“Have you been to Hawk’s to collect yet?”

“Nope.”

“Good, cancel that job. I’m gonna give him an extra week to pay,” he said, stunning me. King rarely gave extensions.

“Yeah, the motherfucker’s mother needed cash for an operation so I figure she needs it more than us.”

“You believe him?”

“He wasn’t the one who told me. Jen told me when I saw her yesterday before she left.”

I was so confused, not understanding the connection between Jen and Hawk, but I figured King knew his shit. “Right, so we’re done for the day then. I’ll bring the cash back now, but do you need me after that?” I hadn’t seen Evie since yesterday afternoon and was fucking craving her.

“No, you and Nitro can call it a day.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you soon with this cash,” I promised before ending the call.

Nitro raised his brows. “We done for the day?”

I nodded. “Yeah, man.” I reached for my helmet. “Did you finish working on the engine?”

“It’s nearly done. Thanks for your help the other day.”

“Sure. Just call out if you need a hand again.”

My phone buzzed with another call, and my face broke out in a grin when I saw the caller ID.

Evie.

Nitro chuckled. “Looks like some good pussy there, brother.”

“Yeah, you could say that,” I said as I answered it. “What’s up, baby?” I said into the phone.

“Someone’s broken into my house . . . can you come over? It’s okay if you can’t, but -”

I was instantly on alert; Evie sounded panicked. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes. Are you okay until then?”

“Yes. Thank you,” she said softly, relief clear in her voice.

“Fuck,” I muttered as I shoved my phone in my pocket.

“What’s up?” Nitro asked.

“My girlfriend’s house has been broken into.”

“You need help?”

“Nah, should be alright,” I said, turning over the engine of my bike.

He nodded, and I gave him a chin lift. “I’ll catch you later, man.” And then I took off for Evie’s place.

Whoever had broken into her house would pay dearly.

***

I’d expected to find Evie still panicked, but she’d calmed down by the time I got there. I took in the mess as I walked through the house to find her in the kitchen. The place had been trashed and it looked like we had a big clean up ahead of us.

She looked up from the table where she sat. “Thank God you’re here,” she said as she got up and came to me.

I opened my arms and pulled her close. She gratefully stepped into my embrace and rested her head against my chest. I felt the tightness of her body, and rubbed my hand up and down her back. I held her until she lifted her head and looked up into my eyes.

“Why did they have to wreck the place as well?” she asked, her voice cracking a little.

“Fuck . . .” I swore, “because they’re assholes.”

“Yeah, they are.” She let me go and walked to the sink. “I need a coffee. You want one?”

“No, I’m gonna take a look around.” At her nod, I headed into the lounge room and surveyed the damage. It didn’t look like anything of real value had been taken. The television and stereo were still here. I walked around the entire house and then back into the kitchen. “Babe, what’s actually missing?” I asked, because I couldn’t work out what had been taken. All big ticket items seemed to be in place.

She was on the phone, on hold, and she answered, “That’s the weird thing. I can’t work out what’s been stolen.”

“Who are you on the phone to?”

“The cops.”

I reached for the phone and she let me take it. Ending the call, I said, “I don’t think anything’s missing, unless they took jewellery or something smaller like that?”

“No, I checked that, and nothing is missing.”

“Do you want to claim this on insurance?”

She frowned. “I don’t know. Why?”

“If you want to claim it you’ll have to involve the cops. If not, you can forget them and just let me and the boys find out who did it, and deal with them for you. Either way I’ll be finding out who did it, but I’d prefer not to have the cops involved.”

She thought about it for a moment and then said, “I’ll just let you handle it.”

I gave her a quick kiss and said, “Okay, I’m gonna get started on it now. Will you be alright on your own?”

She gave me a smile and nodded. “Yeah, Maree said she’d come over if I need her, so I’ll give her a call. She’ll help me clean up, too.”

Thank fuck for her friend. I didn’t really want to leave her on her own.

As I headed out, I mulled it over. My natural instinct would be to suspect Gambarro because I was a paranoid bastard, but this didn’t seem like a job he would pull.

It seemed to me that if he were involved, Evie wouldn’t be breathing anymore.

But it wouldn’t hurt to check in on him.

***

“Mr Gambarro is out of the country.” His security guy glared down at me, challenging me to argue with him. He was refusing me entry to Gambarro’s building and feeding me stories about Gambarro not being here.