“You okay? What the fuck happened here?”
She nods, her breathing coming quick. “Thank God you got here when you did. Sylvia broke in to steal the key. Found it, too. Tess wasn’t going to let her leave with it, though.”
“You walked in on her in the act?” he asks, staring down at me.
I shake my head and pull away. “You’re not the only one who can set a trap, mister.”
His brows lift. “You knowingly put yourself in this danger? And my baby along with you?”
I swallow. I should have expected his fury. “We had to. It was the only way.”
“You almost got yourselves killed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I should tan your hide for this. I would if you weren’t carrying our first child.”
I go still. “First?” I whisper.
Hayley grins ear to ear.
“We’ll discuss that later,” Gypsy says.
“Well, before you two plan your family size, what are we going to do with her?” Hayley asks, gesturing to Sylvia’s prone body.
I frown, searching the floor. “Where’s the key?”
Gypsy rolls Sylvia’s body over, and the key lies under her.
I grab it up.
“Where was it?” he asks.
“Hidden in my mother’s old bible up on a shelf.”
Hayley goes into the family room and returns a moment later, holding the bible open, her eyes big. “Check this out. Listen to the verse it fell open on… For the love of money is a root of all evils.”
“Wow,” I say as Gypsy pulls me to my feet.
“So, you’ve got the key. Now what?” he asks.
“I need to go to the bank and get in that safe deposit box.” I frown. “Wait a minute.” I brush past him and out the door. I dash to Sylvia’s car and find my mother’s purse on the front seat along with her wallet and the driver’s license I’ll need to get in. I gather it up and return to the house. Holding up the ID, I say, “Now I just need to go to the bank.”
“You sure you can pass for your mother?” Gypsy asks.
I hand him the ID. “You tell me.”
He studies it and me. “Close enough I guess.”
“Will you come with me?” I ask him.
He glances down at Sylvia. “First we have to take care of this bitch.”
“What are we gonna do with her?” Hayley asks.
“Where’s your car?” he asks her.
“Down the street.”
He lifts his chin to the door. “Go get it. I’ll find something to tie her up with, and we’ll take her to the clubhouse until Tess gets her hands on whatever’s in that safe deposit box.”
“We better hurry,” I say, glancing up at the kitchen clock. “The bank closes in an hour.”
Gypsy looks at me. “Got any duct tape around here?”
Ten minutes later, Gypsy has Sylvia wrapped in a sheet and carries her out to the car. He loads her into the trunk, slams it closed, and steps back. “Let’s go, ladies. Follow me.”
Hayley gets behind the wheel, and I slide in the passenger seat. Gypsy fires up his bike, and we pull out after him.
A pounding comes from the trunk, and I glance over at Hayley.
Her eyes get big. “Her hands are duct taped behind her back. How is she pounding?”
“With her feet?”
“They’re duct taped together.”
I shrug. “Guess she’s kicking both legs.”
We pull up behind Gypsy at a light. He glances in his side mirror.
“Fuck,” Hayley hisses, looking in the rearview. “A squad car just pulled behind me.”
“Stay calm,” I whisper. “He probably can’t hear her.”
“Come on, light. Change, damn you,” she hisses.
Finally, traffic starts moving, and we make it to the clubhouse. Gypsy parks and comes over, meeting us at the trunk. The pounding starts up again.
“She been doing that long?” he asks.
“The whole way,” Hayley replies and pops the trunk with the fob. The lid flies up, and we’re staring down at a pissed off Sylvia. Her gaze hits Gypsy, and her eyes get big. She starts thrashing really hard, then.
Hayley grins at him. “Guess she doesn’t like you.”
“Maybe she foresees her future,” he replies grimly.
I put a hand on his arm as he reaches for her, stopping him. “Wait. You’re not going to kill her, are you?”
“She pulled a knife on you, babe,” he reminds me.
I see the absolute unwavering determination in his eyes. “Gypsy.”
“She deserves the same fate as her old man, Rat.” His gaze returns to Sylvia. “Maybe she’ll end up right next to him.”
“And where’s that?” Hayley dares ask.
“Ain’t for you to know, honey. This is MC business now.”
“Gypsy, no.”
He stares into my pleading eyes. “How did you think this was going