Freeze (The Jewel Project #4)

17.1|| Open Season

There was no light left in France. Jerry had come to that conclusion as he watched the clouded sky in the early hours of the morning and it showed no signs of clearing.

They'd headed straight for Chambord after finishing the search at Blois. It had taken them precisely fifteen minutes to get from one castle to the other. Unlike Blois and Amboise, Chambord was not in the middle of a city, but outside a village bearing the same name.

They had no idea if they would find a place to sleep for the night. They hadn't spotted any inn or hotel on the way, and internet was unfortunately off limits. The agency had provided Kyle's phone with a private, encrypted line, but that's where their privacy stopped. Connecting to the internet would turn them into a walking target. If Snitch Gravel traced something as obscure as Tina's personal credit card, Jerry was sure everything they owned was tapped.

So sitting in the snowy parking lot it was. He, Jimmy and Kyle were awake, while the others were trying to get some much needed sleep. Even if Tina had offered to share the backseat with him, Jerry refused the offer. He was too wired to sleep, and he wasn't sure they'd made up enough for physical contact. To be honest, he had no idea where he and Tina stood.

As a result, he and his brothers shared a fortunately cleared and dry picnic table placed at the edge of the parking lot, next to the entrance into the grounds of the castle. Chambord, unlike the former castles they'd visited, had been a hunting residence surrounded by forests filled with game. It made it much easier to search seeing as there were no houses in its vicinity. But Jimmy and Kyle surprisingly seemed more tense than before.

"I wonder when Sam, Tom and Angie will show up," Jimmy said, his voice low and rough.

Jerry fought the impulse to cringe. As much as Jimmy insisted he was fine, he obviously wasn't. He was much quieter than usual, swallowed with difficulty, and judging by the thing sheet of sweat on his forehead Jerry could bet he had a fever. Yet, he didn't complain and refused to rest.

"I don't know," Kyle mumbled glancing at the phone he'd laid out on the table. "I was hoping they'd call by now."

"It's still early," Jerry said quietly. The castle had barely opened an hour ago and the parking lot was steadily filling with excited tourists.

"Why can't these guys close the castles already?" Jimmy said. "It's what? Six days til Christmas? Don't these people have lives?"

"Of course they do. That's why they visit castles on their holiday. They'd have to be idiots to close them now," Kyle answered, tapping his fingers in a complicated dance around his phone.

'"I'm sick of this," Jimmy said, the affirmation barely discernible with his raspy voice.

"You're just sick," Kyle retorted.

"Shut up, I'm handling it."

"Yeah, whatever you say, donkey boy."

"Hey, Kyle, guess what? Fuck you."

Jerry cringed even if Jimmy had said it on a light tone, as a joke. What startled him a little was that he was starting to get used to the crude language and the way Jimmy and Kyle occasionally swore at each other.

Kyle eyed him up and down. "I'm way out of your league."

"Plus, you know, incest," Jerry added.

Both Kyle and Jimmy stared at him with wide eyes. It took them a second to knock their heads back and laugh. And Jimmy another second to wince, start coughing and clutching his temples.

"Wow, you really are bad," Kyle said.

"I'm fine," he snapped.

Jerry pursed his lips, keeping in the lecture bubbling at the back of his throat. Jimmy needed to take better care of himself, but he couldn't afford to lie around and drink tea. Jerry was sure some rest was what his twin needed. And for once, they didn't have that luxury.