Free Slade's Desire (White River Wolves Series, #2) by Dawn Sullivan Page B

own.  As she did, she caught the glimpse of a blonde haired, blue-eyed woman, and a touch of love and deep sadness from him, and then it was gone.  Who was she?  Someone very special to Slade, but Gypsy also got the impression the woman was not around anymore, and hadn’t been for some time.  It was as if when Slade thought of her, he was thinking of a past life.
    “You are safe here, Gypsy,” Chase said as he crossed over and shut the door for privacy.  “We need to know anything and everything that you can tell us about the sniper who is targeting the pack.  Whatever you tell us now will not leave this room.”
    Gypsy’s hand tightened on Slade’s nervously, her gaze going from Chase, to Bran, to Jade, then back to Chase.  “I don’t remember him, Chase.  I’m sorry.  I have tried and tried, and even though I feel like I should know who he is, I just can’t remember.”
    “You’re blocking it.”  Jade moved forward and knelt by Gypsy, resting a hand gently on hers over the light pink cast.  “You don’t want to remember him.”
    “Yes, I do,” Gypsy insisted.  “I don’t want him to hurt anyone else.”
    “I know,” Jade whispered.  “You could never harm anyone, Gypsy.  Someone told me once that I’m a healer, not a fighter, and I think that is the case for you too.”
    “I don’t heal people,” Gypsy protested.  “That is beyond my abilities.”
    “You bring them back from death’s door.  If that isn’t healing, then I don’t know what is.”
    Gypsy looked down into Jade’s eyes, so full of compassion and understanding.  “Not always,” she admitted quietly.  “There was one person I wasn’t able to bring back.”  Tears of regret slipped down her cheeks as she remembered that cold, dark night so long ago.  “It was raining,” she whispered, a shudder rippling through her, “and it was so dark.  The moon was hidden, and very few stars lit the night sky.  I remember it clearly because I am able to draw energy from the moon to help strengthen me if I need it.  That night, there was none.  I just kept thinking, maybe if the moon had been out, maybe then I could have saved him.”  Slade moved to stand directly behind Gypsy, silently running a hand down her long, soft hair.  She leaned back against his chest, sighing as she felt his support and strength filling her.  “I had just arrived to New Orleans the day before with some friends.  Against my mother’s wishes, the three of us were going on spring break together.  It was early morning, around 2am.  I wanted to go back to the hotel to sleep, but Kelly and Nicole weren’t ready yet.  They were having fun, but I was exhausted.  I decided to head back on my own.  The streets were crowded, so I thought it would be safe.” 
    “What happened,” Slade asked, lightly stroking the hand he still held with his thumb.
    “There was this young boy, no more than ten or eleven years old.  He was a beggar with filthy, torn clothes, and shoulder-length shaggy hair.”  He was a handsome boy, with some of the greenest eyes she had ever seen.  His face was pale, with a smattering of brown freckles covering his nose.  “He made the mistake of trying to steal a wallet from one of the men on the street, right in front of where I was walking.  The man grabbed him and threw him in the alleyway next to the street, leaving without looking back.  The poor little boy hit his head on the corner of a dumpster, cutting it deeply.  I knew he was dying.  I felt it.”  Raising her gaze to Chase’s, she whispered, “I tried to help him, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t connect with him.  To bring them back, I have to be able to connect, but I just couldn’t.”
    “You weren’t meant to,” Jade said simply.
    Gypsy nodded, tugging her hands from Slade and Jade’s, she clasped them tightly in her lap.  “I realize that now.  A book that is handed down from generation to generation in my family states that