Gypsy Kiss: Micah Part 39

When we arrived, Eli pulled up across the road and Kris and Luca immediately jumped out, running over to the pier and disappearing through the gates, as we had planned. Eli, Nic and I simply waited and watched.

Minutes later, Jewls arrived, looking around her nervously, but not seeing us from our slightly hidden position. Looking at her I had my first pang of regret. Getting her involved in this was quite possibly the dumbest thing I could have done. She looked broken, emotionally spent. She stood by the gates looking so lost and so alone, it hurt like h.e.l.l to see her like this. I had often sworn to her I would always look after her. This wasn't looking after her.

I groaned and Nic looked at me suddenly. He was clearly agitated, clearly wis.h.i.+ng he could be anywhere else in the world.

"What, what is it?"

"Hold on a sec." I took out my phone and wrote out a quick text. I knew it wasn't part of the plan, but I was going on instinct.

Jewls. Go inside the gates. Ur not alone in there, it's ok.

I sent it and moments later she checked her phone, looking around her suddenly, her eyes settling on us in the car.

"d.a.m.n it, Micah, that wasn't the plan! If she gives away our position, he'll realise something's up and that's that!" Eli snapped.

"He also has to go in there, Eli! And if she isn't in there, he won't will he? We need him cornered."

"Yeah, but-!"

"Shus.h.!.+" Nic interrupted, "Look!"

I looked to where he was pointing; a white car had pulled up. Seconds later a man climbed out and I got my first look at Andrew Dempsey. The man who had murdered my brother.

Rage filled me from deep within and I made to get out the car again, struggling with the handle with my stupid bandaged hands.

"Wait, Micah!" Eli hissed. "What until he's in there. Better yet, why don't you wait in the car? Let us handle it."

"f.u.c.k no..." I said, my voice filled with venom.

We watched as Dempsey looked around him, not seeing us, and then walked towards the gate to the pier. The minute he stepped inside, Nic nodded.

"Okay, let's go."

We got out of the car and marched across the road, side by side. I hoped and prayed that Luca and Kris were in a good position and that between us we could corner him and make this short and sweet.

As we walked through I became aware of something I hadn't really considered before in this plan there really wasn't a lot of light, just moonlight really and a vague reflection of the streetlights out by the road. It worked both for us and against us. He didn't see us coming, but at the same time, we couldn't see perfectly what we were doing.

"Jewls what's your game? Time to go, wifey." He said, and I heard Jewls say, "I just wanted a last look at the sea."

"Thought I'd come down and say goodbye." I said, loud and confident.

Dempsey whirled around to the sound of my voice, looking me up and down and then Nic and Eli. He smirked at me and it made me want to throw up.

"Didn't I murder you? Oh...no, no...my mistake." Incredibly, he winked as though finding that deeply amusing. I lunged at him, only vaguely feeling Nic holding me back.

Dempsey took a step back, holding both hands up defensively.

"Whoa, steady there Micah. What exactly do you think you're gonna achieve with those poorly hands of yours huh. You didn't want her, she's coming with me. So say your goodbyes and then walk away."

I shook my head. "I'm not here to say goodbye to Jewls. I'm here to say goodbye to you. Because if you seriously think you're leaving this pier alive? You are even more delusional than I thought you were."

He scoffed at that, still completely unfazed by us being there. "Well...I'm not sure you can match your mouth with very much, with those...terrible injuries. So...two on one, you know what? I will take those odds."

"Think you'll find there's five of us." Kris said, and he and Luca stepped out from the shadows behind Andrew and Jewls.

Andrew turned in a full circle, observing us all as we began to close in on him, and smirked again. He glanced at Jewls, who was shuffling from foot to foot nervously, not looking anyone in the eye.

"You set me up, huh? You thought this would work." He scoffed again and shook his head. "You stupid b.i.t.c.h."

"Hey!" I snapped. "You don't get to speak to her like that! Jewls...go to our car and wait there."

She moved to do just that, when, incredibly, he grabbed her ponytail, pulling her back to him. She let out a yelp of obvious surprise and pain that made my chest constrict with anguish. "I will speak to her however I like. She's my wife. Why do you care, you didn't want her either. I'm taking my wife home, which is wherever I am. And you boys need to run along home. Because it would be awful if that went up in flames too."

I lunged at him and he took a step back, dragging Jewls with him. His feet were close to the edge of the pier, right near a spot where the railings had rusted and broken away. I don't think he realised how close he was, but Jewls did, her fear was evident in her eyes. She shot me a pleading look, and I felt Eli on my arm, holding me back.

That was when I heard the sirens, distant at first, but quickly closer by. I didn't look behind me but I immediately knew they were there and I immediately knew why. Mari. I didn't know if I was angry with her or relieved. I hadn't factored in just how much danger Jewls would be in, and that was my error. Certainly none of this was going to plan. We had allowed ourselves to be driven by emotions negative emotions and this vile man in front of us was in danger of turning us all into men we were not. Violent men, men like my father. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Mr Dempsey? You are surrounded by the police; we need to ask you a few questions in connection with a fire at Carousel and the murder of Marco Machvaya on the fifth of November. I highly recommend that you step this way and come of your own accord. There's no way out, you have no other option."

He didn't move, none of us did.

"Boys, if you could step away and come this way. We'll take it from here."

I looked up at Kris and Luca, who were looking at me as though waiting for me to give them direction. I nodded discretely at them and they edged past us and were gone.

"Micah..." Nic said quietly and I shook my head.

"Not leaving Jewls with him."

"Go, Nic we got this..." Eli said, standing closer to my side in support. I think we had something similar in mind somehow get Jewls away from him, and then let the police have him.

When the s.h.i.+t actually hit the fan, it was quick and completely unexpected for all of us. I guess the whole thing lasted less than three or four minutes, but they were amongst the worst few minutes of my life.

Jewls The whole thing had descended into a complete nightmare. I was relieved that the police showed up before any of the boys could do anything to get themselves hurt or in trouble, but at the same time Andrew now felt cornered and threatened and angry...and none of those things boded well for me in particular. He would, as always, blame me for everything and through his physical contact one had on my pony tail and one on my hip I could practically feel his raw anger.

I don't remember ever coming up with a plan in my head, I don't remember putting any thought into it at all. My reflexes had always been pretty lousy and actually I still think they are. Because what seemed like a good idea in the split second it came to me, almost got me killed.

I moved my arm forward and brought it back with as much force as I could possibly muster. It connected at exactly its intended target, right in his groin.

"Ow, you f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h!" he yelled at me, and as I tried to move away from him, he grabbed me again.

What happened next is, to this very day, a blur. It feels like it happened to someone else, like watching a movie. I can only go on flashbacks of memories that come to me occasionally during that state somewhere between awake and sleep, just before you drift off.

Andrew tumbled off the edge of the pier, knocking me off my feet as he went, and keeping a hold of my left foot. I felt myself sliding fast towards the edge, the sheer weight of him dragging me with him.

I screamed, I screamed until I had no air left and then I screamed again. I had one hand on the pole, but I was fast losing my grip. Just as I let go, I felt the weight of Andrew gone from my leg and my hand was caught. I looked up to find Micah had a hold of me, his face contorted in a grimace of agony. He was holding on to me with both hands both heavily bandaged hands and I couldn't begin to imagine how much pain he must be in. Moments later Eli had me too, and together they pulled me back up onto the pier. I went to look behind me and Eli shook his head.

"No, no...don't look. It's okay, you're safe."

I let out the breath I had been holding, evidently the last one I had, and then everything faded to black.

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Jewls The next time I woke up, it was to the bright lights of a hospital room, and a doctor smiling at me.

"Welcome back, Jewls. How are you feeling?"

I frowned. "Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on? What time is it?"

"It's seven thirty in the morning. You pa.s.sed out last night, and it's taken us a while to get you awake again. When was the last time you ate properly, Jewls?"

"Uh..." I couldn't think properly, no matter how hard I tried to focus my mind. "I dunno...uh..."

"Do you remember what happened? You had quite an ordeal."

I did, all of a sudden, or at least I thought I did. But it felt like it had to be a dream. In my mind I could see Micah looking down at me, holding on to me as I hung off the...

Oh my G.o.d.

"Andrew-"

"Um...I will let the police discuss things with you. In the meantime, rest. We did some tests to make sure there were no underlying issues behind you fainting. How far along are you, Jewls?"

"How far along what?"

"Your pregnancy."

What the f.u.c.k?

I scoffed. "I'm not pregnant."

He looked at me carefully, almost smiling. "Yes, you are. Your bloods say you are. You didn't know?"

For a moment all I could do was stare at him. I was in complete and utter shock, and then finally I was able to shake it off.

"I have polycystic ovarian syndrome. I was diagnosed when I was nineteen. I have...if I am lucky...maybe two periods every six months. I can't get pregnant."

Now he did smile. "Well...you defied the odds. Congratulations."

I sat back, trying to get my head around what he was saying. "This is..."

"Is it not good news?"

"The timing...um...are you sure?"

"Yes, we're sure. Listen Micah is outside and would like to talk to you. Can I send him in?"

"Micah's here?"

"Yes, he was worried about you."

I felt a sudden panic then. "Does anyone know...have you mentioned this to...?"

"No, and we won't. But...if you like we can do a scan, determine how far along you are and arrange for you to see your midwife as soon as possible. Discretely, would you like me to do that?"

I nodded slowly. The scan would show nothing and they would realise their mistake I was sure of that. "Okay..."

He nodded and wrote something on his clipboard. "Okay, I'll send Micah in, and then the police may want a word."

He left before I could think of anything else to say and shortly after Micah came in, looking uncomfortable and tired. He was dressed in a black tracksuit, trainers and a black woolly hat, and even managed to make that look s.e.xy. In spite of everything, in spite of all the stress and heartache of the previous few weeks, I still reacted with b.u.t.terflies in my stomach when I looked at him; still felt that magnetic pull towards him, only now it felt more like a dull ache. He was beautiful, pure and simple. Only now he was a beautiful mess. His hands bore fresh clean bandages.

"Hey Jewls..."

"Hi..." I swallowed. "Look, I don't remember it properly but...you uh...saved me right? Thank you."

"You think I would have let you fall?"

"No...Andrew, did he...?"

"He lost his grip on you. Hit the water, and the rocks...they fished his body out the water, but he was dead. He's gone."

"Oh..." I felt oddly numb about that. No anger, no sadness...nothing.

"Yeah. It's over. Are you alright, Jewls?"

"Yeah fine. Just need to eat something and rest a bit."

"I'll call Mari, have her make something, bring it in."

"No, there's no need. Not your job, or hers."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

I shook it off. "Never mind. So uh...are you okay?"

He nodded a little. "Yeah, I guess so."

"What did the police say?"