Page 52 of Gypsy's Lady
Strength and love
Gypsy, present day
On his knees next to Kelsey’s body, Gypsy ran trembling hands gently along each of her limbs in turn.I found her. Thank you, God. I found her. The words circled through his head, still stunned by the blast that had taken out half of the Malcontents’ clubhouse. Prone on the floor, she appeared to have multiple bruises and scrapes,but no obvious breaks. The blood under her head was already growing tacky, dust from the decimated buildingsettlingin the pool and forming a gray skim across the top.
What if she isn’t okay?
He couldn’t imagine life without her. Cupping one hand underneath her neck, he held her firmly as he bent close. Thumb lifting one lidthenthe other, he assessed her pupils and breathing. Reactive andsteady. A moment later, she jerked in his arms, a cough forcing its way out of her lungs and he watched her face closely, relieved as she blinked up at him, recognition clear in her eyes.Thank you, God.
“Wh-what happened?” To his still-ringing ears, her voice was thready at first, but even with so fewsyllables,it had grown stronger by the end. “Gypsy? What happened? The building. Oh, God,what happened?”
“There was an explosion.” He flattened a palm in the center of her chest, gently holding her in place. “Stay still, Kels. Let me make sure you’re okay.”
She tried to brush his hand away. “I’m okay.Myhead is pounding, but that doesn’t matter. What do you mean the building exploded? We’re inside still.” She struggled against his hold. “Let me up, Gypsy.”
“I just want to be sure—”He cut off, having to use both hands now to keep her on the floor. “Kels, stop it. Stop fighting me.” Gypsy bent close. “Your head was bleeding.” He tried to convince himself such a forceful argument had to mean she was okay. “I need to know you’re okay.”
“Gypsy, there’s been an explosion. People will need help. Let me up.” She stared at him, bright blue eyes flashing with fear andquickanger,demanding her way with a forcefulness he’d never seen from her before. “I’m fine.”
She’s okay. She’s really okay. Relief flooded throughGypsyandheshiftedhishold, curling fingers around her arms and shoulders.
“Belle.” Blue Line called in the distance, voice coming from the most damaged part of the building. “Where the fuck are you?”
Gypsy kept focused as he leaned in a little nearer,holding Kelsey’s gaze while he closed the distance between them. Soft as a whisper, he brushed his lips across hers, coming back for a second pass that carried more pressure, held more of a demand. Her eyes widened, then her lashes sank to touch her cheeks, lids hiding her sky-blue eyes. He kissed her a third time, savoring the taste of her even in the chaos that surrounded them. Pulling back, hetold her, “Give me this, darlin’. Let me make sure you’re okay.”
“Okay.” Her response came on an inrush of air. He fumbled around the back of her head while her eyelids fluttered open and closed before sticking on open. She had a small gash behind her ear, already clotting, hair matted to the side of her head. “How’s my head? Am I okay?”
So much more than okay. Without responding to her questions,Gypsythrusthisarms underKelsey’sshoulders andknees,liftedherfrom the floor and cradledhertohischest. “Let’s get outside. Get out of whatever this is.” The scent of burning plastic was much stronger when he was standing, the smoky air concentrated farther away from the floor. She didn’t protest, just rested her head on his shoulder, her nose brushing the side of his neck.
Outside,the scene was even more chaotic, firetrucks and police cars already scattered all over the lot. Since the blast had been along the backside of the building, the area where their bikes were parked was untouched,andhe walked that direction. He found Bear, Tugboat, and Maggie already there, Maggie tending to Tug’s wound, which looked much like Kelsey’s.
“What happened?” Tug barked the questionandGypsy shook his head, glancing around at the milling crowd of Malcontents members. No one approached their little groupandGypsy let Kelsey’s legs down carefully, slowly setting her feet on the ground. “Dammit, Gypsy, buildings don’t blow up on their own.”
“Did you see anything?” Gypsy hadn’t. He’d been by the bar with Blue Line, having fled from Kelsey not even an hour before. “It lookedlike it was the back hallway that took the most damage, over by the pool tables.”
“Hurley and Mela walked off, headed to pay their respects to Blue Line before they hit the hay. I turned to ask Mags what she wanted to do and the next thing I knew I was on the floor.” He ducked away from Maggie’s fingers with a scowl and muttered, “Dammit, woman. That fucking hurts.”
“Bear?” Gypsy turned to him,drawing Kelsey against his body, back to his chest. He supported her with his arms, letting her lean back against him. “Did you see anything?”
Shaking his head, Bear grimaced. “I was sitting at a table with Carter, got blown against a wall. Table tumbled over and protected us against the worst of the shrapnel.” He shrugged, the movement exposing a gashonhis shoulder, broad swaths of blood streakeddown his arm. “I didn’t see much. There was a guy by the tables just before, talking to Blue Line’s old lady.”
“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 worldthese 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’reokay? 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 liftedandshe pointed a shaking finger towards a group of men near the ambulance. “Let’s go help.” Threading her fingersthrough 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 withGypsy’sacross 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 theycould 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 knowbywho.”
***
Less than anhour 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 easilyfound 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.
