“How many?” Katie promptly asked.
The sound of Mr. Ripton clearing his throat was followed by his complaint of what I expected was his opinion of her inconsiderate nature. “Bug. Damn it,”
“Again, Sir, no concerns here. I have no shame,” I said over my shoulder.
It seemed I had become incapable of prying my eyes from Ripp’s sister. I told myself as I sat and admired her throughout the conversation that I had no business doing so, as she was not only the sister of a friend, but young, and, above all things, a woman.
My eyes and mind, however, argued.
She was a beautiful woman, there was no doubt about that.
“I don’t know how many. I never counted. More than most, I’d guess. I was either in the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the right time. I was wounded several times, and each time it seems death followed. I don’t know,” I said, although I did know exactly how many.
“We had to rescue some trapped Army Rangers on hill 571 in late 2005. I remember on that night there were eight. I didn’t think it would ever end. I got shot as soon as my boots hit the dirt. Took a round in the thigh. I knew it happened, I just don’t really think I cared. I’d been shot in the leg twice already, and I knew immediately this was superficial. I had a job to do, and there were Rangers that were pinned down. We were all they had. Well, it was us and a hand full of SEALS. We got them out of there. That, I suppose, is what was important. But a count? Like a total number? It’d be a guess,” I said.
I broke her stare. As I glanced around the table, everyone sat quietly and stared.
I shifted my eyes back to Katie and continued. “But every one of them? Every one? They had one thing in common. They were trying to kill me, I just got to them before they got to me.”
Still staring directly into my eyes Katie grinned and batted her eyelashes. “I like Marines.”
“You don’t know any fuckin’ Marines, Bug. Leave the man alone,” Ripp growled.
“Michael Allen Ripton!” Mrs. Ripton snapped.
Mr. Ripton scowled at Ripp, turned his head in my direction, and nodded his head. “I like ‘em, too, Bug. Thanks for your service, Son.”
“Shut up, Ripp. I do too know Marines. Well, I did.”
“Bug,” Mrs. Ripton said.
“Just stop, Bug. You don’t know any Marines. Leave it alone. I’m sorry Alec,” Ripp said.
“He was a senior when I was a freshman. I’ll never forget him,” Katie explained. “You knew him too, Ripp. He came here for dinner once. He joined the Marines and went to Iraq. He was some special Marine. Like Special Forces. He got killed, I remember reading it in the paper and they talked about it in church and at school. If you ever went to church, you’d remember.”
“I have no idea who you’re talking about,” Ripp said.
A Marine dying in the line of service was something I was compassionate about, and I was willing to listen to whatever she had to say about it.
She shifted her eyes away from Ripp and once again met my gaze. “I went to that house party, the one I got in trouble for. And Greg Shook was grabbing me. He said I filled out young. He was being a dick. And Billy pushed him and told him to stop. But he didn’t stop - he kept saying stuff - suggestive stuff about me. Billy took him outside and beat him up, and then came in and apologized for Greg being a jerk. I remember his knuckles were all bloody. And he came here for dinner a few weeks later.”
I shifted my eyes toward Ripp.
He shrugged his shoulders.
“And he got married. And his wife had a kid while he was gone. And he never came back,” Katie said.
“Cunningham,” Mr. Ripton said.
A chill ran down my spine. There was no way.
Lance Corporal Cunningham.
Longhorns.
He was from Texas.
Mr. Ripton nodded his head. “I remember him. Big kid. Tall. Bug made a big deal of him kickin’ that Greg’s ass. Billy Cunningham. Yep. He was a nice kid.”
My body went numb. I stood from the table and stared at Mr. Ripton. “Billy Cunningham? Billy Ray Cunningham?”
“Yeah. That’s him. Billy Ray Cunningham,” Katie blurted.
“You went to school with Billy Ray Cunningham?” I asked.
The man had saved my life on a rooftop one day, killing an insurgent who would have shot me had he not stepped in between us.
“You alright, Bro?” Ripp asked.
I stared at Katie, recalling the events of the day on the rooftop. “Billy Ray Cunningham saved my life.”
I turned toward Ripp. I shared the story with him while his trial was preparing to start. I felt if he could understand the process I went through in dealing with death, he could deal with the death of the man who pulled the gun on him.
“I told you about him, on the roof. Remember?” I asked.
He nodded his head and stared.
“Hold on,” Katie said as she jumped from her chair.
“Excuse me,” she said as she ran from the room.
“What’s going on?” Ripp’s other sister asked.
Ripp’s mother shook her head as she glanced toward Manda. “Leave your sister alone, Manda, she’s been through a lot.”
Katie walked back into the room, holding a book in her hands. As she flipped through the pages, she glanced upward. “Here. Come here, Alec. Look at this.”
I walked around the table. As I stepped to Katie’s side, I inhaled the soft fragrance of her perfume. As my eyes focused on the page, goosebumps rose along my arms. Staring back at me, was Billy Ray Cunningham, the man who saved my life.
I swallowed heavily as I stared blankly at the page.
“That’s him. That’s Lance Corporal Cunningham,” I said with a nod.
“What happened? You said he saved you,” Katie asked.
Ripp’s father interrupted. “Bug!”
“I’m squared away, Sir. It’s all right,” I said.
I reached for the yearbook, accepted it as she handed it to me, and held it gingerly in my hands as I looked down at his photo and recalled the day he died. I felt my lower lip begin to quiver as I considered where I would be in his absence.
Although I had no intention of doing so, I began to speak.
“We followed two of them onto the roof of a building. They’d shot one of the Marines on my team as soon as we’d entered the building. It was Cunningham and I who followed them. I had a feeling. You know that deep down in your gut feeling?”
For some reason I paused and turned toward Mr. Ripton. He nodded his head once as if giving me permission to continue. With glazed over eyes I continue to stare down at the page and recite the events of that awful day.
“Well, I was right,” I said. “One of them stepped out from behind a structure on the roof they were using for cover, I missed him. Didn’t see a thing. Billy Ray stepped in front of me and…”
“Lance Corporal Cunningham was struck by enemy fire, and I returned…”
I paused, realizing I was reciting the words that had been written on the daily report. Words that had stuck in my head for years. I took another slow breath, regained my composure, and continued. I needed to tell the story. I owed it to him.
“He acted like it didn’t faze him. I imagine it was adrenaline. Either that or desire. You know, in hindsight, it was probably courage.”
I paused and inhaled a shaky breath. “He returned fire. Hit the guy in the hand, chest, and torso. I returned fire, killing the second gunman. Cunningham died right there on the roof. He uhhm. He had a daughter.”
I glanced up from the yearbook and fixed my eyes on Katie.
“She’s uhhm. She’s probably,” Katie said, pausing as she counted on her fingers.
“She’s probably six or seven now,” she nodded.
“I’d like to meet Cunningham’s wife,” I said as I handed her the yearbook.
“I know where she used to live. I bet I can find her,” Katie grinned as she accepted the yearbook.
I nodded
my head, walked to my seat, and sat down. Most people, if given an opportunity to truly know me, know my inner workings, and know just exactly who I was, would be of the opinion that I was not a man who was close to God. The truth would be quite the contrary. God was my only true guidance in life, and although I often did things people would perceive as evil, I believed I was always acting as a man who administered God’s will. Sitting in the chair gazing blankly across the table at Katie, hoping I may be able to find the wife of the man who saved my life, I began to understand I was exactly where I needed to be when I needed to be there.
Sitting silently, still in somewhat of a trance, Ripp broke the silence.
“If we aren’t focused on living life to the best of our ability, we’re slowly dying a death that’s of our own choosing. The odd thing is we get to pick the course we take. Why would someone choose not to live life at full capacity?” he said.
Kace chuckled. “Wow. I like that. Who said that? I know it’s not a Ripp original.”
“My father. Jack Ripton,” Mr. Ripton responded.
“Come on everybody. Let’s get out of here,” Ripp said as he stood from his seat.
“Where we going, Ripp? Huh?” Austin asked.
“We’re all gonna go pound down some beers, see if we can get in a fight, and then I’m going to take Vee home and fuck her until she passes out,” Ripp responded.
I waited for the axe to fall, alternating glances between Mr. and Mrs. Ripton. Although they said nothing regarding his comment about fucking Vee, Vee slapped her hand against Ripp’s shoulder and gave him the stink eye.
“Michael, we don’t like it when you get in bar fights,” his mother said softly.
“Damn it, Mike,” his father said as he dropped his fork onto his plate.
Ripp shook his head and pressed the web of his hands into his hips. “Pop. Just hold on a minute. Here’s the deal. I can’t change who I am. I like fuckin’ and I like fightin’. Today’s a victory for me. A big one. I’m going to celebrate. Doing the two things I love. Come on, let’s get out of here. Bug, Manda, this includes you.”
As Katie jumped excitedly from her seat, we once again made eye contact. I was pleased that she was going to be included in our evening out on the town.
I was damned sure there wasn’t going to be any fucking on my part, but I wouldn’t have made any promises on the fighting.
I had a sinking feeling two professional boxers, a boxer in training, and a Marine were sure to get into some kind of trouble.
I just hoped I had a few minutes to get to know Katie a little bit better before it happened.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Summer 2014, Austin, Texas, USA
We hadn’t been at the bar for half an hour, and Ripp stood true to his word. He and a half-drunken Austin began running their mouths to a table full of drunken college football players, and within a few minutes, we were in the parking lot.
In the middle of the dark parking lot, between the parked cars and under a lamp pole, Shane and I stood back and watched as Ripp beat the one who had been arguing with him in three punches. The entire time, I was eager to see if my hand-to-hand combat lessons with Austin had been doing him any good.
The arguing match Austin was in eventually turned into what looked like might be a fight, and as it did, I cheered Austin on. The man he was arguing with was an absolute asshole, calling Austin every name in the book, including insinuating he was gay. As Austin reached his limit, he finally raised his hands and warned the guy to prepare to fight.
“Come on, Austin, remember what I taught you,” I said.
“Get him, Steve!” his friend screamed.
Great name, asshole.
Austin raised his hands and circled his opponent. If for no other reason than the man shared the name of my former best friend, I wanted Austin to pound the guy into the ground.
“Kick his fucking ass, Steve,” the other friend yelled.
Katie stood by my side, almost touching me as Austin spread his feet apart and took a fighting stance. As the man swung a punch at Austin, he stepped into him, blocked his arm, and punched him in the base of the neck.
And just like that, Steve collapsed in the parking lot.
“Good damned job, Kid,” I said.
“Who the fuck are you? Their coach? Y’all just come here to beat the shit out of people?” one of the peanut gallery from the idiot corner asked.
“Come on,” I said to Katie as I turned to the side. “Just walk away.”
“I heard you. You better walk away,” he grunted.
There was no doubt in my mind I could beat the guy in a matter of seconds, but I had nothing to prove. Although we had only been at the bar for 30 minutes, I was having a great time talking to Katie, and I wasn’t about to ruin her night.
As we were walking away, I noticed the idiot running up behind us. I tilted my head to the side and waited for him to get close enough to strike him if need be. As I prepared to spin around, he shoved his hands into my back.
Big mistake, asshole.
“Stand to the side,” I said to Katie as I reached down and tugged against the thighs of my jeans.
I spread my feet to a fighting stance and fixed my eyes on his. “You’re going to want to turn around and walk away from this, and I’m going to let you.”
It was his opportunity to correct his mistake. The same one I gave everyone.
“Fuck you,” he said. “You guys beat the shit out of Steve. I’m gonna whip your ass.”
My mouth curled into a smirk at the thought of him even challenging me. I felt it my duty to talk him out of it if there was any way I could.
“That pretty fucker standing beside you whipped Steve’s ass, all by himself,” I said as I nodded my head toward Austin. “And, to tell you the truth, Steve needed it. You see, he has an alligator mouth and a hummingbird ass. He needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut. Now my best advice to you is to go home. This is over.”
“It ain’t over till I kick the shit out of one of you for what you did to Steve,” he said as he doubled his fists.
I coughed a laugh. “You see, that’s where things are getting kind of cloudy for you. You’re obviously confused. You’re not going to win this fight. Not even if you get all your friends to join in. You see, I don’t think I can whip you. I know I can. Just go home. It’s probably best for us all.”
“My pappy always told me the guy that’s a runnin’ his mouth is the one that can’t fight a lick,” he said with a laugh.
I hated to bring the guy’s father into it, but I felt I had to.
“Well, I’m afraid to tell you that this time your father is sadly mistaken,” I said,
“You calling my pappy a liar?”
“Here we go again with the cloudy judgment. I said he was mistaken. I didn’t call him a liar. Go home. Save yourself being disgraced in front of your friends,” I said as I tossed my head toward his friends.
“I’m fixin’ to disgrace you,” he said.
Katie stepped behind me.
“Kick his ass,” she whispered.
“Probably be a good idea if you and those big titties of yours get back away from him so you don’t get hurt, little girl,” the asshole said as she whispered in my ear.
Disrespectful prick.
I stepped forward and swung the heel of my palm into his chest. As he bent over, coughing for breath, I pulled my right hand back, grabbed the back of his neck with my left, and struck him in the base of the neck with my right hand. As he stumbled, I struck him on each side of the neck with the outside of my flattened hand.
As he collapsed, I caught him and prevented him from falling to the asphalt.
Shane Dekkar, who had been quiet all night, shouted. “Holy fuck!”
“It’s gonna be tough, but try and stand up. So you can apologize,” I said.
“Come here, Bug. He won’t hurt you,” I said over my shoulder.
I had struck him pretty violently with what was described by Mari
nes as a knife hand strike, hitting him in the mastoid muscles of the neck. The strike, if properly executed, paralyzes a man for several seconds.
Katie stepped beside me and stared down at the man.
“Now, I know you can hear me,” I said. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. Apologize to the girl.”
He returned a glassy-eyed stare.
“I’m going to count to three,” I said. “And you better apologize.”
“One…Two…Three,” I counted.
“That’s a bad decision on your part, really. Like I said, I know you can hear me. If you try to, you’ll be able to talk,” I explained.
Nothing.
I shook my head. “Austin, come here. Hold him while I light a cigarette.”
Austin stood and stared at me as if I was crazy.
“Dude, you fucked Randy up bad, let him go,” Steve said.
“Steve, you’ll need to back the fuck up, right now,” I said as if I was giving a command to a Marine.
Steve stopped in his tracks.
I widened my eyes. “Austin?”
“Hold this prick up. I need a cigarette,” I said.
Austin walked up behind who I now understood was Randy, and took him from my grasp, holding him upright. Most of what he was doing was a show, I was sure. I had performed the strike on many a Marine as a joke, and the paralysis lasted all of a few seconds.
I lit a cigarette and took a slow drag. As I held it in my teeth, I explained my concerns to Randy. “You see. This is always the problem with certain people.”
I bit into the filter of the cigarette and drove both hands into his neck again.
“Dude, what the fuck? He wasn’t doing anything!” Steve screamed.
“You’re correct, Steve,” I said sarcastically.
I exhaled a large cloud of smoke. “I gave him an opportunity to apologize. He’ll have another chance here in a minute.”
As Austin stood and stared at me as if I had killed Randy, I reached for his arms.
“I’ve got him,” I assured Austin.
“Randy, you need to apologize to the girl. I will count to three again. Tell her you’re sorry for being an inconsiderate asshole,” I said.
“One…Two…”
“I’m…” he murmured.
Hard Corps (Selected Sinners MC #7) Page 10