Give Me Love (12 page)

Tate began unwrapping the paper holding our fish and chips. “So you and Jared seem pretty close. Do I need to be worried?”

I smoothed out the edges of the wrinkled paper, buying some time while I figured out how to respond, and Tate watched me as he munched on a chip.

“Jared and I have been friends for years, and I don’t want to compromise that,” I explained as I picked up a chip. “Otherwise, you should probably know that I’m not looking for a relationship. They tend to get really complicated, and right now I need to focus on my music career, you know?” I waved my chip about before popping it in my mouth, chewing and swallowing. “I can’t really offer any commitment, Tate. I work every weekend, even some week nights, and hopefully there’ll be a lot of travel in our immediate future, so it’s not really fair to expect someone to deal with me not being around.”

It wasn’t the full story, but a first date with Tate hardly qualified for soul baring confessions about why I wasn’t willing to open up my heart.

My phone buzzed madly again. Not wishing to be rude, I ignored it and tore a piece of battered fish in half and started eating it.

“I’m happy with casual,” Tate replied and undid the tops of two bottles of coke, handing the diet one to me. “Hell, do you know how hard it is trying to work a relationship when you’re a copper? Late night shifts, call outs, constant danger. Who wants to marry that? I can’t do anything else though. It’s who I am, same as Mitch. Besides,” he said with a wicked grin, “I’m still young and if it means I get to date gorgeous girls like you, then I’m cool with that.”

My phone buzzed madly again, and I shrugged my shoulders in apology. “Sorry.”

“Popular, huh? Better answer it in case it’s important.”

I somehow didn’t think so, but I checked it anyway.

J: So what’s for dinner?

Someone had nothing better to do tonight than harass me on my date.

E: Fish and chips on the harbour.

J: Is he trying to clog your arteries and kill you?

E: Yes, it seems that is his fiendish plan, and after several decades when I suffer a heart attack, it will reach its heinous fruition.

J: Smart ass.

E: Isn’t the football on?

I switched off my phone and shoved it back in my bag.

“So...” I took a sip of my drink “...tell me why you decided to be a detective?”

Tate and I chatted for another hour while we finished our dinner before leaving at a respectable hour, Tate citing a dawn start for work tomorrow morning.

He walked me to the door, and before I’d even had time to blink, he leaned in and kissed me, sealing his mouth over mine. His tongue slid over my lips, and I opened my mouth, letting it sweep inside. I kissed him with everything I had, giving him all my best moves, seeing if it was at all possible to replicate the kiss I’d shared with Jared. When Tate’s hand shifted lower and gripped my ass, I pulled back. Disappointed that it seemed only Jared it could evoke the feelings I longed for when he kissed me, I was also relieved because they weren’t the sort of feelings I wanted to have with Tate if things were supposed to be casual.

“Jesus, Evie,” he panted. His eyes were glazed over, and I almost thought he was trembling. “You’re really good at that.”

I nodded in mock seriousness to lighten the moment. “I get that a lot.”

“You do?”

“No.” I grinned. “I’m just teasing you.”

He chuckled and brushed a finger across my cheek. “I’ll call you.”

I nodded and ducked inside the front door, latching it behind me. I was greeted by my beautiful band boys with whoops and drunken laughter as they sat around the dining table playing poker, yelling loudly, and getting through what appeared to be every single drop of alcohol we had in the house.

“Evie’s home!” Frog bellowed.

“Woooooo, Evie McStevie,” Cooper shouted.

They tried to enact a Mexican wave at my arrival, but with only the four of them, and drunk to boot, it came off pretty poorly.

Jake got up, poured a glass of wine, and shoved it in my hand. “Drink up, Tweety Bird. It’s a poker party. Join us?”

I raised my brows. “So I see and not on your life.”

I hated card games. I hated board games too for that matter. It wasn’t because I was a sore loser, though when I did get roped into playing, I did happen to lose a lot. It was mostly because card games and board games were something Mum loved to do with me as a way to laugh and unwind from a long day at work. Maybe it was selfish, but I liked to keep those memories for myself.

“How was your date with Tetris Tate?” Henry asked.

I sighed at the name. It didn’t take long to make the rounds. Rather than telling him, I pulled my phone out of my bag and called up the bridge climb photos and handed it over.

“Holy shit, a bridge climb? That’s fucking alright. We were expecting a computer convention.”

He chortled and passed around my phone to show off the beautiful photos while I sat on the arm of the lounge chair.

I pointed to the giant bowl of chips in the centre of the dining table. “You got chips!”

“Yarh.” Cooper for some reason decided to use a Swedish accent.

“Jake ducked to the store earlier,” Frog told me.

“Did you―”

“Yes, Chook, Jake bought you some chocolate. It’s in the fridge because the heat tonight would’ve melted it.”

I grinned in delight and gave Jake a big smoochy kiss on the cheek. “Love you, Jakie, always looking out for your Evie.”

He gave my bum a pat with a silly smile, and I let that one go because he was drunk and he’d bought me chocolate. “Of course we have to look after our favourite girl, don’t we?”

Abandoning the glass of wine Jake had thrust in my hand, I skipped to the fridge, grabbed my chocolate, and cozied up on the couch, settling in for a late night movie and a chocolate coma.

The next morning found my feet pounding the pavement in a river of sweat as I paid the price for my fish and chips and half a family block of chocolate. That shit did not come cheap. When I let myself back in the house, I ran into Mac’s room with a grin and a loud squeal and jumped on the bed until her face smacked the headboard and she woke up.

“Oh shit,” I squealed, bringing my hands to my face. “Mac, sorry, are you okay?”

I pulled back the sheets as she grumbled and rubbed at her head. “What’s going on?”

Deciding she would live, I locked her in a big sweaty hug until she started screaming her head off.

Henry came running in, wild-eyed and hair every which way, to see what the noise was. When he saw Mac pinned, he jumped into the fray and began a tickle fest.

“Henry,” Mac cried, “get her off me. She stinks! Ew!”

I rubbed my sweaty armpit in her face. “Take that back!”

“No,” she spat.

“Jesus, Evie,” Henry laughed. “You do stink.”

“Hey!” I shouted as he pushed me off the bed and onto the floor. They both leaned over the side to look at me.

“First dibs on the shower!” I yelled, scrambling to get up off the floor and make a run for it. Too late, I realised my mistake was in declaring my intentions because Henry grabbed my arm and shoved me back on the floor. He raced in to the bathroom ahead of me and slammed the door.

I sighed and Mac gave me the evil eye.

“Don’t be like that, Macky Wacky,” I said and pulled out my bottom lip.

She tried to hold the glare but giggled. “Shut up, Evie McStevie. Now I stink too.”

“Har har.” I giggled. “At least everyone’s awake now,” I sing-songed.

She gave me a speculative look. “How was your date last night?”

I gave her the quick lowdown, and she sighed. “Why can’t you and Jared just get your shit together already?”

The sound of my phone buzzed from my room, so I politely gave Mac the finger for her interference.

She sneered in return.

Satisfied with the exchange, she got up to bang down the bathroom door and I went to my room to check my phone.

“Mac?” I yelled.

“Yeah?”

“Travis wants to know if we want to go to the shooting range with him and Coby.”

“Cool. When?”

“Wednesday. Can we squeeze that?”

“Maybe. Let me check the diary.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Henry walk out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his slim hips. I threw my phone on the bed and raced for the bathroom. Mac cackled evilly when she beat me to it, slamming the door in my face.

Two days later found us at the shooting range with Coby and Travis. Oddly enough, it was a regular outing for most of us. Guns ran in both families because of our brothers' careers, and heavy betting usually ensued with the loser having to pay for either lunch or dinner. As usual, I busted everyone’s targets out of the water because firing a gun seemed to be my second talent, and Mac, the worst shot of the day, was gearing up to buy us all lunch.

Unfortunately, when we were pulling out of the carpark of the shooting range, Coby and Travis got a call from Jared. All Mac and I managed to make out was that some kind of kidnapping slash hostage stand-off was going down in Penrith. It meant we were abandoned at the shooting range and had to call Henry for pick up duty. Apparently, hostage negotiation waited for no man, or in this case, Coby and Travis.

My phone buzzed madly at three the next morning. Panicked, I sprang to a sitting position and snatched it up.

J: Baby, need you to come get me.

E: What? It’s 3 am!

Was he high? And enough with the ‘baby’ business already. I liked it too much. I threw the phone on the bed and huffed my way back under the covers. When it buzzed again, I eyed it evilly and considered turning it off but picked it up instead.

J: At the hospital.

The words had my heart leaping into my throat, and I shifted to the edge of the bed and planted my feet on the floor.

E: Are you okay?

J: Just a couple of scratches.

I knew Jared and his scratches.

E: What hospital? I’ll come get you.

J: Prince Alfred. Thanks. Can’t sleep here. Horrible asshole next to me is snoring like a freight train.

I padded to my wardrobe and changed into a pair of soft worn jeans and a hooded sweater. Tying my hair into a messy knot at the nape of my neck, I grabbed my car keys, phone, and wallet and quietly let myself out of the house. I set the GPS and drove along the quiet, dark deserted streets to the hospital.

The help desk directed me to level four, and I waited patiently while Fiona, according to her name tag, finished tapping away at whatever it was she was doing at the nurses station. She stopped and her kind, tired eyes gave me a questioning look.

“I’m here for―”

“Jared?” she interrupted.

“I...yes. How did you know?”

“I didn’t. Just hopeful I guess after he told me he was ‘busting out of the joint’.” She air-quoted with an amused roll of the eyes. She stood up, tucked a pen neatly into her breast pocket, and walked around the counter with a capable efficiency all nurses seemed to possess.

“Follow me, love.”

I followed her down the corridor. “Is he okay?”

She turned her head to meet my eyes as she moved smartly along the corridor. “Two stab wounds to his back. They’re not deep, love, so there’s no internal damage.” My eyes went wide and my breathing faltered. She attempted to reassure me, but it didn't ease any of my panic. “We were just keeping him overnight for observation and the possibility of infection.”

“Stab wounds?”

“He’ll be fine, love.” She gave a reassuring pat to my hand. “He’s all stitched up, but he’ll need complete bed rest for at least forty-eight hours to give the wounds time to heal. We’ve dosed his IV up liberally with morphine, so he’ll likely be off his rocker. I’ll write you a script for some heavy duty painkillers before you leave, but I’ll give you a couple in a little packet to take with you for the morning because he’s going wake up in a lot of pain.”

We moved into the room where Jared lay awake, half-reclined, and beaming a silly smile at me.

“Evie!” he slurred.

Fiona rolled her eyes. “Morphine,” she whispered and giggled.

I moved to the bed and he latched onto my hand. I tried to snatch it back as I looked him over. “Jared, I’m not sure it’s a good idea that you leave.”

He tugged my hand back, and I stopped struggling when I saw him grimace in pain. “Not you too, Evie,” he grumbled. “How will I get any better if I can’t sleep?” He rolled his eyes over at the other bed where, true enough, a big man lay snoring like a freight train.

“Okay, okay,” I conceded. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep with that either, and he did look tired. His lovely golden skin was pale.

Fiona pottered around unhooking his IV and writing in his chart. She handed him a form which he signed before she left and came back with a wheelchair. “If I catch you trying to walk out of this hospital not using that wheelchair, then you won’t be going anywhere.”