Gypsy Heat: A Gypsy Beach Novel

by Jillian Neal

  “You little bitch!” He lunged for her, but she wasn’t walking away bruised and battered this time. Oh, hell no. He was going down first. She landed her heel against his crotch and knocked him to the floor. She’d almost made it to the door, but he grabbed hold of her ankle and rooted her to the floorboards.

  Grady leaned forward, willing Wind Dancer to move faster. The tides were carrying her further and further away, and whoever had cut those ropes had to be in the boat with her. He watched the houseboat tip to the port side and air seized in his lungs, but it spun and stayed upright. The storm coming in wasn’t making this any easier.

  The boat tipped and water rushed through the doors. Nadya toppled backwards, giving Peter the advantage. He leapt, pinning her to the ground with that hollow fury in his eyes. Grabbing the largest of her micro-torches from the work station, he held it up over her face. Her eyes goggled, but before he could bring it down to strike her, she rolled and kicked her legs out, knocking him off balance as the boat tipped again.

  Grady was almost there. His heart echoed against the recesses of his mind. How was he going to get her off of that boat, and who the hell was on there with her?

  Suddenly, his heart refused him the next beat. His entire body reached outward, but he wasn’t close enough, and flames lit from the generator on the back of the boat. “Oh my God!”

  “You are a worthless piece of crap! I have no idea how I could ever have been so blind and so stupid!” Nadya spat as she tried to figure out how her idiotic ex had just set Grady’s boat on fire accidentally. The gas from the generator must’ve sloshed inside the boat when it tipped. Peter had fallen against the counter. The torch had flared, and now they were either going to die by drowning if they jumped into the rapidly rushing tides, or by fire if they stayed on that boat. The fire extinguisher was in the cabinet that was burning.

  Deciding she’d take her chances on the water, she stomped on Peter’s face as she crawled up on the bed. She managed to kick out the marine windows, but he wouldn’t let her crawl through. He’d managed to cling to the bottom half of her body as she wiggled the top half out the window. “Peter! We’re going to die if we stay on this boat that you just set on fire. Is that what you want?”

  “Yes! I want to die with you. You’re mine. That’s what we said, ‘Til death do us part.’”

  “I never said that. I mumbled through some nonsense I don’t even remember. Let go of me!” She kicked hard and heard something crack as he groaned in pain. She’d hoped it was his jaw, but it must’ve been a few teeth because he continued taunting her.

  “No!”

  Suddenly, Nadya saw something that flooded her body with hope, with love, and with enough Gypsy fire to save herself. Wind Dancer was flying faster than she’d ever seen it go. Grady was coming. She wasn’t alone. She’d never be alone again.

  “Nadya!” She barely heard him shout her name over the roaring waters beating against the boat. Heat licked at her legs that Peter wouldn’t release. “Come on, angel! Jump!” Wind Dancer sloshed against a rip tide, but Grady steered it expertly through and managed to ease it beside the houseboat.

  “He won’t let me go!” she screamed with every bit of Gypsy in her blood.

  “I’ll kill him.”

  “Here.” Beau shoved Grady towards the bench seats. “I’ll get you beside her. Jump up on the deck and pull her out. I’ll stay beside you as long as I can. Just get her back in here.”

  With another resolute nod, Grady handed his boat over to Beau. Keeping hold of the windshield to stay balanced, he stepped up on the benches and leaned, but the houseboat was too far.

  “I’ll jump in and swim.” He called over the roar of the motor.

  “No! The tides are too rough. I’ll get you closer. Even you can’t swim these,” Beau commanded. Expertly, he eased the speed boat to the side and managed not to hit the houseboat, but got it close enough that Grady made it to the back deck railing. As his feet hit the flooring, the front half of the roof top deck collapsed from the fire. He clung to the back rails to keep from toppling into the Atlantic.

  Twenty-Five

  Steadying himself, he grasped Nadya’s hands as she screamed in terror. “I’ve got you. Just hang on.” Horrified at what he might be doing to her, but more afraid of what would happen if he didn’t get her off that boat, he braced against the back rails and jerked her through the window. Something was holding her back, but he’d moved her through to her thighs.

  She was sobbing. “I’m so sorry, angel. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “It’s Peter. He won’t let me go.”

  Fury ignited the blood that surged through his veins. He leaned in. “So help me God, you motherfucking asshole, if we all survive this, I will tear your body limb from limb and drown every piece I remove in a different ocean.” With that, he heard the front half of the boat sever and begin to break apart. They were out of time.

  “Hold on, angel. One more time, okay?” Using every ounce of muscle in his well-formed body, he jerked her the rest of the way through the window and cradled her in his arms. He turned, and to his shock saw Beau staying right with the remnants of the houseboat. Wind Dancer never lost speed and remained ever steady and ever faithful, just like his little brother.

  As gently as he was able, Grady hoisted Nadya out over the water and set her on the bench seating before he spun and saw her ex trying to escape through the same window he’d tried to keep her from.

  Unmitigated gall exploded through him like a lit fuse. He drew his fist back and slammed it against the asshole’s face, knocking him out cold. The sound of his cheekbone snapping wasn’t enough to satisfy Grady, but he’d take care of the rest when they got back to the docks.

  Not wanting murder on his conscience, he called himself an idiot for pulling the puny douchebag out of the window and hurling him onto Wind Dancer like the piece of trash he was.

  What remained of the houseboat spun awkwardly and Beau had to jerk Wind Dancer away to keep them from crashing. The houseboat tipped and Grady barely managed to hang on. Frantically, he searched for some way to get back to Wind Dancer. Just before he decided to jump and let the tides do what they were going to do, Beau grabbed an old pole from the floorboard of Wind Dancer and extended it outwards. Grady grabbed the opposite end and pulled the speedboat back towards him.

  “Grady!” Nadya screamed. “Please! Please!” She was sobbing. Refusing to lose everything he’d worked so hard to gain, he jumped and fell forward on the deck of Wind Dancer. Beau caught him and kept him from tipping over the other side.

  The houseboat erupted in flames as it washed out to sea.

  Beau banked the speedboat back to shore as Grady wrapped Nadya tenderly in one of the quilts they’d used the evening before on their makeshift bed. He cradled her in his lap and let her cry. She clung to him fiercely, keeping her face buried in his neck so she didn’t have to see Peter’s lifeless form lying on the floor of the boat. Rocking her back and forth gently, all he could manage to do was thank God that they’d survived.

  Beau slowed the boat and let them have those moments to try and absorb all that happened. “Well, looks like the cops finally made it,” he sighed as he pulled Wind Dancer into the slip and tied it securely to the dock.

  “What … happened? Who …?” Nadya couldn’t manage to talk or make sense of much just yet.

  “Shh, let’s go find out, okay? I’m right here.”

  “What are we going to do with him?” She choked and pointed weakly to her ex.

  “Oh, angel, I’m gonna take care of Peter. Don’t you worry.”

  Nate met them on the dock. “Pops came here. He walked.” The relief in his tone spoke volumes, but he stopped short as Grady stood with Nadya’s form cradled against him.

  “Her thighs are hurt. I had to jerk her through that back window of the houseboat. She’s bleeding.”

  “Here.” Nate leaned and accepted Nadya gently. His muscles flexed as he cradled her just the way Grady had. “I�
��ve got you. Grady’s getting out, okay? He’s right behind us,” he soothed as Grady lifted Peter from the back of the boat. Nate picked up the pace as Peter started to come around.

  Grady wasted no time flinging Peter on the cold concrete bay floor and landing his heel on his nose just before he brought it down again a foot and a half lower. That crunch was far more satisfying. “That’s for what you did to her before you got here. I haven’t even started to make up for that little stunt you pulled out on the water with my fucking boat.” He lifted Peter’s head off of the concrete and stared into his malignant eyes. “You were in my speedboat the other night, weren’t you? She knew you were there. My beautiful Gypsy angel is brilliant. She always knows. That’s her Gypsy blood. Bet you hate it all the more now, don’t you? What’d you do, dive in fast when you heard me coming?”

  He took Peter’s choked groan as confirmation.

  “If I let you live, you will never, ever come near her again. She is mine. You got that, asshole? All mine. Always. Forever. If I ever even see you on this side of the country again, I’ll kill you, and I sure as hell won’t get caught.” With that, he dropped his head back to the concrete. He swung his fist hard, shattering Peter’s jaw, and then landed one last kick with enough force to crush several ribs before he joined everyone in the office. He grabbed a rag and wrapped it around his bleeding knuckles before Nadya noticed.

  Nate had kindly gotten her a large bottle of cold water. He was gently tipping it to her mouth, when she would lift her head off of his shoulder for him.

  The arrival of the police had awoken most of Gypsy Beach. Mac, Molly, and Sienna were all fussing over Nadya, but she reached for Grady as soon as she saw him.

  Smiling as he blinked back tears, he lifted her back into his arms, settled in the seat Nate had occupied, took the water bottle from his brother, and cradled her in his lap once again.

  “So, this is Sean Kilgore, the guy I beat the shit out of last year, as in Sheriff Kilgore’s son,” Beau declared triumphantly. Indeed, Sheriff Kilgore was withering behind his son, who was now in cuffs. “There was a reason we got into a fight. He wouldn’t leave Mia alone.”

  “Sean graduated with me. He kept asking me out, but I’m in love with Beau, so I kept telling him to go away. He wouldn’t listen. He hated Beau. That’s why he set him up. I’m so sorry.” Mia looked devastated. She hadn’t let go of Beau since he’d returned.

  “I can’t believe you chose some filthy Gyp with no money over me. Your parents should disown you,” Sean huffed.

  Every single person inside that office that claimed Gypsy blood, and a few who didn’t, narrowed their eyes in on Sean.

  “Prejudice like that is taught, Sheriff,” Mac stated succinctly. “You aren’t born thinking that way.”

  “My last name is Deardon. I’m the mayor’s daughter. I didn’t really know how she’d react, so she doesn’t know about Beau,” Mia admitted hesitantly. She swallowed down deep regret.

  “I do now.” Suddenly, the mayor and her husband entered the office. “Are you telling me that your son has now broken into a total of sixteen houses and set fire to two sheds, Sheriff Kilgore?”

  “Well, he did have a few friends helping him. Seemed they liked the extra cash up front, but when people leapt to the conclusion that it had to be somebody living on Gypsy Beach, Sean figured if he could make Mia believe it was Beau, she’d break up with him,” Bevins supplied the rest of the story.

  “And that, right there, is why we do not convict people without evidence, and why we do not go into a situation having already decided who’s guilty and who’s innocent, Mayor.” Ryan McNamara bellowed from behind Sienna. A very sleepy Evie had her head on his shoulder and was sucking her thumb.

  “Precisely!” Nate huffed in Sinclair’s face. He hadn’t spoken, still terrified Nadya would out his stunt from earlier in the week.

  Grady smiled as his eyes fell to his father, who was snoring in one of the old office chairs. He leaned down, trying to keep anyone from hearing him. “Do you need to go to the hospital, angel? Or I can get an ambulance out here. I want someone to look at your thighs.” Her hips had to have at least been bruised as well, but he wasn’t going to point that out in a crowd of people.

  “I’m okay, just scraped up a little,” she whispered and buried her head further in his chest.

  “Do we have the friends that helped rounded up?” Mayor Deardon demanded, though she was shooting Beau scowls that said she wasn’t pleased, but wasn’t going to announce that in a room full of Gypsies.

  “Yes, ma’am. They’re on the way to the precinct. Sean sang like a little bird for his Daddy.” Bevins rolled his eyes.

  “Then get him out of here. I’m sure these … people,” she gestured to the room at large, “would like to get some sleep.”

  She turned to Beau and her daughter. “Let’s go, Mia. We’ll discuss all of this later.” Her body actually shuddered as she seemed to consider whom her daughter had chosen as her romantic partner.

  “No,” Mia defied. “No, I’m not leaving, Beau. Not now and not ever. Grady’s girlfriend got hurt, and Pops got lost, and one of their boats was taken. I don’t know what happened to it yet. I need to be here with his family right now. I love him, and he needs me.”

  Grady watched Beau’s jaw tense, but he stood steadfast beside her.

  “Mia.” Her father’s stern voice irked Grady.

  “No!” she came right back.

  “Mayor, trust me, trying to keep her from him will do nothing more than drive a wedge between you two and could set about a series of events that will spin both of their worlds so far out of balance they may never recover. I know. I’ve seen it happen with my own two eyes.” Mac offered Grady his hand, which Grady gratefully accepted while he kept his other tenderly steadying Nadya. “You can’t stand in the way of two hearts that were meant to be one.”

  “By the way, there is another guy in the bay that definitely needs to go to jail.” Beau turned his attention to Bevins, though he kept his arm firmly around Mia’s shoulders. “Let’s see here, attempted manslaughter, felony theft of a boat, abuse and battery, arson, domestic violence, and just generally being an asshole, would be the charges.”

  Grady nodded his head adamantly, and felt Nadya grin against his collarbone.

  “You got it.” Bevins and two other officers headed into the bay, where Peter had recovered enough to get to his knees but was still groaning in pain with every breath.

  Twenty-Six

  “We have an appointment in like an hour, angel. I’m gonna finish this and then get a shower. You go on and get ready.” Two months later, just after Labor Day and the end of the regular season, Grady was helping Nate and Nadya rip up the last of the shag carpeting from his father’s old house.

  Quite a bit had changed, but the decision on the house had been all Nadya. Perfectly willing to do anything she wanted, Grady had readily agreed when she’d explained that it was the only place she’d ever truly felt at home.

  “I want to help,” Nadya argued before checking the new phone in her pocket. Unable to contest with the clock, she stood and wiped the sheetrock dust from her completely healed thighs. There was a slight scar on her hip, a symbol of her strength and of all she’d survived. Grady doctored it each night with arnica and with his tender love. It was rapidly fading as well.

  “We’re almost finished, angel. Go on and get cleaned up,” he urged.

  This would be their sixth appointment with the psychologist. She was being treated for Post-Traumatic Stress, and he hadn’t missed a single appointment. He’d be with her every step of the way, just as he’d promised. He was also begrudgingly being treated for depression. They’d opted out of drugs for their issues and had found a doctor that worked with them in other ways. They were both already noticing dramatic improvements.

  “We’re meeting in town and having dinner with Pops tonight, right?” Nate asked as he batted away a cloud of dust that danced in the lazy sunlight coming through t
he dirty window in the back bedroom of what had become Grady and Nadya’s new home.

  After Beau finally shared how serious Pop’s dementia had become, they’d all agreed that he had to be placed in a home that could care for him twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The facility was expensive, but they were all chipping in, and it was worth it. Pops had shown some slight improvements.

  Grady had willingly accepted a large investment from Nadya in the company. Beau had dropped out of school and was currently making money hand over fist renting out the ten jet skis, two wave runners, and an endless supply of paddleboards they’d purchased. Renters lined up each day every day, much to Grady’s shock. Mia, who was obtaining a business degree, was handling the office and rentals like a pro if Beau was out on one of the ships. The rentals on the jet-skis had extended their season. People weren’t booking fishing trips as often now, but locals came by to rent the small watercraft constantly.

  Grady had proudly handed over the keys to Gemini to Beau. Nadya had pointed out that Gemini stood for two brothers unwilling and unable to live without the other. After everything Beau had done, Grady deeply understood the legend.

  He was rather proud of the brand new, 50 ft. fishing boat they’d put a down payment on with the insurance money from the houseboat. He’d quickly christened it the Lucky Angel. He and Nadya had combined both of their incomes, which had dramatically increased. They were paying the mortgage on the boat together.

  Mystic Mermaids regularly sold out of Nadya’s bohemian beach jewelry. Now that she could really relax and was content, her Etsy shop and website had constant customers. Her income and the new watercraft provided nicely for all of their needs and wants. Still not ready to be on her own for lengthy periods of time, Nadya sailed with Grady every time he left port. Having his lucky angel on Lucky Angel was his definition of heaven.