Too Young (The Jewel Project #1)

Chapter 28.2 - Ghosts

"Yeah, he's fine. He's sleeping. How's Kay?"

"Jerry said she's fine," Tom answered, coming over, holding Angie's hand, followed by Harry.

Jessie stared at Tom and Angie for a few seconds then put her hand over her mouth to hide her smirk. It was about darn time!

"I'll go tell Jerry that Jimmy's fine." Sam said, turning on his heels. "He didn't want to sleep until he had news. It's about time he did. We all should. We've had enough for one day."

Jessie couldn't agree more. She'd had enough excitement to last her a lifetime. Okay, maybe not a lifetime, but a couple of months.

*

Kay's eyes shot open. The dark green of a tent canvas came into view. Had they actually escaped? She pated her chest, but it only hurt slightly, as if she had a bruise. Shouldn't bullet wounds hurt more? Shuffling reached her and she looked to her right. Jerry meddled with his rucksack.

"We escaped?" Okay, obvious question, but she still couldn't believe it.

Jerry whipped around, his eyes wide and... happy. He charged at her and dropped to his knees next to her sleeping bag and swept her in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, thank God!"

"What happened?" Kay asked, hugging him back. There, that was actually a more pertinent question.

"We came just in time and managed to get out of there. Snitch Gravel left."

"Thank God!" She put her hand on her chest and frowned. "Wasn't I shot?"

"Well, yes, but... I think I'll let Kyle tell you what happened." Jerry smiled mysteriously and Kay fought the impulse to press on.

"I'm glad you two are finally getting along. You are, aren't you?"

"Yes. And I'm glad too. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Where is Kyle? Is he okay?"

Jerry shuffled his feet, looking guilty. "He was here, but I asked him to get me some water. I'm sorry about that. He's fine. The cut is healing abnormally fast, just like every wound Kyle ever gets."

Kay opened her mouth to ask about everyone else, but stopped once Kyle entered the tent and threw a bottle of water to Jerry. He didn't pay attention and it hit him in the chest. Kay stared at him. He had a sturdy bandage around his thigh and a bruise on his face, but other than that, he seemed fine. He wasn't even limping anymore.

"Sorry, Jerry, but you should pay-" Kyle stopped once his eyes fell on her. A huge smile lit his face. God, she loved his smile.

"I'll leave you two alone," Jerry mumbled and hurried out, clutching his bottle of water.

The second Jerry disappeared out the door, Kyle knelt next to her, took her face in his hands and kissed her. Her pulse went haywire and she ached to pull him closer, feel him next to her, like she always did, but this time, there was something else there - a desire to show him how much he meant to her, to make amends for her stupidity. And this wasn't fair.

"Whoa, tiger." She put her hand on his chest and pushed him back. "I thought you said I had to work for it."

Kyle stared at her, his eyes a little unfocused. "Are you kidding? You took a freakin' bullet for me." He twirled a lock of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. "You've more than made up for everything. I don't want to waste another second fighting. I love you." He searched his pocket and pulled out the heart-shaped amulet. The red stone was cracked and a chunk of it was missing. "I know it's not as pretty as it used to be."