Jake the Panty-Ripper (Book 1, the Phantoms MC Series)

∞ bonus chapter: in which ripper is born ∞

She rolled her eyes at me. "You're such a charmer, Jake. Well, since you're here, I need you to bring in some kegs from out back."

"Keg delivery on a Tuesday?" I raised a brow, but I was already on my feet.

Janine shrugged. "We ran out. What can I say? Folks around here love to drink."

Nice, I thought as I followed her to the back of the bar. Working on my birthday.

It was sorta poetic, to be honest. This was my fucking future, and I had to start getting used to it fast. Working at The Wreck. Being part of the brotherhood that came with being a new recruit of the Phantoms MC. Doing shit I'd undoubtedly stay up late thinking about. Rinse and repeat.

But it was worth it, knowing that Baron got out. Kid was smarter than me, in more ways than one, that was for sure. He'd gotten far, far away from this place the minute he could, thanks to being in Advanced Everything. I couldn't be prouder.

Janine flipped the switch that flooded the delivery lot with light.

"Fucking finally, Janine."

Surprise!"

I jumped back, bumping my elbow against the door and cursing.

Ghost, Carter Sinclair and a bunch of our other friends – both recruits and non-members – were standing outside in front of Ghost's truck, motorcycles parked beside it. Had they been outside in the dark this whole time, using their phones as torches, just waiting for me to come out?

"You assholes," I said, feeling a tightness in my chest.

"Couldn't let you spend your birthday alone," said Ghost, clapping me on my back. I winced. It felt like I'd just been hit with a pile of bricks.

"Get in," said Sin, opening one of the backseat doors.

"Where we going?"

"Put this on," said Ryan King, handing me a pink blindfold.

I laughed. "Seriously?" But I put it on, allowing myself to be shoved into the backseat.

***

I'd never been to Haunted Lake at night before, but it was so much more...peaceful. The water was black, and the moon stared at its reflection in it. It felt almost like we were desecrating holy ground by being there.

There were other headlights around the lake, further away from us. I wondered if they knew why it was called Haunted Lake. I wondered if they knew about the bodies that were supposedly dumped out here.

Bree Mason was shimmying out of her Daisy Dukes and I knew just where this was going. The other girls followed suit, running to the water when they were completely naked.

I turned to Ghost. "You know, I would've been perfectly okay with it just being us tonight."

Sin laughed. "You saying you wanna sleep with us?"

"Fuck you," I replied, but I couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "You know exactly what I mean."

Ghost was leaning against the hood of his truck. "Just tryna help my kid brother have a memorable birthday."

I rolled my eyes at him before going to rummage in the truck for a beer, deciding to take the entire case out to the boys. It was gonna be a long night.

"You guys coming?" Bree yelled from the water.

"The water's nice!" the redhead yelled, as if that was supposed to convince us.