Freeze (The Jewel Project #4)

25|| Never What It Seems

Tom watched the flickering shadows on the ceiling, trying his hardest to tune everything out and concentrate. He'd never tried it before, but if there was any way he could tune in on Sam's mood and feelings on demand, now was the perfect time.

"Ouch, Jerry, careful," Kyle said.

Tom focused harder and his eyes went astray. He couldn't tell shit because his own brain was too busy turning over all the insanity he'd faced that day.

In the back of his mind, he could still hear the running paws of the wolves, could smell their singed fur, hear the howling. His legs ached from the running and his knuckles throbbed from being overused. Out of reflex, he tightened his hold on Angie's hand just to make sure she was really there.

"Any luck?" she whispered.

He shook his head and raised on his elbows, taking the room in. They'd managed to clear the lodge and once again left Snitch Gravel's men in the middle of nowhere. Even if Kyle and Jimmy had wanted to charge after Sam and Christine, Jerry had made more sense.

They needed rest. Hell, he needed it as well, especially because he believed they were heading for the final face off. His entire body hurt and his eyelids were drooping. Kay wasn't much better either. She'd passed out in front of the fire, cuddled up in all the spare blankets they could find.

The girls had camped out on the couches while they took mattresses to the floor. Even if they had two bedrooms upstairs, after what had happened, they preferred to stick together.

Billy, Tina and Jessie had drifted off, and Tom had no idea if Jimmy was still awake either because he hadn't said anything in a while.

Kyle and Jerry were the only ones sitting up, Jerry still yanking phone parts out of Kyle's temple with tweezers. It has been lucky how that bullet hadn't hit him in the head.

"I'm almost done," Jerry whispered, discarding the tiny piece of plastic in a glass. "And considered yourself lucky. Something could've taken your eye out."

"Or your brain," Tom said, fairly.

"At least I backed everything up in the cloud this time," Kyle mumbled. "And Mom won't be calling to bust my chops."

"That's going to be an issue when we get home," Jerry said, taking the final piece out and dropping the tweezers. He next proceeded to disinfect the wound.

Kyle sucked air through his teeth, but didn't move or complain.

Tom closed his eyes again and tried to focus on Sam. Jerry was being optimistic because Tom couldn't really see how they'd get out of this one. But then again, he never could and they still did.

A jolt of annoyance came and went and he breathed in relief. "Sam's up and about. And annoyed, but I'd be too."

Angie squeezed his hand and finally seemed to relax into her pillows.

"Thank God," Jerry breathed, securing the bandage around Kyle's head. "Now I can finally rest."

"You're very reliant on this twin bond," Tom observed.

"Because I know how reliable it is," Jerry answered, laying down, too.

"You do?" Kyle asked propping his head in one hand and wincing.

Jerry just shrugged, but Tom was curious, too. His link with Sam had be a tricky thing everyone was aware of, but Jerry and Jimmy has never even hinted that they shared something similar.

"When Jessie fainted," Jerry finally said, "I got such a clear reading into Jimmy's head it was a bit frightening. So I believe you that you can tell what Sam is doing."