“He was still looking for her as we came out,” Gypsy said, scanning the parking lot, seeing federal vehicles entering the area now. “Looks like ATF is already here.”
“Not surprised. Something big enough to blow the backside of a building to smithereens won’t go unnoticed in the world these days.” Tug shrugged away from Maggie again, wrapping an arm around her neck and positioning her much as Gypsy had Kelsey. “Who was looking for who?”
“Blue Line. I hadn’t got to Kelsey yet, but he ran up and said he couldn’t find Belle.” Tipping his head to the side, he winced as he looked at Kelsey’s face, dark red blood liberally mixed with dirt on her cheek and neck. “You sure you’re okay? There’s an ambulance right here, honey. Let’s have you checked out.” She didn’t say anything, just stared through the shadows at the crowd slowly being pushed to an arc behind the cop cars. “Kels?”
She shivered but didn’t look at him. “He hasn’t found her.” Slowly, her arm lifted and she pointed a shaking finger towards a group of men near the ambulance. “Let’s go help.” Threading her fingers through his, she stepped out of his embrace and tugged. “Come on. We’ve got to help, Gypsy.”
Blue Line chose that instant to look up and his gaze locked with Gypsy’s across the lot. “Help me,” he mouthed, and Gypsy nodded, drawing Kelsey along behind him as he hurried to his friend. Blue Line waited until they were within earshot to start talking, but his words were hurried and hushed as they could be, masked from the nearby cops. “Belle’s missing. She’s not in the building, brother. I need you to help me find her.”
“What do you think happened?” Kelsey pushed up beside Gypsy to ask her question. “If she’s not inside, where do you think she is?”
Blue Line looked at her, then up at Gypsy, and then finally back at her. “I think she’s been taken. And I know by who.”
***
Less than an hour later, Blue Line, Gypsy, Tug, Bear, and three Malcontents had gathered at a temporary location not far from the ruined clubhouse, a home the club had purchased at a sheriff’s auction a few years ago. The cops and various federal departments would be hoovering up clues and ideas from the wreckage for days, but it hadn’t taken much to convince the authorities their little group could be easily found if needed. Hurley and Mela had returned to the hotel where they were staying, their plans to head back to New Mexico in the morning. Hurley had been tasked with the chore of alerting the RWMC to what had happened, starting with Opie, his president in Las Cruces.
Kelsey sat in Gypsy’s lap, perched on his thigh as she held a hot mug of tea in both hands. Maggie had cleaned her wound and pronounced it needed stitches, much like Tug’s, but both had waived off any additional treatment, wanting to focus instead on the situation at hand.
Gypsy had let his mind wander over a lot of things on that short ride from the clubhouse, rolling in tight formation with the other bikes, Kelsey pressed tight against his back. He’d kept his hand on her leg, gripping firmly, holding her in place. First and foremost in his mind was Kelsey, and what it meant she’d kissed him back. As it had in the hotel room, her desire for him had rung through loud and clear. She wants me. There was no one else for Kelsey. With that knowledge, he was determined to ensure there would be no one else. She wants me.
He’d been holding back for so long, he wondered if he’d know what to do to loosen the reins now. Then she’d shifted against him and his dick perked up, wanting in on anything to do with Kelsey, and he knew it wasn’t so much a matter of loosening the reins, as not getting run over in his body’s stampede.
She shivered and he tightened his arms around her, coming back to the present. Maggie was pouring the final cup of coffee for the men and the way Blue Line was staring down into the dark liquid, Gypsy knew he hadn’t missed anything yet.
“Who do ya think took your gal?” Tugboat asked, sweeping an arm around Maggie and drawing her to his lap. She curled into him, mimicking Kelsey’s pose. “Did you recognize the description of the man?” Blue Line shook his head. “You got a clue? I’m assuming you do, or else we’d be out beating the bushes looking for Belle.”
“Outriders,” Blue Line muttered, shaking himself. He looked up, pinning each man at the table with his gaze. “Officer in their local chapter has a hard-on for me. That’s why I called Mason in the first place.” He looked at Gypsy. “Norwood.”
“The fuck?” Kelsey shifted on his lap and he realized his arms had tightened around her protectively. “Shhh, honey. It’s all good.” He looked at Blue Line again. “Dirk Norwood? That jackass? He’s rolling with the Outriders? What the hell, brother. Why would he snatch Belle?”
“That H supplier I told you about, the one who had a brother in the Outriders?” Blue Line’s gaze was steady, eyes bright with a hard, angry light. Gypsy nodded. “Fucker’s name is Norwood, too.”
“Jesus.” He shook his head. “You kidding me? His brother?”
Blue Line nodded. His phone rang and he froze for an instant as he stared at the display. “Expected this,” he muttered, and lifted the device to his ear. Harsh and cold, his voice didn’t waver when he barked into the phone, “Goddamned well give me back what’s mine.” Gypsy tensed as he realized what the words meant: Belle’s kidnapper was on the phone. “What do you want?” Terse, gravel-filled words hung in the air, and Gypsy held his breath. “No, Norwood, it’s about something. You don’t blow up a building for nothing.” Tugboat gestured, and Blue Line brought the phone down, tapping a button on the screen as he placed it on the table.
“—ing I fucking want, asshole. And I haven’t been Norwood for a long, fucking time. Maybe I wanted to call and catch up. Old times’ sake.” Through the speaker, across the years, Gypsy still recognized the arrogant lilt of Norwood’s voice.
“You’re right, you ain’t been Norwood. That man at least had some honor. Know what I’ll call you now? Deadwood, because that’s what’s going to happen.” Blue Line’s jaw was tight and he scowled when Gypsy made a “bring it down a notch” gesture. They didn’t need to antagonize the man, not if he actually had Belle. “What do you want, man. I want what’s mine back. You know how I am.”
“Selfish asshole. Always wantin’ to keep the best for yourself.” A staccato sound in the background swelled and grew recognizable as someone’s panting breaths. “This one’s still got spunk, man. Kudos to you for not beatin’ it out of her yet.” A yelp sounded, cut short and Blue Line bent his neck, head turned to the side away from the phone. Kelsey was trembling as she twisted to push her face against Gypsy’s throat, her shoulders hitched with silent sobs. “I can take care of that for you, before I give her back.”
“Jesus.” The whispered word burst from Blue Line’s lips, and mocking laughter drifting from the phone said Norwood had heard him clearly.
“Hey, man, you got Tatum there with you?” Gypsy tensed, opened his mouth and then closed it at a brusque gesture from Blue Line. “He’s quite the character, ain’t he? High and mighty these days, going around and saving girls left and right. Doctors to hookers, oh, wait. That was the same one. He’s quite the character. He standing right there? He listening to me?” Silence reigned for a beat, then Norwood laughed, sounding unbalanced somehow. “Keep him with you, yeah? Him and the girl? Ain’t her accent a hoot? I heard she made a good pet, guess that’s why he’s kept her so long.” Gypsy ground his teeth as Kelsey stiffened, every muscle in her body became rigid. “Yeah, keep him with you.”
His cool tone belying the devastated look on his face, Blue Line asked, “What do you need from me, Norwood? I already told you, I want what’s mine. What will it take?”
“I want my fuckin’ brother back. Want him out and free. Can you do that?” Blue Line’s gaze met Gypsy’s and he shook his head, one short, sharp arc side-to-side. Not possible. Norwood laughed as if he could see them, the harsh sound echoing from the phone’s speaker. “Guessing that’s a no, then. Funny how you managed to get him run upstate so easily but can’t bring him back. Well, we both k
now how the wheels of justice turn, don’t we? They turn and grind and spit out the damaged parts no one can put back together. You can’t hand back the years you stole, but you can do something for me. I have a shipment coming in tomorrow. Tomorrow, man. I need palms greased on the docks, and I want the goddamned container brought to my place without me having to dick around with anything. Can you do that for me? You do that for me—” another hoarse yelp, followed by a breaking sob, Belle’s voice nearly unrecognizable, “—and I’ll give you back what you’ve claimed. I’ll even guarantee while she might be bent, she won’t be broken. How’s that for a promise? Huh? So tell me,” his voice turned to a sneer, “Blue Line, is that a deal you can get behind?”
“How do you expect me to do that in a day? A single fucking day? Jesus. Fucking impossible.” Blue Line gestured to one of his men, mimed holding a phone to his ear, and then took the device offered him. He toyed with the apps on the screen for a moment, then pressed a red button. “Where do I get the info on the shipment?”
The voice on the phone rattled off a series of details. Numbers and names, directions, nothing that made sense to Gypsy. Then Norwood said, “You get me that, and I’ll call you back, tell you where you can retrieve your property. Like I said, you’ll want to keep Tatum close.” There was a gasp, then the sound of a fist meeting flesh, and the call disconnected.
“Fuck.” Blue Line stood with a shout, chair tumbling over behind him, neck arched to stretch his face towards the ceiling as he screamed, the sound raw and animalistic. Kelsey cowered more, shoulders rounding as she pressed close to Gypsy.
“Brother.” He kept his eyes on Blue Line, hearing movement in the room around them, but not caring what else was going on. “Keep your shit together.”
“I am together.” Words gritted at the ceiling from between clenched teeth, Blue Line grabbed at the hair on either side of his head, yanking hard. “This is me not storming out of here, even though every fucking fiber of my being tells me to go and find my woman and bring her home. This is me trying like fuck to keep my shit, because if I get this wrong, there’ll be war, and if there’s war, every one of my men has a target painted on their backs. I can’t do that to them, to their families, so yeah, brother, this is me holding my shit together best I fucking can.”
“How did he know I was here?” Gypsy scanned the room, pausing for a single breath on each face, seeing only confusion and concern. No guilt, nothing to point to anyone here. “We only rolled into town today. And the things he said?” Claudia and Kelsey mentioned in the same breath by a man from his past. “How the fuck could he know?”
“I don’t fucking know. I only told Moby you were coming. Hurley didn’t even know, not from me.” Blue Line shuddered. “I don’t know, brother. Did you hear her? Did you hear what I did?” Mouth twisted to the side, Blue Line reached out and picked up the phone, hesitating as if he wanted to smash the device. “He’s hurting my Belle, Doug. My Blue Belle.”
Blue Line sucked in a hard breath through his nose and held it, then blew it out silently, bringing his shoulders down as he dropped his gaze to meet Gypsy’s. Pain was written on his face, stark and raw, and it hit Gypsy like a blow.
“You love her.” The words were out before he could catch them, and Kelsey tensed in his arms.
“Yeah,” Blue Line returned softly, “I love her. I saved her. Even before I loved her, I wanted to save her. Brought her back from the brink so many times, helped her wrestle her demons until she could deal. But in saving her, she saved me, too. Yin-yang, brother. Give and take. That’s what love is. That’s what I’ve got with Belle.” His face hardened, lips pressing together so his mouth was a bloodless slash across his face. “I’m getting her back. Gonna bring my baby home.”
Bring my baby home. The words danced around Gypsy’s head, resonating with him and he dipped his chin to find Kelsey staring up at him, resolve gathering in her eyes. Before he could say anything, she’d pushed away from his chest, sitting upright as she stared at Blue Line. Chin up, she asked, “How can we help?” We. Gypsy rocked back, stunned by the realization that she believed them to be a unit, something he’d longed for.
“Honey—” Something stopped Blue Line and he shut his mouth as he studied Kelsey closely. “Kelsey, I appreciate the offer, but—”
“I was taken.” Loud, ringing through the room, her words pulled all movement to a halt. “Taken and kept and treated like so much meat for anyone’s amusement. So, if anyone knows what Belle’s going through, it’s bloody me. Now, sit down and tell me how we can catch this cunt and get our Belle back.” Gypsy grasped her chin in his fingers, turning her to face him. Lips trembling, she stared at him for a moment. She lay two fingers across his mouth, silencing him for a moment. “He wants to bring his baby home, Gypsy. We’re going to be part of that, okay?”
“Darlin’,” he started, but she shook her head with a tiny movement, chin firmly clasped in his grip. “I was just going to say how proud of you I am. But you’re not going with.”
“Oh, yes I am. Did you hear the wanker on the phone? He knows who you are. Who I am. I can’t sit on my arse and be the reason someone…Belle, be the reason Belle gets hurt worse than she already is. The noises she made…I just can’t, Gypsy.” She stared at him. “It’s not who I want to be. I want to be…” She trailed off, her gaze going to where Blue Line stood watching them. Her voice was stronger, and he realized she hadn’t stuttered once since taking up this argument. “I want to be the Kelsey I should have been, before Baxter. As if it never happened.”
“It did happen, Kels.”
“I know that. God—” She reached up to brush his hair back, fingers sinking to his scalp on both sides of his head, gripping and holding on. “I know that, Gypsy. But I don’t want it to define me any longer. I need to move past it, like you’ve told me only a million times. I can be stronger. I am stronger. And this is what strong people do. They help their friends, no matter what.” Leaning in, she rested her forehead against his, holding his gaze. “No matter what.”
“I love you.” Kelsey’s eyes widened, and he felt the gasp of air across his lips as she opened her mouth to respond. “You’re so fucking strong, Kels. But you’re still not going with.”
Her eyes glistened and she wrinkled her nose, brow drawing together. “Don’t make me cry. There’s no time for that. We must get Belle back.” Gypsy’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he shifted Kelsey to get at it, pulling it out to see Mason’s name on the screen.
“We will,” Blue Line said, and Gypsy and Kelsey looked back up at him. He was studying them with an anguished expression on his face, corners of his mouth drawn down. “We start now.”
Gypsy tapped the button to connect the call, and told Mason, “Gonna need you, boss.”
There was a pause and then the words he expected. “On my way, brother. Hold. I’m on my way.”
***
Kelsey
Pillow clutched to her chest, Kelsey sat where she had wedged herself into the corner of the bedroom they’d been assigned, and glared at the closed door. It wasn’t locked, but it might well have been for all the good arguing with Gypsy had done. Even Blue Line had sided with Gypsy, and when he’d turned his sad eyes on her, all the fight had gone out of her.
But that was hours ago, and in the planning and talking stages of things, she’d had time to get past that.
Meeting Belle last night had been like taking her first breath of fresh, witty, and blessedly free air. She hadn’t been shy about telling her story, having a sense Kelsey held dark secrets in her past, too. Between Belle and Mela—Kelsey grinned. She’d been laughing and cutting up as if she’d known the two women forever.
Belle told her she sensed a kindred spirit in Kelsey. The women had shared only a few hours together, but the connection had been immediate for them all. Before Mela rode off with Hurley, she’d sought Kelsey out and thrown her arms around to hold on tightly. “I gotta go, but you’re here. Tell me if you need me.” She’d pushed a
paper with her and Hurley’s numbers on it into Kelsey’s hand, then whispered into her ear, “Let me know what’s going on. These assholes won’t think to tell us anything unless we force it out of them. They mean well.” She’d glanced at Hurley standing with Blue Line and Gypsy, “But, sometimes the Neanderthals need a push.”
Kelsey’s ears perked up when she heard a roaring of bikes in the courtyard of the house. That’d be Gypsy, leaving. Arsehole. The meeting place was only a short hike away cross-country, but he would be riding nearly thirty miles to get there via the highway. She’d seen the maps and knew the street in front of the house connected to the park standing between them and the remote location Norwood had selected for the handover of Belle.
It’s only a short hike.
Kelsey shoved the pillow away and rocked forward onto her knees, eyes wide at what she was considering. Norwood had threatened Belle unless his complex demands were met. Kelsey knew Gypsy and Blue Line weren’t going to toe the line on one of them, because they were leaving her behind.
I want to be the Kelsey I should have been.
***
Gypsy
Gypsy stood in the dark drive watching a convoy of headlights traveling towards him. Kelsey waited by his bike, twenty feet away, finger poised to hit a button if things went badly. She’d accepted the device while pinning him with a stare that dared him to ask her one more time if she was certain. She’d made her stance clear, and he’d given her the respect demanded, but that hadn’t stopped him from reaching out with his other hand to cup her cheek. She’d turned her face to press a kiss to his palm, eyes holding his gaze.
How the fuck did we get here? He wanted to turn around and make sure she was still there, still safe, but he couldn’t look away from the vehicles approaching. While keeping his eye on the enemy, he remembered.
Mason and Myron came through the door, startling Gypsy awake. He stood, turning to lay a sleeping Kelsey on the couch where he’d been sitting with her in his lap. “Brother,” he said, reaching for Mason’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled into a tight clinch.
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