Give Me War - Kate McCarthy Page 0,40
riding your tiny dick, Grudge? I’ve heard those biker women like to celebrate the small things. Does she cheer you on when you manage to stick it in?” I step out from behind the tree, raising the gun in my hands. “Because you—” Evie breaks off when she sees me, tears welling up in an instant. Faltering for only a moment, she swallows and keeps going. “Because you—”
Seeing me waiting for him, Grudge jerks Evie to a stop by yanking at her hair. She cuts off her rant and sucks in a sharp breath of pain, which he seems to enjoy. “Valentine.” I feel Travis and Mac move into position at my back. “Here we are again.”
“So it seems.”
His brow furrows. “You seem to be missing one.”
My eyes flick up to Mitch where he stands on top of the concrete drain. I give an imperceptible nod. My brother drops down, landing lightly on his feet. He lifts his gun before anyone can blink, jamming the muzzle into the back of Grudge’s head.
I force a cocky grin even though I’m not feeling an inch of happiness. “Looks like you found him.”
“The remote,” Mitch demands.
There’s a pause, and my heart pounds heavy in my chest.
Then Grudge lifts it up, holding it loosely in two fingers.
Keeping his gun steady, Mitch snatches it up, and I take my first deep breath in what feels like months.
“Now step away from Evie,” I order.
Grudge flares his nostrils, his eyes shifting to the Corolla and back to me in obvious frustration, but he doesn’t let go. He grabs her bicep, his other hand still fisted in Evie’s hair. “Your brother isn’t goin’ ta shoot me,” he taunts, though his eyes appear wary and unsure. “He’s a cop. He’ll go down for killin’ an unarmed man.”
“You’re right. Mitch can’t shoot you.” My brother is a highly respected, heavily decorated detective in the Australian Federal Police. He wouldn’t get away with shooting a biker execution style in the back of the head. I would never put him in that position.
My eyes shift to Evie. She knows exactly what I need her to do. My paranoia had us training for all kinds of scenarios since the Jimmy incident, including this one. With my line of work, and her in the public eye, it would’ve been ludicrous to assume we were untouchable.
“But I can.”
Evie’s legs give out beneath her a split-second later, and when she drops like a dead weight I take the shot. The crack is loud, my aim true. Birds screech at the noise. Their wings flap hard as they launch from surrounding trees. Mitch steps out of the way as the biker sways backward, blood spraying from the hole in his forehead. His hands fall away from Evie and he drops like a stone, his head cracking hard against the earth, eyes open and sightless.
Travis takes hold of my shoulder and gives it a brief squeeze before letting go. “Good shot.”
I exhale a shaky breath and lower the gun, looking at Evie.
It’s over.
She looks at me.
It’s fucking over.
A sob tears from her chest.
“Baby,” I whisper.
She starts toward me. I tuck my gun in the back of my jeans and meet her halfway. I’m hesitant to wrap my arms around her and instead I palm both her cheeks. Another sob rips free as tears roll freely down her cheeks.
My fingers tremble as I wipe at them. “Baby,” I whisper again.
“You did it,” she says. “You sent that dumb biker bastard on his final motorcycle ride in the sky.”
“Evie,” I say, a chuckle escaping me as I shake my head. “There aren’t any motorcycles in hell.”
“Oh right.” She laughs too, and it ends in a hiccup. “How silly of me.”
Ducking my head, I touch my lips gently to hers. I’d rather bury my tongue in her mouth until neither of us can breathe, but I don’t want to hurt her.
Drawing back, I take in her vest while my siblings deal with Grudge. Mitch is checking his pulse, Mac is kicking him in his side, taking whatever revenge she can get, and Travis is tugging off his own shirt. Mitch turns Grudge slightly, enough for Travis to reach in and pluck the bikers weapon free using the cotton in his hand, careful not to leave prints. He sets it carefully in Grudge’s hand, putting his fingers in all the right places.
Then a shirtless Travis looks at us. “Move.”
We shift off to the side and Travis raises the gun he’s holding around