Mutation Read Online Free PDF

course,’ said Montag. He pulled out a chair. ‘This looks wonderful, Emily.’
    The table was piled high with food: a big lamb roast (which made me wonder again where all our meat was coming from in this place), potatoes, salad and veggies, hot bread rolls …
    Luke sat down at the table, fuming. He was always complaining that his mum never made the effort to cook anything, but it looked like she’d made an exception for the doc.
    â€˜Oh, it’s not much, really,’ said Luke’s mum, taking my plate and piling on a bit of everything. ‘How was work?’
    â€˜Same as usual,’ said Montag. ‘Run off my feet.’
    My chest tightened. Mum had been back at the medical centre today for yet another appointment.
    â€˜And you?’ the doc asked.
    â€˜Exhausting,’ Ms Hunter sighed. ‘I barely got through anything with all the people coming in and out of my office. I assume you’ve heard about Luke’s latest escapade?’ She sent a disapproving look in my direction. Apparently, her tolerance for Luke’s actions didn’t extend to me.
    Luke glared at his mum across the table. Even in a normal dinner situation, bringing your son’s behaviour issues up in front of your new boyfriend wasn’t exactly a diplomatic move.
    â€˜I did read something about it in yesterday’s paper,’ said Montag, buttering a roll. He looked up at Luke and me. ‘You children should be more careful. Keep carrying on like that and you’re going to find yourself in some serious trouble.’
    I stabbed my fork down into a hunk of meat, imagining it was Montag’s leg.
    â€˜Funny how we managed to be in two places at once that night,’ I said. ‘Somehow getting that fire started even though we were sitting at Reeve’s funeral the whole time. Pretty impressive, when you think about it.’
    Luke’s mum pursed her lips.
    Montag swallowed a mouthful of food and dabbed his beard with a serviette. ‘May I give you some advice, Jordan? If you ask me, you’d be far better off simply owning up to your indiscretions. Denial will only get you deeper into trouble.’
    â€˜Yeah, thanks for the tip,’ I said coldly.
    Luke’s eyes twitched between me and the doc, and I could tell he was starting to wonder whether bringing me here had been such a good idea.
    â€˜Terrible what happened to that poor security officer,’ said Luke’s mum abruptly. But if she was looking for a way to defuse the tension, she’d picked the wrong topic.
    â€˜Yeah,’ I said, staring at Montag. ‘Terrible.’
    â€˜Quite tragic,’ he agreed, putting down his knife and fork for a moment. ‘Though his own recklessness played no small part in it.’
    My insides twisted again.
    â€˜Mm,’ said Luke’s mum, taking a drink of water. ‘Trying to help out with some repairs or something, wasn’t he?’
    â€˜Foolish,’ said Montag. ‘He was toying with things far beyond his understanding. He should have kept right out of it.’
    â€˜So Reeve deserved what he got, did he?’ I said, raising my voice more than I’d meant to.
    Ms Hunter’s face was beginning to turn red.
    â€˜It was an abject mess of a situation caused by reckless and irresponsible behaviour,’ said Montag, gripping the table with both hands. ‘I did everything I could to save as many lives as possible.’
    â€˜Well, you did a pretty crap job of it,’ Luke muttered.
    â€˜Luke!’ his mum snapped.
    â€˜No, Emily, it’s all right,’ said Montag in a tone that was completely at odds with the words coming out of his mouth. ‘It’s natural for him to be angry. It’s part of the grieving process.’
    Ms Hunter narrowed her eyes at Luke, probably wanting to know why on earth he needed to grieve the death of a man he barely knew. But before she had time to respond, the doorbell rang