Give Me War - Kate McCarthy Page 0,49

time she and Grudge arrived at the exit of the storm drain. Our hands rested on my thigh the entire time she spoke, fingers entwined, and I tried not to squeeze too hard when she got to the part where the Vipers pinned her down and strapped on the vest. When I changed gears, her hand came with me, before returning back to my leg once again.

We left everyone behind at the bushland location with promises to help deal with the fall out tomorrow. Statements need to be made. Explanations provided. And while Evie got the all-clear from Stuart the paramedic, I still want her at the hospital first thing in the morning for a scan.

I know my brothers will handle most of it for me, but there’s only so much they can do without me. I shot and killed a man today. I assembled an illegal-sized army of Sentinels. Even started a biker war. All in a day’s work really.

Arriving home, I closed and locked the front door behind us, shutting out the world around us. Then we let little Peter in from the backyard, and Evie held the excited, squirming ball of fur in her arms while we sat at the dining table together, my phone resting between us, the device on speaker as we called my parents.

Mum answered on the second ring with, “How is she?”

I cleared my throat. “You’re on speaker, Mum.”

“Oh. Evie?”

“I’m—” Evie paused and looked at me. No one could fool my mother, least of all my wife. She was a second daughter to my parents. “I’ll be okay.”

“Are you home?”

“We’re both home,” I answered as Evie set Peter on the floor. He trotted to my side as I spoke, rising up on his hind legs to put his front paws on my thigh. “Safe and sound,” I told Mum, giving Peter a scratch behind his ears. He showed his appreciation by licking my hand. “Did Travis fill you in?” He promised to call them for us and tell them everything that happened.

“He gave us a brief overview. Both of you have been through enough so there’s no need to get into it now. You must be tired.” My mother was a counsellor and I heard it in her voice just now, that soothing tone. I was grateful for the close relationship she had with Evie. What happened to my wife will mess with her head, and Mum would know all the right things to say to help her through this. “So, your father and I were thinking,” she began, and then cleared her throat. She was preparing to tell us something we were going to disagree with. “We know today is an important family day, but … perhaps it’s best if we keep Wolf with us tonight.”

“No.” Evie looked at me, and she was hurting. “It’s Christmas.”

“You need time to rest and heal.”

“I appreciate the concern, Jenna,” she said. “I really do. But I know best what I need, and that’s my son.”

I reached over and took her hand in mine. “Babe, do you trust me?”

“You know I do.”

Evie didn’t hesitate in her answer and it loosened one of the thousand knots in my stomach. I gave her a nod. “Mum, put Wolf on the phone.”

“Okay, love,” she said.

There was quiet for a small beat in time, and then, “Mummy?”

An unexpected sob escaped Evie and I understood completely. Just the sound of his voice annihilated me in the best way. I had to breathe through it while Evie slapped a hand over her mouth to contain the sound.

“Mummy, you ‘kay?”

My wife nodded, even though Wolf couldn’t see her.

“She’s okay, bud.”

“Just a little hiccup,” Evie added, wiping at her tired, bruised eyes.

“Where are you?” he asked, his voice sleepy.

“We’re at home. Your mum … was feeling a bit sick. She’s fine now,” I said quickly, “but she needs a bit of rest, so we thought you might enjoy a sleepover at Nan and Pop’s tonight.”

“But …” His voice got small and it broke my heart. “It’s Christmas.”

“I know it’s supposed to be Christmas today and you got to open some of your pressies, but you know what?”

“What?”

I squeezed Evie’s hand. “We can move Christmas.”

“You can do that?” Wolf sounded impressed, like I just told him I was a magical genie, here to grant his every wish.

“Yep.”

“Oh,” Evie sighed softly, and she looked at me like I was a magical genie too.

I wasn’t gonna lie. It made me feel ten feet tall. The idea was