Gypsy

by KJ Dahlen

  “We have to keep it that way. You of all people know what I do and I don’t want her being used as a pawn against me if someone makes the connection. Tell her, I’ll be there before breakfast.” Shay promised then ended the call.

  Pappy grumbled to himself about this can of the worst worms, he’d seen in a while as he went back to tell the group. He sat down and looked at Gunner and the others, “I got Trudy looking deeper into the group. She can connect them to espionage, weapons dealings, and other shit so far but we need more if we’re going to shut them down for good. She’s going to freeze Dino’s money and make it look like his employers took it all.” He shook his head. “I also put a call into Shay and he said he’d be here by breakfast.”

  “Does he know about the test these people wanted Dad to do?” Inez asked.

  Pappy nodded. “That’s why he’s coming right away.” Looking over at the others he said, “All we have to do is keep her undercover until he gets here.”

  “Dino already knows she’s here,” Gunner told him. “He’s already taken a pot shot at her.”

  “I don’t understand.” Pappy frowned. “How did she come to be here in the first place, if I can ask?”

  Gypsy chuckled. “She tried to hijack my ride.”

  “What the hell?” Pappy growled. “Explain.”

  Inez tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded. “I was running from Dino. I’d seen him earlier, so I knew he was here. Staying in the shadows, I made my way around behind a bar on the edge of town. I was hoping to find a safe place to hide when I saw this bike. I thought if I could get it started, I could escape, but...” She turned to stare at Gypsy. “...he caught me attempting to hot wire it. Since I didn’t know what I was doing, it didn’t take much to stop me.” She shrugged. “Anyway, when he confronted me, Dino found us and took a shot. Gypsy shot back and I tried to hide.”

  Gypsy stared at her while she spoke and shook his head again.

  She motioned at Gypsy. “He found me and brought me here. They took care of the wound and allowed me to stay. Then I told them I had to get in touch with John and I was surprised to find out they knew him. I didn’t want to drag them into this mess but Shay called and then things kinda went crazy. Someone took a shot at me. I had to tell them what was going on.” She looked over at Gunner. “He said to wait until you guys got here, so they are only hearing this now as well.” She spread her hands out. “Now, everyone knows what they need to know.”

  Pappy nodded. “Then why do I have a feeling this is only the beginning? That there is so much more to this story that you have yet to tell us about?”

  Inez looked straight into his eyes and informed him, “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

  Gypsy continued to study her face and he could read in it that there were secrets she was trying hard to hide. She not only was bad at hotwiring, she was a bad liar as well. He knew, as did every man sitting at this table. There was more she wasn’t saying. He looked over at Gunner and saw his slight nod.

  Chapter Six

  Inez glared at the plate of food Gypsy set down in front of her. It was way too much. After barely eating for the last four months, she agreed to start eating again, but smaller amounts would have been better than a full plate. What were these men thinking? That she could eat like them? Like a big biker? She shook her head.

  She pushed the plate in front of him, smiling at his stunned look and went to the buffet table to make her own plate. She came back with half a plate full and began to eat. He pushed a glass of juice in her direction but all she could do was roll her eyes and take a sip. “So what happens now?” she asked him after a couple of bites.

  “Now, we try and stop this group and we hunt this Dino character then take him out of the equation. Plus, when Shay gets here in the morning, we give him the evidence and he can help to figure out what our next steps will be from there.”

  “We have to stop whoever this is from putting that poison into Lake Pontchartrain.” She growled. “If even one person loses their life over this...its murder plain and simple.”

  Gypsy scoffed as he sat back in his seat. “Honey, there are people out there that just don’t care. It sounds like this group are those kinds of people. They threatened your life and your dad’s life to make their point. Dino killed your dad and doesn’t plan to stop until he kills you too.”

  Inez sighed. “I know. I may have been sheltered in life after we lost my mom, but I’m not stupid. I traveled with my dad all over the world when I was a kid. I used to watch him work all hours of the day and night and he taught me to fight the good fight and never give up on anything I truly believed in. He showed me if I couldn’t get in one way, to go around and get in another way. He taught me to pick my own battles and to take a stand for what I thought was right. That I should never back down when the going got tough and that one day, I might have to dig in my heels and stand tall, even if the stand I was taking wasn’t the easiest or most popular. Well, I never forgot his words and when he told me to bring his stuff here, I did just that. Dino almost got me several times on the road here but I was determined to do what my dad taught me to do and by god, I got here.”

  Gypsy stared at her for a long moment then had to ask, “Is there anything else you know that might help us track these people down?”

  She paused then looked away without answering. Suddenly, she felt tired. Looking down at her plate, she was surprised to see it was almost cleared. She had finally gotten a full belly and now, she needed to sleep. She felt safe enough to sleep.

  Gypsy had been watching her closely. “Come on, you look about ready to keel over where you’re sitting. I’ll show you to a room.” He got up and took her hand. Leading her down the main hall, he stopped at one of the rooms. Opening a door, he motioned her inside.

  It was a nice room, the walls were painted blue and grey and the massive bed looked so comfortable. She walked over to it and sat down. Looking around, she began to notice the small details of occupation. She turned her head toward him and asked, “Does this room belong to you?”

  Gypsy nodded. “Yeah, it does. I brought you here as Gunner said I am to watch over you until we get this mess sorted out. Our suites come with a huge bathroom and a semi smaller room we use as a closet but a rollaway bed can be put in there, you can sleep in there if you want. I’m not going to attack you if you choose to sleep in here though. You’ll be perfectly safe either way.”

  “Why would I ever think otherwise?” she asked him quietly. “Maybe I just don’t want to be alone right now.” She lowered her head with fatigue and let out a sigh.

  Gypsy knelt at her feet. He tipped her face up to him. “You're not alone anymore sweetheart. I got your back. We all got your back.”

  Inez nodded and closed her eyes. “I’m just so tired. I never felt safe enough to sleep very long, you know?”

  Gypsy leaned forward and brushed his lips over her forehead. “Go to sleep then. I’ll watch over you tonight and every night that it's needed. I swear to you.”

  Inez nodded and unbuckled her belt. Pulling off her jeans, she laid down. Her whole body relaxed and she groaned with satisfaction as she felt that letting down feeling.

  Inez was asleep before Gypsy even lifted her bare legs and covered her up. He couldn’t help but look down at her and wonder how she’d even survived the last four months.

  She didn’t appear strong enough to walk thousands of miles but she had. Using the shadows and darkness of the night to hide her path she had endured so much to get here, to keep to her late father’s request. She could have called Grizzly to meet her anywhere along the way and he would have.

  But she didn’t. She came all this way because her dad told her to. He never met anyone else quite like her. For the first time since he lost Gwen, he was beginning to care again. Shaking his head to dismiss his thoughts of his dead wife, he peered down at her again.

  He would always love his wife no matter what else happened. It had taken seven years since s
he had been ripped away to even care again. Now, he’d made a promise to watch over another woman. What was he thinking?

  He turned and went back to the main room. A few of the brothers were still there. He grabbed a beer from the bar and went over to sit alone at a table in the corner. It was his coping method. He always had a moment alone just before he went to bed. But tonight, he felt restless. Maybe he was ready for a change, or maybe he was just finally tired of being alone.

  He’d even surprised himself when he'd ended up taking her to his bedroom. Only Gwen had ever shared his bed. Before and since Gwen, he never let women stay with him. When they did the deed, he always asked them to leave. Only Gwen had ever slept the night with him or woke up with him in the morning. Then after she was gone, he hadn’t made love to any other woman, it had just been sex and not even that often. He couldn’t bring himself to cheat on his wife. She was still deep in his heart and she always would be.

  Now, he had another woman waiting for him. He knew she wouldn’t expect him to make love to her. That was probably the last thing she wanted. It was the last thing he wanted right now too. Maybe he should have taken her to the other bedroom. But it was too late now.

  Gunner came over to his table and sat down. For a few minutes, he didn’t say anything then he spoke quietly, “What’s going on with you?”

  Gypsy took a sip of his beer. “I was in that back alley earlier, thinking maybe it was time for me to be taking off. I didn’t think I could stay here if Skeeter is planning to come back. Was thinking there are too many memories here, memories that hurt too much.”

  “We don’t want you to leave man,” Gunner told him. “You’ve got a home here.”

  “I know,” Gypsy admitted. “This is the first place that I’ve felt at home too. But everywhere I turn, I’m reminded of her and what I lost. The MC should never have allowed that bastard to be arrested. We should have gotten justice for what he did to my woman and it would have been over.”

  “But Skeeter had a job to do too,” Gunner reminded him. “That man was wanted for more than just Gwen’s death. He had other victims out there that needed closure too.”

  “I know. I just couldn’t see it back then. I wanted justice for Gwen. I didn’t care about anything else but my own pain. Then when the Rangers lost him? I thought I would go insane. I actually wanted to track him down myself and if I found him, he was going to die by my hands. The place in my chest where my heart and soul used to be demanded that much.”

  Gunner waited for him to get it all out. He’d known Gypsy for a long time..

  “Then Skeeter called. It took him three fucking months to find that bastard but he never gave up. He tracked him down and the man refused to submit to the law. Skeeter got to do what I wanted to do. He got to end that man’s life. He got to watch him die. I missed that part, so I never got my closure.” He took a sip of his beer. “Maybe that’s why I’m so mad at him. He did what I wanted. It didn’t matter that the man was dead. If he had faced a tribunal, he would have been dead already but we had to follow the law. And because we did, that bastard was able to live long enough to kill another woman.” Gypsy let out a deep breath. “I know in my heart, we did the right thing when Skeeter took him away. I know it, but I’ll be damned, he got to do what I needed to do.”

  “You know Skeeter wants to come back don’t you?” Gunner asked.

  Gypsy nodded.

  “He won’t come back if you can’t forgive him.” Gunner shifted in his chair. “You and he were once like blood brothers should be. You don’t think he died a little the day your Gwen died? He did, we all did. You think for one moment it was an easy decision for us to turn that bastard over to the Rangers? Like hell it was. We wanted to see the bastard die by our hands too. None of us got closure that day.”

  Gypsy felt a moment of clarity when he heard Gunner saying the words he needed to hear. Then fuck, if he realized he’d needed to hear those words seven years ago. He shook his head. “I’ve been a damned idiot haven’t I? I put the blame for her death on Skeeter’s shoulder this whole fucking time, when it wasn’t his fault at all.”

  “No, it was never his fault.” Gunner sighed. “We knew you needed time to come to that conclusion on your own. And I’m glad you finally did.”

  “Question is how do I tell Skeeter?” Gypsy added.

  Gunner chuckled looking behind Gypsy. “I think you just did.”

  Gypsy turned around and found the man in question standing behind him.

  Tears glittered in Skeeter’s eyes but they never escaped.

  Gypsy slowly got to his feet and faced the man he once called his brother. He slowly reached out his hand to the other man. “I want to thank you for killing that bastard. As much as I wanted it to be me, I’m glad at least it was you man.”

  “We all loved your Gwen. She belonged here with us and so do you. I want to come home again, but I won’t if you object.”

  Gypsy shook his head and surprised everyone there by pulling the other man into a man hug. When he released the other man he said, “You’d better come home again. We need you here.”

  “And you’ll stay if I do?” Skeeter asked.

  “I’m staying right here.” Gypsy nodded. “I thought about leaving but I realized I couldn’t go anyplace where I wouldn’t remember her. I’m getting used to life without her and I know it won’t ever be the same again but maybe, it's time to get on with life again.”

  “She would have wanted you to live a full life. Even if it wasn’t with her beside you,” Skeeter reminded him.

  Gypsy nodded. “I’m sure she is pissed as hell with me wallowing in self pity all this damn time.” He smiled briefly. “She would have kicked my ass several times over by now if she could have.” He sighed heavily and said, “I need to let her go and rest in peace and until now, I haven’t wanted to do that. I think I’ve found the reason I needed but until now, I just couldn’t get on with it.”

  “When did you come to that conclusion?” Gunner wanted to know.

  “I was sitting in the back of Scruffy’s last night. Thinking about leaving, when I swore I heard Gwen’s voice in my head. She was giving me hell for even thinking about that shit. I looked around like she was really there and I expected to see her, but instead I saw shadows moving and then I found Inez trying to steal my ride.” He shook his head. “Then I thought I heard Gwen telling me to help this girl. That’s when I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I had to make sure that little girl was safe.” He shrugged. “What else could I do? I got up and bam! Got us involved in some nasty shit.”

  “You saved that young girl’s life last night.” Gunner nodded his head with certainty in his eyes. “She would have died if you hadn’t been exactly where you were. You got her to where you needed to get her. Now, we can stop thousands of people from dying a horrible death.”

  “This is what we do man.” Gypsy agreed. He looked over at Skeeter. “We need all hands on deck to get this done brother. Are you with us?”

  “I’m with you. I’m always with you.”

  Gypsy turned and grabbed his beer bottle. Draining it, he put it back on the table and told them both, “I’m going to bed now. It’s going to be a circus around here tomorrow when Shay gets here.”

  He left both men standing there and made his way to his bedroom. When he walked into the room, he closed the door behind him and stared at the slight figure on his bed. He got through one obstacle with Skeeter, now he faced another one with her.

  He stripped off his clothes and crawled under the sheets. It felt different with someone else in bed with him, not bad... just different. She was laying with her back to him as Gypsy closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. He must have fallen into a light doze because when she turned toward him his eyes snapped open at once. He was laying on his back with his arm above his head. When she moved closer to him, he relaxed again and was able to fall asleep.

  A few hours later, the moonlight found them, bathing them both in its light. It showed Inez l
ying on his chest and Gypsy’s arms were wrapped around her snugly.

  As the moonlight began to fade, neither of them moved away from the other and by the time the sun began rising in the eastern horizon, Inez was snuggled safely in his arms.

  Neither of them seemed to mind.

  Chapter Seven

  Gypsy opened his eyes and for a moment, he didn’t know where he was. He felt a warm body practically lying— yet snuggled up on top of him and he’d thought for a moment it was Gwen. Then he remembered Gwen was gone. He peered down and saw a head of black curly hair resting on his broad chest.

  Inez.

  He slowly turned his head and noticed the sun was up. He felt the weight leave his chest so when he looked down again he noticed a pair of confused light green eyes staring back at him.

  Then she realized where she was. Or rather, who she was almost on top of. Her cheeks flushed and she went to push herself away from him.

  Gypsy stopped her and simply held her in place. “Please don’t run away,” he told her quietly. “Neither of us did anything to be ashamed of.”

  Inez hung her head. “I-I know.”

  He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “Then don’t be ashamed of something that didn’t happen ok?”

  She nodded. “Ok, but I would like to thank you.”

  “For what?” he frowned.

  “I slept last night.” She let out a sigh. “I haven’t slept in so long...I almost forgot how good it feels. I didn’t have to watch my back last night because you said you were there for me. I want you to know...I appreciate that.”

  He grunted and shrugged then thought about it for a moment as he paused. “You know something, so did I. Usually, I have nightmares but I didn’t last night.”

  Inez smiled and shrugged. “Maybe sleeping together helped us both then.”

  Gypsy glanced over at the window which was bathed in full sunlight by now. “We’d better get up, Shay will be here soon.”