by Becca Van
Gypsy held her ground as Guy stalked closer to the desk, until his thighs were pressing against the wood frame of the furniture, but she didn’t back up. She crossed her arms over her chest and held his furious stare with a cool one of her own.
“Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t come waltzing in here as if you own the place and sack us after only a few hours,” Guy yelled, and spit shot out of his mouth, hitting her in the cheek. She tried not to cringe when she wiped her palm over her face and then wiped it in the side of her pants.
“I assure you that I can. My father put me in charge and you two aren’t pulling your weight. Your work is shoddy and you’re too slow.”
“Fucking bitch,” Guy roared, and then Gypsy saw stars.
She didn’t even see his arm rise up, let alone his fist swinging toward her face. She cried out as white-hot agony radiated out from her cheek and into her head as she went flying backward and hit the side of the trailer. Her back slammed into the metal window frame and she knew she was going to have a bruise across her spine and back. She gasped in pain as she pushed to her feet and was about to yell for help but Joe and Guy were already leaving.
Joe was practically dragging Guy out of the trailer as he tried to calm his furious brother down.
“Come on, Guy. She’s not worth going to jail for. Let’s get the hell out of here. We didn’t like working for her asshole old man and we definitely don’t want to work for some little slut that has no idea what she’s doing.”
Gypsy gripped the door frame of the trailer and watched until they got to their truck. Guy glared at her and shouted, “This isn’t over, bitch.” He and Joe got into their truck and drove away. As she turned back to the desk she realized that her whole body was shaking. She sank down into the closest chair and tried to keep the tears at bay. It wouldn’t do to be seen crying over getting hit. She needed to be tough to survive in this job and she wouldn’t give in to the tears. When she looked at the desk she saw that the two envelopes with their severance pay in them were gone. The two release contracts were still lying on the desk, unsigned.
She wrapped her arms around her waist and bent over, trying to stop the shakes from wracking her body, but it didn’t help, and even though it was over ninety degrees outside she felt cold to the bone. After the tremors finally subsided she went over to the fridge and grabbed two cans of soda. One she placed against the side of her face where Guy had thumped her and the other she opened and drank from. She drank half without stopping and figured she must need the sugar because of her adrenaline crash. When she started to feel better she walked over to the mirror on the wall and cringed when saw how swollen her face was. Her skin was red but was already turning black and blue in places and it looked like she was going to end up with a black eye, too.
Gypsy sat back down as she finished her drink and when it was empty she tossed it into the recycle bin and then headed back to work. It didn’t matter that her face was hurting or that she was starting to get a bad headache. There was work to be done and nothing was going to stop her from doing it.
She worked until she felt like she was about to drop but was pleased that none of the other men came looking for her. She’d heard the roof tilers arrive, and the plasterers, and was glad when she’d heard Leo and Perry telling them what needed to be done and where to work.
By the time she had the last wall up and the cladding on the outside of the house, Gypsy’s head and face were aching so badly she was beginning to feel sick. Just as she was picking the last of the cladding off cuts up for the trash, someone called her name from inside the house.
She walked around to the entrance just as Leo came outside. His roar of fury had her backing up as he stared at her face and if he hadn’t reached out for her as she tripped and wrapped his arms around her waist she would have landed on her ass.
“Shit. What happened? Are you all right? Where are Guy and Joe?”
Gypsy opened her mouth to answer but before she could speak Leo swept her up into his arms as he yelled for Perry and Ivan. She looked over his shoulder when she heard them come running and they both froze mid stride when they saw her. And then she was being surrounded by all three of them.
Leo knelt and then sat down on the ground, placing her on his lap. She tried to hide her face but his knuckle nudged her chin up.
“What happened, Gypsy?”
“I fired the Wrench brothers.” A hysterical bubble of laughter escaped her mouth before she could tamp it down. “I don’t think Guy was too happy about it.”
“Guy did this to you? He hit you?” Leo asked with incredulousness.
Gypsy nodded and blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay.
“Jeezus, baby. Why didn’t you call one of us to fire those assholes?” Leo snapped out his question but his tone of voice belied the concern he was showing as he rubbed his thumb on her chin.
“Why would I? It was my responsibility.”
“Shit, Gypsy. One of us could have been with you so you didn’t get hurt. Of all the stubborn women I’ve met, you take the cake, sweetheart.”
Gypsy laughed, and then to her horror she burst into tears.
Chapter Four
Perry was so angry that he was shaking. Seeing Gypsy’s face all swollen, battered, and bruised had him full of rage. He wanted to go and hunt Joe and Guy down and beat the shit out of them.
“Ivan, go and finish everyone up and make sure they’re back here bright and early tomorrow morning,” Leo ordered. “Perry, call the sheriff. Gypsy is going to press charges against those fuckers for assault.”
Leo shifted Gypsy in his arms and rose to his feet. Perry reached out and steadied his brother as he pulled his cell off his belt and called the sheriff. By the time he’d finished the call they were back in the office and Leo had Gypsy back in his lap while sitting in a chair. He was a little envious of his brother because he wanted to hold her in his arms, too, but he was going to have to be patient to get his turn with their woman. He walked over to the fridge in the corner, searching for some ice, and after dumping it into a clean towel he squatted down next to Gypsy and his brother.
Gypsy was hiding her face against Leo’s chest while she cried, but after seeing how swollen her cheek and eye were, he needed to get the ice on and hopefully reduce the swelling.
“Gypsy, look at me, sweetheart.” Perry ran his hand over the back of her head and then down over her back. He froze when she flinched and knew she wasn’t just hurt on her face. Leo must have noticed, too.
“Gypsy, look at Perry so he can put ice on your face.”
Gypsy’s shoulders stopped shaking and she carefully wiped her face as she sat up straight and turned to face him. Perry was horrified over the damage to her face but made sure to keep his expression stoic so she wouldn’t feel like he was pitying her.
“Tell me exactly what happened, baby,” Leo demanded.
“Can’t I wait until the sheriff gets here? I don’t want to have to tell it more than once.”
Leo nodded but Perry saw the muscle in his brother’s jaw twitching and knew that he was grinding his teeth. Perry was just as impatient as Leo to hear what those bastards had done to her.
“Sheriff’s here,” Ivan announced as he entered the trailer.
Perry stood up and offered his hand to the lawman and made the introductions.
“I’m Sheriff Casey Ferry. Nice to meet you all. Sorry it’s under such horrible circumstances.”
The sheriff moved to a chair close to Gypsy and Leo and he looked over her face. “I need you to tell me what happened, ma’am.”
Perry and his brothers listened as Gypsy explained what had happened. The more she talked the angrier he became and from the tense look on Leo’s and Ivan’s faces they were just as furious as he was.
When he heard that Guy had threatened her, he didn’t want her going home by herself. He wanted to pick her up, carry her to their truck, and take her home with them, but he didn’t think that Gypsy would be happy if he did
that. After the sheriff had taken her statement, and picture of her face with his cell phone, he informed them he would be back tomorrow so she could sign it. The sheriff nodded toward the door and then stepped out of the trailer.
Perry and Ivan followed him out, leaving Leo to care for their woman.
“I’ll put an APB out for those bastards’ arrest as soon as I get back to the office. I’ll send one of my deputies over to their place and have them brought in if they’re home.”
“Good,” Perry said.
“We were able to get a few prints off that harness and the metal rails but if they were tampered with those men are going to get away scot free. None of the prints were on the database.”
“Damn it.” Ivan spun on his heel and took a couple of paces away before turning back. “I’ll bet my next paycheck that the Wrench brothers were the ones to sabotage that stuff.”
“Why would you think that?” Casey asked.
“Because they hate authority and didn’t like it when Rick rode their asses to do things right.”
“That could be probable cause as a motive.”
Perry nodded.
“I don’t think that little lady in there should be by herself. If those two bastards know where she lives they could come back for her.”
“I agree, but trying to convince Gypsy she isn’t safe alone is another thing.”
“She seems like a strong little thing.”
“She is, but she’s more vulnerable than she lets on. Don’t worry, sheriff, my brothers and I aren’t about to let her get hurt again. Not under our watch.”
“Give me your cell number and I’ll call you when I have Guy in custody.” After exchanging phone numbers, the sheriff nodded and then started toward his car. “I’ll see you all tomorrow morning.”
Perry waved, and then he and Ivan hurried back inside to help take care of their girl.
“I’m fine, Leo, stop fussing.” Gypsy pushed up off Leo’s lap and Perry saw her cringe in pain. Her hand went to her lower back and she flinched when she touched it.
Perry walked over to her and cupped the side of her uninjured face. “You’re not fine, sweetheart. Do you think we can’t see the lines of pain around your mouth, or the way you flinch when you move or touch your back? God, but you’re a stubborn little thing.”
Gypsy glared at him. “Bite me.”
“Oh, I will take great satisfaction in biting and licking you all over, Gypsy, but not before you’re healed, sweetheart.”
Gypsy’s mouth dropped open and she stared at him in shock, but he could also see desire in her eyes. Her pupils dilated and her breathing escalated, and her little nipples went rock hard.
Perry pushed her mouth closed and before she could protest or stop him he pulled her into his arms and held her firmly around the shoulders with one arm and his free hand landed on her ass, pressing her hips in tight against his.
“Ivan, Leo, check her back.”
“Let me go,” Gypsy demanded as she wiggled against him. His half-flaccid cock filled with blood as she brushed against it until he was as hard as steel.
“Stop, Gypsy,” Leo commanded as he and Ivan came up behind her. “We only want to look at your back, baby. Be a good girl and stand still.”
When she stopped moving, Perry wasn’t sure if it was because of Leo’s demand or because she felt his erection. She looked up at him and he winked at her when she blushed. She was so sweet and innocent. He had thought that because of her job she would have had plenty of men in her life, but now he wasn’t so sure. He didn’t think women blushed over anything anymore, but he was glad to be proven wrong.
Perry rested his chin on her shoulder as Leo lifted her shirt up her back and he gasped when he saw the black line across the middle of her back. No wonder she had flinched when she’d touched that spot. The skin was raised in a long welt as well as being discolored.
“Shit, we need to get her to a doctor,” Ivan said as he reached out a hand, but he froze before he touched Gypsy’s skin.
Gypsy pushed out of Perry’s arms and he let her go. Now that they had seen the damage to her petite body, he and his brothers were livid. “I don’t need a doctor. I have to go visit my father and tell him what I’ve done.”
Perry nearly groaned when her top teeth worried her full bottom lip. He wanted to lick his tongue over her tortured flesh and then kiss her until they were both breathless. When she turned away from them he wanted to go over there, pull her into his arms, and never let her go, but he knew he couldn’t. It was too soon for them to make a move on her, plus she was in pain and he didn’t want to compound that either.
Gypsy walked over to the desk and shut the computer down. When she looked up she met his eyes briefly before looking at Leo and then Ivan. “You three wouldn’t happen to know any construction workers looking for a job, would you?”
Leo nodded. “Our cousins have just been laid off. The company they were working for went bust.”
“That’s sad,” Gypsy said as she brushed a strand of hair back from her face, and she winced when she connected with her swollen cheek. “So many businesses have fallen in a heap because of the economy.”
“Yeah, it is,” Perry said and smiled at her. “But things are starting to pick up again now.”
“Yes, thank God.” Gypsy walked out from behind the desk. “Well, I’d better get going. I need to see my father.”
“While you’re at the hospital maybe you should get someone to check you out,” Ivan suggested with a frown on his face.
“I’m fine.”
Perry scowled at her but he could see that she was going to remain stubborn. He and his brothers followed her out of the trailer and waited while she locked up and then she moved toward her truck. She turned to look at them as she opened the driver’s door. “Thank you for helping me. I’ll see you all tomorrow and if you’ll get me your cousins’ phone numbers, I’ll call them first thing.”
Perry and his brothers watched as she got into her truck and drove away. When she was no longer in sight he looked at Leo and Ivan. “Are we going to see Rick, too?”
“You bet.” Leo strode toward their truck. “From what she said about Guy this is far from over. That fucker threatened her and she is living in that house all alone. We all know that the Wrench brothers know where she is staying. We were all at Rick’s house last weekend when he put on a barbeque.”
“Shit. I forgot about that.” Perry got into the passenger seat and Ivan got into the back of the truck. “There is no way in hell she’s staying by herself when she could be in danger. Rick needs to be told what happened.”
“Wait,” Ivan piped up from the back. “I think we should let her visit with her dad by herself. If we go in there trying to take control she is going to get her back up. It would be better to wait until she’s left the hospital to talk to Rick.”
“That’s a good idea,” Leo started the truck and drove off-site. “How about we go home, get cleaned up, and then we visit Rick?”
“We can pack a bag each and when we visit our boss we need to open up with him,” Perry said.
“Are you really saying what I think you’re saying?” Leo glanced at him and then back to the road.
“Yep,” Perry answered.
“Shit. How do you think Rick will react when we tell him what we want with his daughter?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Leo said.
“He may very well give us the boot.” Ivan sighed and when Perry glanced back at him, he could see how tense he was. He knew exactly how Ivan felt, because he was feeling the exact same thing. His whole body was tight with tension and his guts were in knots, but he knew that telling Rick what they wanted was what they needed to do. They wanted their boss on their side from the start.
The most important thing was keeping Gypsy safe and after what Guy had done to her, he couldn’t see that asshole giving up until he had his revenge.
* * * *
Gypsy stood outside her dad’s hospit
al room and took a deep breath. Her face and head were throbbing and she was so tired all she wanted to do was go home, take a shower, and crawl into bed. She knew she was going to catch hell from her old man but it couldn’t be helped. If she stayed away while she healed he would know that something was up. It was better to face the music as soon as possible, because the last thing she needed was for those three Chadwick brothers ratting on her when she hadn’t had the courage to face her father herself.
She pushed the pain to the back of her mind, straightened her shoulders, and stepped into the room. Her father’s eyes were closed and she hoped he was asleep. If that was the case she could leave him a note and put off the confrontation for another day. But she knew it was too good to be true, because his eyes fluttered open and then he blinked a couple of times as if trying to clear a sleep haze from his vision. And then he started yelling.
“What the hell? Shit. Are you all right, pumpkin? What the fuck happened?”
“Dad, lower your voice.” Gypsy turned toward the door and hoped none of the nursing staff had heard him. She turned back to face him again. “I’m fine. Don’t go getting your shorts in a twist.”
Rick pushed up to his elbows, grabbed the controls for the bed, and then raised it up so that he was sitting up more. “Come here.” He crooked his finger at her.
Gypsy moved closer and then sat on the side of his bed. When she noticed the tears in his eyes, moisture formed in her own but she blinked them away.
“Tell me what happened, pumpkin.”
Gypsy began to explain and by the time she’d finished, her dad’s face was red with anger. “Fucking assholes. I hope you reported them to the sheriff. They deserve to be charged for hurting you.”
“I did.” Gypsy sighed. “I didn’t even get a chance to refuse. Once Leo, Perry, and Ivan saw my face they sort of took over.”
“Good. You can trust them, pumpkin, they’re good men.”
“Yeah, I got that.” Gypsy told her dad how much progress she and the others had made on the three houses they had been working on and her father made suggestions to make things easier. She was considering hiring the Chadwick brothers’ cousins to replace Joe and Guy and at Leo’s recommendation. By the time she’d finished catching him up she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. She was about to get up and leave when the doctor came in.