Sweet sleep was interrupted by someone shaking Jessie's shoulder. She swatted the hand away, but it continued to disturb her, prodding her ribs. Her body felt right on the edge of that perfect, comfortable sleep and she wanted back in there.
"Get lost, I'm trying to sleep."
"Jessie, Sam's gone."
She cracked an eyelid open and took in Kyle's worried face. "Maybe he's in the bathroom." Which was right across the hall, though across was a rather generous word since it was basically five feet away.
"He's not." Kyle let her go and opened the dresser. "And I have a very bad feeling about this."
"Sam's not an idiot. I'm sure he'll be fine," she mumbled, putting a pillow over her head.
It almost worked. For a few seconds, she could ignore all the shuffling and almost drift back to sleep, but then her brain caught up with Kyle's words and she bolted up. Sam was depressed and alone in a foreign country that could be crawling with Snitch Gravel's men. It was not a good time for him to be alone.
"Ah, crap." She hopped out of bed and almost landed on Kyle who was tying his shoelaces.
He'd already changed into a pair of army print shorts and a t-shirt. With her in the room. She opened her mouth to tell him it was weird, but shrugged it off. Now was not the time for a chat on boundaries, and she honestly didn't mind that much.
Jessie grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top and headed for the bathroom to quickly change. When she came out, Kyle was already in the hall, bouncing on the soles of his feet, looking even more worried.
"I'll go find a car. Meet me at the reception." And he headed for the stairs.
Before he could go down even one step, the door to the room next door opened, and Jerry dragged his feet outside.
"Where are you guys going?" he asked with a yawn.
"Ditch him," Kyle said between his teeth before hurrying down.
Jessie blinked, her mind still foggy from the lack of sleep and the jetlag. She wasn't exactly sure why she had to ditch Jerry, but maybe Kyle was more alert than she was and actually had a reason. So she put on a smile.
"We just got bored and decided to go look around a little." Maybe Jerry wouldn't notice that she looked like the walking dead.
Jerry nodded, stifling another yawn. "Where's Sam?"
"He's still sleeping," she answered, heading for the stairs before Jerry had the chance to ask more stuff.
"He should. He needs all the rest he can get. Though I have no idea if he can, not with all those nightmares he gets." And he headed for the bathroom.
Jessie hurried down. As soon as she stepped outside, she hissed. The sun blazed above her, searing her skin. She checked her watch. It was two in the afternoon. Great, she'd only had four hours of sleep. Barely enough to function properly on, but now she was legitimately worried for Sam. Jerry was right, Sam always had nightmares, and they could drive him to do something stupid and dangerous. Or maybe he was around and they were just being paranoid.
She reached the reception area and the air conditioning blew the sweaty hair out of her face. Goosbumps erupted up her arms and she gritted her teeth. A cold was the last thing she needed right now, but changing temperatures so fast might just do it.
Kyle was at the reception, talking on the phone, looking extremely pissed off. As she approached him, he slammed the receiver, startling the girl behind the desk.
"We have to wait for ten minutes," he said the moment she reached him. "Sam has apparently gone out about twenty minutes ago, according to their log."
"Well, that's good. Where do you think he is?"
YOU ARE READING
Lost Stars (The Jewel Project #3)
Adventure"You youngsters are stupidly adorable with your stubborn obsession with love. Love doesn't lift you. It destroys you." For Sam Grant, his family has become his sanctuary and the team that joins him on death defying adventures. But after everythi...
