Give Me War - Kate McCarthy Page 0,46

be the only one. Forget your cover. We can do this together.”

She tips her head down, pressing it against his chest.

Mitch pulls her in, sliding his arms around her. “Frankie,” he croaks.

“Gabriella was my best friend,” she mumbles inside his smothering hold. “She was all I had. I have to do this.” Angel pulls free of his embrace and looks to me once again. “Please don’t let the Vipers snatch you again.”

She steps back once, twice, before turning and disappearing back inside the tunnel.

I look to Mitch. His eyes are closed as if he can’t bear to watch her leave.

Jared’s arms come around me and he leads me away. We follow behind the paramedics. With Renny now stabilised for transport, they need to move fast. But I turn back for one last look at my brother-in-law.

His head is bowed, his hand pressed to the back of his neck in a picture of defeat.

My heart aches for him.

He’s lost too much.

10

JARED

I lead Evie out to a second waiting ambulance, my palm pressed gently to her lower back. Her hair is loose and tangled, tickling my fingers as we walk. I tug lightly on the strands and she gives me her attention. “You okay?” I ask quietly.

Her lips press together and her eyes cut to the first ambulance. Rossi is on the stretcher, being wheeled inside. Two paramedics jump in behind him and the back doors slam closed. One of the bomb squad members thumps his fist against them twice—giving the okay—before stepping back. Dust and rocks kick up as it takes off, lights already flashing, sirens squealing. Two police escorts move in front, another takes the back. Rossi is a cop, injured in the line of duty. The news will be on every police radio in the vicinity. They’ll band together to make sure his trip to hospital is fast and unimpeded.

Evie’s eyes come back to mine. “I want to go home. I want to hug Wolf.”

“Tomorrow. You need the hospital.”

“I’m fine,” she insists.

“You’re not fine.”

A paramedic steps forward, an older man with the name badge, Stuart. He guides her to the open back doors and helps her take a seat. “How are you feeling, Mrs Valentine?”

“I’m fine,” she repeats, frustration evident in her voice.

I hover while he examines Evie, asking questions.

“Jared, please go check on Mitch?” She looks over at my brother, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip. He’s standing with Coby and Travis, though he’s set himself apart and he’s tapping at his phone, his brows pulled down. “I’m worried about him.”

That same worry niggles at me too. We figured there might have been someone else on the inside besides Rossi, but I would not have staked my life on it being Gabriella’s best friend. They were in the same grade together—all three of them—back in high school, and I always figured he’d end up with the shy, pretty blonde. We all did. It came as a surprise when he escorted Gabriella to the Graduation Formal instead. The two of them ended up attending Charles Sturt University together, while Frankie … I rub at my chin, my fingers scratching over the rough seven-day beard. I never knew what became of her. Until now.

She’s changed dramatically. Frankie isn’t the same timid girl I remember but being undercover in the most violent biker club in the country would do that to you. The Vipers are brutal, and to be a female in the middle of all that? The thought of what she’s enduring puts me in a cold sweat.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell Evie, and start for my brother.

Mitch looks up at my approach and his eyes flick to my wife. “How is she?”

“I honestly don’t know,” I admit as he tucks his phone away. “What they put her through …” I trail off as we watch Stuart check her blood pressure. Christ, it must be through the fucking roof. God knows mine is. I rub a hand over my pained chest. “She’s acting fine now but it’s going to hit her later.” I eye my brother. “How are you doing?”

“I’m pissed off.”

“Jesus, Mitch. They’ve put Frankie right inside the middle of the Vipers. What were they thinking?”

“They weren’t.” He works his jaw for a moment. “And the one ally she had on the inside has been exposed and now he’s fighting for his fucking life.” My brother dips his head. “If they find out who she is, they’ll kill her.”

Jesus.

Then another thought hits me. “Mitch.”

He looks up.

“What