respond to him. "I'm watching her tits test the corset in real time, Koa."
"I hate when she posts this shit. Should be for our eyes only," he mutters, the click clacking of the keys through the phone annoying me.
Ignoring his possessive comment, I watch Cassie raise her arms above her head and belt out the lyrics of a song I've never heard. This just shows how different we are. I don't even know the music she listens to, and honestly, it makes my head hurt.
"Why does she have to go to the most popular club in Detroit? All those bodies in one building is an accident waiting to happen," Koa continues.
Glancing toward the wall on the opposite side of the dance floor, I catch sight of Bash, one of our club brothers.
When he came to us a long ass time ago saying he had a job offer from the tattoo shop owner to protect his woman, we agreed.
The only stipulation was that he had to keep it quiet.
We can't have anyone knowing about our less-than-illegal lives.
To the naked eye, we need to be seen as vicious drug dealing assholes, even if we're the complete opposite.
Whenever Cassie's friend, Violet, goes out, Bash is called to watch over her. More often than not, one of Violet's husbands joins, which I respect the shit out of. It makes me feel better because then Cassie has more than just me watching.
Stalking. It's different because she doesn't know I'm here watching her plump ass bounce with her excited jumping. Her trim waist makes my mouth water, and my hands itch to yank her corset up to cover her tits.
"Are you even listening to me?!"
"Jesus, Koa. What? Why are you even on the phone with me? You know I'm here watching her."
A low growl comes through the call, shocking me enough to make me stand up straighter. "She's standing too fucking close to that douchebag."
"What are you talking about?" I ask, scanning the area around Cassie. She's arm to arm with everyone on the dance floor.
"I got access to the live camera feeds. Don't ask. She's smiling up at him. Do something, Ripley!"
Needing to focus, I end the call with Koa and shove the device in my jeans.
For just a moment, I question why I should step in. Why I should care. But that goes right up in flames when I see Cassie wrap her arms around a blond dipshit who has no right touching what belongs to us.
Fuck.
Before I realize it, I'm plowing through sweaty bodies and yanking the sweaty man back from Cassie. Doing my best to keep my shoulder-length black hair in front of my face to hide my identity, I quickly allow the crowd to swallow the complaining drunk and me.
With a growl, I shove him into a dark corner down the back hallway. "You keep your hands off her."
"Dude! Calm down! She came onto me!" he blubbers, eyes bloodshot and wide. His hands are up in surrender, as if that can save him from me. I grip him by the collar of his shirt and lean in.
"I don't believe you."
I worry he's about to piss himself, but I continue to loom over him. Surprising me, he continues speaking without much wavering in his voice. "Seriously, bro! She was saying something about moving on and that I would do just fine."
Oh, she's in so much trouble.
"Get the fuck out of here. If I see you near her again, you won't walk right for a fucking year."
The man snorts, his fear fading even as he taunts a monster. "Was that a sexual innuendo?"
I don't know what exactly makes him change his tune, be it the rage in my eyes, the stiffening of my muscles, or the low rumble in my chest, but he walks his words back.
"Oh, shit. Okay. I'm sorry. Seriously, I'm harmless. I won't ever look in her direction again."
Clenching my jaw repeatedly, I try to tame myself. He's a dumbass who was caught in the web of the one woman he shouldn't have. As much as I want to rip him limb from limb for being near Cassie, I won't.
This idiot isn't an enemy, and I'm not all beast. At least not when she's nearby.