Give Me War - Kate McCarthy Page 0,8

She would never say that unless she was actually doing it, and if her plans changed, she would have let Mac know.

It goes straight to her answer message.

My stomach rolls over with a queasy thump.

“Everything okay?”

I look at Mitch. “No.” His shoulders straighten, his entire body going wired as he sets down his own mug. “Something’s wrong.”

I dial Casey.

He answers on the second ring. “Jared.”

“Did Evie show for her surf this morning?”

“Yeah, but I left early. Shit to do. It’s Christmas, mate.”

“Did she leave too?”

“Same time as me.”

My fingers tighten around the phone. “You actually saw her get in the car and drive away?”

“Well … no. I left first, but she was towelling off. Getting ready to leave.” His voice tightens up. “Why?”

“Because she never came home.”

There’s a pause. “What?”

My voice sharpens. “I assumed she headed out shopping. That was her plan for today. But Mac messaged saying they were supposed to go together.”

Casey’s tone is urgent. “Hang up now. Track her phone.”

“On it.”

I hang up, calling up the app on my screen.

Mitch is already dialling. “I’m calling Seth,” he says, referring to our manager at Jamieson and Valentine Consulting.

The app registers her location to Bondi Beach. She wouldn’t still be there. But if her phone powered down while she was there, it would be her last known location.

Mitch wraps up his conversation while I run shaky, impatient fingers through my hair. “I need to get to the beach.”

My brother nods. “Go. I’ll watch Wolf.”

The drive only takes minutes but feels like a lifetime, even with the speed I’m putting my vintage Porsche through, a car I refused to get rid of after our son’s arrival. Today, I’m thankful for that. Casey squeals to a stop beside me just moments later, his Corvette Stingray kicking up dust.

We get out simultaneously, Casey dressed in boardshorts and a muscle tee. I didn’t waste time with a shirt. A quick scan of the parking lot proves fruitless. There’s no sign of Evie or her blue Hilux. “Where were you parked?”

Casey tips his chin to the left. “Down that way.”

We jog over to where their cars were parked earlier, searching every surrounding inch of for some kind of clue.

“Jared.”

Casey’s voice is urgent.

I walk over to where he’s standing, hands on his hips and eyes on the ground.

I look down.

It’s Evie’s phone.

The metal is crumpled. The glass screen smashed.

Blood roars in my ears. I was hoping I was just overreacting, but this …

This …

I draw in a shuddering breath.

My voice comes out hoarse. “Not again.”

“Fuck.” Casey locks his jaw. “Jared, there’s something you should—”

The roar of a motorcycle interrupts whatever he was going to say. We both look up. Kelly is rolling in, Fox right behind him, Jake behind them both in his candy apple red Dodge Charger. The engines switch off and both are swinging their legs over when Travis pulls his Subaru in beside them. They emerge from their vehicles and all four converge on our huddle. Casey fills them in while I stare down at the phone, not touching it. We’ll need prints.

Coby’s own black Hilux screeches to a halt behind our group, blocking all of us in as he leaps out and jogs toward us, his face pale. “Where is she?” His voice rises to a shout and he comes at me, panic bright and hot in his dark brown eyes. “Where the hell is my sister?”

Kelly steps in, putting a hand on his chest. “We don’t know yet, but we’re sure as fuck gonna find out.”

Coby tries to push his way around him but Kelly is a massive dude. “How could you let this happen?” he yells at me.

“Let what happen?” Kelly responds. “Like I said, we don’t know shit yet. She could be out shoppin’ up a fuckin’ storm for all we know.”

Travis nods, phone pressed to his ear. “Mitch and Seth are checking her credit card activity,” he tells us.

“Where to from here?” Jake asks.

I gesture to the shopfronts across the road from the parking lot. “We need to canvas the area. Ask to check security cameras for footage.”

Coby makes a sharp, frustrated sound. “We need Mitch for that. God help them if they start asking for warrants.”

Warrants. The fucking irony.

Travis hangs up. “Mitch is on his way.”

My gaze shoots to my brother, a question in my eyes.

He answers. “Mum’s just picked up Wolf.”

I nod, breathing in a deep, pained breath through my nostrils while we wait.

“Any idea on what might have happened?” Travis looks to Casey. “Did