He’s the only person who taught me how to let go. Who allowed me to let go. He’s the only man who makes me ache with just a single glance. His is the only smile that will stay with me until the earth is nothing but dust.
Jake is the man who rages for me. And at me. The man who gives me everything that he is and demands everything in return.
And he’s mine.
MAC
“Earth to Mac.”
My head is lost in Jake. I shake him free and focus on Evie. Her forehead is wrinkled with bewilderment. “You’ve been so scatter-brained this morning.”
“I’m just tired,” I reply as we put our bags in the back of her Toyota Hilux. It’s the Sunday morning after Evie’s birthday party and neither of us seemed to have slept much at all. It hasn’t stopped us from getting up and out the door early today; our plan is to take advantage of mid-season sales before they end.
Evie’s phone rings, saving me from further inquisition. She digs through her handbag. Her eyes sparkle when she pulls it out and checks the screen. “It’s my fiancé,” she says with glee.
Evie’s been throwing the word around like confetti today as she talks wedding plans. It’s exciting but I’m struggling to find enthusiasm. My body aches in too many places and my inner thighs are chafed like they’ve been attacked with sandpaper. Jake’s three-day growth has left the area tender, and every step has my panties rubbing me raw.
I steal the car keys while she talks and climb inside the car, choosing to drive us home. The outside noise mutes as I shut the door and turn the key. The engine rumbles to life beneath me. The blessed relief of sitting down has me exhaling in ecstasy as I wait. A few minutes later, Evie opens the passenger door, her brown eyes wild with panic.
“What?” I bark when she fails to open her mouth.
“It’s Quinn,” she says and my stomach knots in an instant. “She’s in the hospital.”
Oh no. “What happened?”
“I don’t even know. Jared was vague. Why is everyone so damn vague this morning?” she snaps.
“Well what did he say?”
“Something about shit going down, and that Quinn is in the hospital but okay.”
“Define okay.”
“Scrapes and bruises but mostly she’s in shock. I think he said they would release her soon?”
“Well, don’t just stand there,” I boom. “Let’s move.”
Evie climbs in the car and we take off, making our way out of the rabbit warren that Sydney Westfield shopping complex has the nerve to call a parking lot.
“Why did Jared ring you and not me?”
“I don’t know.” Her brows rise. “Maybe it’s because you’ve been looking at him lately like he single-handedly wrung the neck of every puppy on the planet?”
“I don’t look at him like that.” It’s a lie because I do. My brothers’ betrayal runs deep. I might be happy over his engagement, but he still lied to me. They all did. The apology Mitch gave helped lessen the intensity, but it still sits there between all of us, throbbing like it has its own pulse.
“You do.”
“Well … That’s because Jared is a jerk.”
Evie’s nostrils flare from the passenger seat, causing her indignant response to come out sounding like she has a goober stuck in her throat. “Yes, but he’s the jerk I love.”
I snort. “More fool you.”
Evie’s fist connects with my arm.
The offending thump sends a sick lurch to my belly. I take my hand from the steering wheel and rub the pained area. “Ow! Bitch.”
Without taking my eyes from the road, my fist shoots out. I can’t see where my punch lands, but the impact zone feels soft.
Evie sucks in a wheezy gasp of outrage. “You just punched me in the tit!”
“Hahahahah— Oomph!” Her fist connects with my boob. The pain folds me in half. My chin hits the steering wheel and the car swerves. “Evie!” I yell.
Evie grabs the wheel and corrects our course while I pull myself together. She apologises but amusement coats her words, rendering it ineffective.
“I’m driving here,” I hiss as I retake the wheel.
She folds her arms. “You punched me in the tit.”
“You started it.”
“Did not,” she retorts.
“Did too.”
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
“Did— Oh my GOD! Pull over up ahead!” Evie yells.
My eyes scan the distance ahead and land on Mary’s. We’re driving through the city fringe in Newtown, and this place has the best burgers in the southern hemisphere. Other envious burgers aspire to be like these. They ooze with a special Mary’s sauce that none of us have been able to replicate.
The universe is with us today because I find a parking spot. I reach for my purse, and Evie and I both pause to share a mutual glance of guilt. Quinn is in the hospital and we’re stopping for burgers.
I clear my throat. “Jared said she was okay, right? Her life isn’t hanging in the balance.”
“This is true.” Her smoky brown eyes turn to Mary’s with longing. “I mean, hospitals serve shitty food, don’t they? Stopping to pick up a burger for Quinn is the right thing to do. We’re basically doing this for her.”
The rest of the drive to the hospital is a non-violent affair as we stuff our faces with food. After parking, we find our way to Quinn’s room. The door is closed but privacy be damned. If that was what Quinn wanted, she would have run from us long ago. I plant my palm on the door and shove it open. It flings back with force and bangs into the doorstop behind it with a loud clunk.
“Mac, for god’s sake,” comes Evie’s exasperated voice from behind me. “Can you just try for a little less force next time?”
“Shut up, Sandwich,” I snap then throw her under a bus. “If you didn’t decide to make a food stop on the way here, then I wouldn’t have had to rush.”
We both stop and look at Quinn. She’s a mess. Her best friend Lucy messaged us on the drive here telling us Quinn looked like she’d gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson and lost. It’s the truth, and the visual evidence has my eyes narrowing to slits.
Evie gives her the burger. Quinn turns green and nudges it furtively away as she fills us in on what happened. It all started with a scuffle, which is how the best kinds of stories start, but it involves David, which makes it shitty. Quinn wraps it up by telling us Travis has been arrested for manslaughter.
My mouth falls open. “What?”
“David’s dead,” Quinn states. “He was shot, and they think Travis did it.”
What. The. Hell.
Last night we were having a party, Quinn’s situation put on hold so we could celebrate Evie’s birthday. Less than a day later, David is dead, Quinn is in the hospital, and Travis is behind bars. Who’s running this damn show? The Thunderbirds? My brothers have clearly fucked up somewhere along the line for this to happen.
“Well, did he do it?” I ask, because I can’t blame Travis if he did. The only way to stop a man like David is to put him in the ground. It’s a harsh way of thinking, but that’s the cold reality.
“No!”