Curtain Call (The Jewel Project #7)

48. Snitch Gravel Victorious

It should be illegal for the sun to shine at funerals. But ironically enough, the day they put Davyn Grant in the ground, it shone in all its late June glory.

Tom couldn't take his eyes off the hole in the ground, wondering why this meant so much. A big part of him still hated the guy. The other realized there was nothing left for him to hate. And oh, how he'd wanted to hate him. For the torture that had left his skin covers in tattoos, for the insecurity, the danger. The hunger. For the pain, the hope and the happiness. For finally telling them the truth. For saving them when no one else would.

He should have stuck around enough for Tom to forgive him. Enough to be thanked for the twisted way in which he'd raised them and protected them from their own parents.

But Freider had taken that away from them. Just like he'd taken away their chance at a normal life the moment he'd decided to marry his brother's sweetheart.

"The perimeter seems secure," Billy mumbled from next to him.

"That's good," Tom answered, still not looking away from the hole in the ground. There were a lot of people around meant to secure the area. And since Angie and his kids weren't there, he could risk being less than alert.

They'd managed it this time, convinced the girls that there was no point for all of them to be there for this. They'd already said their goodbyes to the dead man, so they were much safer staying at Max's place for another few days while they took care of the funeral. And they had a job to do. Find the safest place to set up camp and begin their crusade against the Counters.

Well, continue their crusade, because Kyle had double-crossed them in the most satisfying manner. The moment the hole in the ground was covered, it was code red.

"You seem a bit out of it," Billy observed.

"I am." Tom turned to him, taking in the signs time had left on the face of his cousin and best friend. His hair was darker, resembling wet sand rather than straw, and his eyes had definitely settled on a dull grey. "The last few days have been a bit shocking, don't you think?"

Billy rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm a little surprised you decided to join us."

"Don't be mad at me, Tom. It was hard staying away from you."

"Why couldn't you at least tell us you were still alive?"

Billy hesitated as if thinking of the best argument out of many to present him with. "You didn't try to contact me after you found out I wasn't dead."

"You didn't try to reach out so we left you alone. Which once again proves you could have told us."

"You never really thought I was dead."

"You stayed dead for over four years before revealing yourself to Jimmy. Does it matter anymore what we thought?"

Billy stayed quiet at this and Tom continued his contemplation of eternity. Not like anything they said could change what had happened. And if he were completely honest, Tom didn't hold a grudge against Billy. He was just glad to have him back.

"I'm not disappearing again," Billy said, as if guessing his thoughts.

"I know. Kyle's technically your boss now, so there's nowhere for you to scamper off to."

Billy huffed. "True. Ironic that it ended up happening. So he's not going to leave the reins to Sam?"

Tom had thought about that, too, even if they hadn't discussed it yet. He highly doubted it however. If anything, Sam seemed relieved to finally step away from his leadership role. What they had to do next was highly different. No more delicate history mysteries, no more fighting against nature and ancient traps. This was about people. The wrong kind of people. And Kyle had always been better at that.