Give Me Love (42 page)

I plopped my clipboard on top of a standby amp and sat on an empty stool, rubbing at my shoulder with fatigue.

Travis came up behind me and gave my shoulders a quick massage. “You doing okay, little sis?”

“Yeah, God yeah, don’t worry about me. I’m just tired and busy. Hopefully, we’ll have an assistant by the end of next week, and I can stop chewing off all my lovely manicures from the stress.”

The headset crackled in my ear again. “Mac, George, Gate E. We’ve got an all clear on the delivery.”

“Cool, can you have it sent up?”

“No can do, Mac, sorry. We’re stretched thin tonight to cover every damn entryway in this joint. Can you come down?”

I sighed. It wouldn’t do to not bother with it, even if it was only alcohol, in case it had come from some industry bigwig that we needed to play kissy face with. “Okay, I’ll see you in a minute.”

The band wrapped up what was their second to last song for the night according to the schedule on my clipboard, and Frog raced over to the side of the stage. “Mac, quick, I need to change a guitar string. Can you run to the supply bag backstage and grab me one?”

“Sure, be right back.”

I moved quickly, grabbing the string and heading back to the side of the stage.

“Thanks,” Frog muttered as he worked quickly. I checked the stage to see Evie busily joking with the crowd while she gave us the occasional glance to check Frog’s progress.

I put my hand on Travis’s arm to get his attention. “George gave the all clear on the delivery but they’re swamped. I’m just going to quickly whiz down and grab it, okay? Be right back.”

He nodded at me once and turned back to watching Evie and the crowd with serious intensity.

I trotted down the stairs at a fast pace, eager to get back and catch at least most of their last song for the night. Evie had changed the line up at the last minute and added a cover song that she’d wanted to sing for Jared. I thought it was a beautiful gesture; it was just a shame that we couldn’t get in touch with him before now to see it.

The sound of Evie’s voice reverberated throughout the stadium, clear and strong, betraying no hint of her current emotional turmoil. I could still her banter as I made my way to Gate E. Frog must have finished fixing his string because I heard her introducing the final song. Dammit, I was going to miss it. I picked up my pace as I heard her voice echo around the damp concrete walls of the stadium exterior, introducing the song
For You
by Angus and Julia Stone, simply saying the song was for someone who was her world. My eyes began to water as she started to sing, and I was thankful she wasn’t able to see that.

Arriving at Gate E, there was a man standing out by a black SUV wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a red baseball cap. He was leaning casually against the back of the car, but I couldn’t see George.

As I walked through the gate, the man came over. “Yo,” he muttered. “You Mac?”

“Yeah that’s me. You got a delivery?” I looked around. “Where’s George?”

The man shrugged as he opened up the back of the car. “Dunno, mentioned something about a situation at Gate C?”

Crap. I hoped it wasn’t something to do with Jimmy. We were all on edge tonight, and with Jamieson playing their final song, were on the home stretch.

I followed the man over to the back of the car, and he took off his cap and turned to grin at me.

My stomach pitched as I looked into the pair of sinister dark brown eyes I’d seen numerous times in mug shots. I opened my mouth, but before I could let out a shout, I felt a sharp, cold, excruciating pain and everything went black.

I mustn’t have been out long because when I came to, I was lying in the back of the SUV as it pulled out of the stadium’s exit. If I could have screamed I would, but my mouth was stuffed with something that tasted like I’d licked a goddamn dog. I gagged, the urge to vomit was intense, but I worried I’d choke, so I kept swallowing and taking deep breaths through my nose.

Bloody bastard had been so focused and intent on getting his hands on Evie, that no one, not even me, had thought
I
would be in any danger. What a colossal mistake that was. My heart ached for Evie and my brothers when they realised I was gone. Last night without Evie had been a nightmare.

I tugged at my arms but they were bound together behind my back, and I couldn’t move. This asshole was not going to live to see another day if I had my bloody way. I mentally slipped on my big girl panties and sucked it up. I wasn’t some defenceless little twat. I was a goddamn Valentine, and this wanker had picked the wrong bitch to mess with.

We eventually pulled into a driveway, Jimmy reversing in so the neighbours wouldn't see. I managed to take in my surroundings: a clapped out little white weatherboard house that looked like it was built before the war and had never been cleaned since.

My eyes followed Jimmy as he slammed the car door and came around to the back of the SUV, looking left to right, before he opened the back door.

“Right,” he said with a grin most evildoers somehow seemed to master. I wondered if there was some kind of Dummies Guide to being an Evil Murdering Asshole being sold on the black market where he learned his craft. I could see it now: 1. Kidnap victim. 2. Grin evilly, etc.

“Make sure you take in the sunshine and the smell of fresh air, Miss Valentine, because when I get you inside that house, you ain’t gonna be walking out alive. I’ll be delivering you home in pieces.”

I glowered at him fiercely, wishing that my eyes were able to shoot laser death rays at his head. For one moment, the bastard had actually managed to leave me feeling scared, and I hated to be scared. It made me feel weak and useless. One time in primary school, when I was eight years old, some fat little punk had locked me in the supply closest because I’d deliberately tripped him for bullying a friend. It was a sneak attack, so no one knew I was there. After being locked in there for hours, I hadn’t been scared at all because I knew Jared would eventually find me, and he did.

This time I
was
scared because I
knew
that Jared wouldn’t find me, at least not before it was too late. They’d been out, along with a huge Sydney task force, working on finding Jimmy for months. The likelihood of it suddenly happening in the next few hours was really fucking unlikely.

Jimmy reached in, a knife in his fisted hand, and I flinched. He chuckled as he leaned down and sliced neatly through the ties that bound my ankles together.

Not wasting any time, I rolled onto my back and kicked out with both legs. He grunted as I caught him in the gut, and I struggled as he pinned my legs down and rolled me over on to my stomach. He grabbed my bound hands and yanked me out of the car so hard I felt my shoulder wrench and my stomach roll as tears burned my eyes.

I stumbled as he took hold of my arm and jerked me up the three steps onto the patio and through the front door, shoving me so I fell to the floor. He reached behind and whipped out a gun, pointing it at my head. I whimpered as I lay panting on the floor, trying fiercely to breathe through my nose because of the gag.

He flicked off the safety and loaded a round into the chamber. “Ready to die?”

My vision blurred with tears, and I shook my head frantically. No, I wasn’t ready to die, fucktard. As I fought to get to my feet, he backhanded me with the butt of the gun, and I went sprawling face first on to the floor. Black spots swam in my eyes, and I could already feel red oozy blood dripping down my brow.

Jimmy yanked me back up by the arm and dragged me to the left and through a large archway, into what I deduced was the lounge slash dining room of the humble abode. There was no furniture to speak of except for a solitary chair that sat in the middle of the room. Mould riddled the ceiling, paint was peeling off the walls, and the wooden floorboards looked filthy and half rotted.

The chair teetered as he threw me down in it and proceeded to tie my ankles to each leg while I struggled. He then re-tied my arms so they were bound around the back of the chair.

He stepped back with a smile to view his handiwork. “Now, maybe I might be ready for you to die, but first, you have chores to deal with.”

I eyed him warily and he reached over to yank out my gag. I wanted to rub at my jaw, but the most I could manage was to suck in a few deep breaths.

“Nice digs, wanker,” I spat out. “Save your whole pathetic life to afford this little palace?”

“Mouthy little piece, aren’t you? I knew you would be. It’s not only Evie I’ve been watching, but you too. You’re a real bossy little bitch. I hate bossy bitches, but that’s okay because you’ll be dead soon anyway.”

“Why are you doing this, Jimmy?”

He laughed as he tucked the gun into the back of his pants, moving to the window to look up and down the street. He turned back to me and folded his arms.

“Come on, Mac, I can call you Mac, can’t I?”

“Oh be my guest, please,” I said sarcastically.

“Your brother Jared obviously. He killed my brother Joe. So it’s only fair that you should die. I’m sure you can see that. You know, I was originally only going to kill the little songbird but, you see,” he sighed before continuing, “my brother Joe was a hell of a man, worth more than the two of you combined. So I decided it was in my best interests to kill the both of you, out of fairness of course. The only trouble with that plan was I could never get Evie alone. You on the other hand, well, they must not care much for you if they left you to fend for yourself. I realised that all I needed to do was get to you, and then Evie would come. It’s that simple really.”

I forced myself to adopt a casual attitude but inside I panicked. Evie was like my sister. Of course she would come the stupid bitch. God, I would kill her myself if she did.

I snorted. “Evie isn’t going to come. She’s not stupid, unlike you, asshole.”

“Oh, but you’re very much mistaken, Mac. She will, with you as bait. All I need to do is get her on the phone and tell her where you are. She’ll come running like the good little friend she is, and then I’ll have the both of you. I’m going to be generous, though, and let you know that I’ve decided to let Jared live. Hell...” he spread his arms wide “...I’ll let all your brothers live. Do you know why I’d do that for you?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

He smiled at me in mock sympathy. “Because then they’ll get to live without the two of you. Can you imagine that? I wonder what will happen to them knowing that you both died and it was all their fault.”

I closed my eyes as my heart sank. The goddamn fucker was right. I couldn’t imagine how my brothers would deal with Evie and I gone. I didn’t think Jared would survive it.

“So, tell me, Mac, because I’m really interested to hear, what do you think of my plan? It’s good, right?”

I took a few deep breaths before I opened my eyes and shrugged. “I think your plan is kinda lame really. I mean, sure, they’re my brothers, but life will go on, won’t it? They’re strong and capable, quite unlike you, so they’ll deal with it and move on with their lives. Can’t say you’ve managed to do the same, but hey, you can’t win them all can you, Jimmy?”

His face fell. What did he think I was going to say? That he was some kind of evil criminal mastermind genius? Fucktard.

“Well,” he said with a smirk, “I hope you’re comfortable, Mac, because it’s a long night ahead of you. I think we might just give young Evie a call in the morning. You know, let your brothers freak out and search all night long for you. That will be fun, I think. Then, early in the morning while they’re still out chasing their tails after not having slept for days, Evie will be left all on her lonesome. We’ll give her a call then, see if she feels like stopping by for a cup of coffee. Whadda you say, Mac?”

I pressed my lips together and glared.

He chuckled and checked my ties to make sure they were secure before leaving the room.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Evie

I grinned and clapped my hands high thanking the audience for the thunderous ovation. Unfortunately, revelling in the sensation was entirely impossible thanks to my current state of emotional retardedness.

Damn you, Jared. I should be furious at the conclusions you jumped to, but how could I when I would have done exactly the same were the situation reversed? It looked pretty damning, and despite outside sources informing me of Jared’s feelings, love was the last thing I was rolling in when he took off this morning.

With a last wave at the crowd, I hit the side of the stage and was immediately smothered in my brother’s arms. He lifted me off my feet and spun me around as laughter bubbled out.

“My famous little sister,” he murmured close to my ear.

“Not quite, but we’re on our way.” I grinned as he set me on my feet, teetering a little in the skyscrapers Tim insisted I wear.

“Where’s Mac?” I’d seen her disappear just before our last song and it looked like she hadn’t returned.

Coby frowned as he glanced around. “Not sure. She’ll be about somewhere.”

Travis was on the phone, so Coby followed me back to the dressing room where Cooper was handing out beers. In light of last night, I opted for a water before shouting at the boys to listen up. “I have some housekeeping issues to discuss. As we now have two weeks off, we need to re-charge properly, which means
no partying
.”