Curtain Call (The Jewel Project #7)

23. Weight of the Past

When anger fizzled, all that was left was despair.

Sam had wanted to get to the bottom of this, push back against the Agency for what was happening. Let them know that they knew without outright saying it. Be a constant threat over their heads.

Except, as he drove from Jerry's new place towards the city, adrenaline still making his hearing fuzzy, the weight of the news started weighing down on Sam.

Ron was dead. After years of being on the run and dodging everyone, police, Agency and Snitch Gravel's men included, someone had finally managed to catch him. And it started an avalanche of questions for Sam. Was he sober when it happened? Did it hurt? How did it actually happen?

And the card? Was there a card left for them?

Why was this happening? Who would be next?

A weight dove into his stomach at the thought that his extended family was nearly gone. Would they go after Max next? His grandmother Sophie in France? Straight for his mother? As much as he'd resented Maxi lately and avoided her, he didn't want her to die. None of them did.

Or would they skip all that and start going for their kids? The thought brought bile to his mouth and his hands shook on the wheel. That couldn't happen. The kids were much too young to get dragged into this. His twins were barely one for God's sake. And Sammy... He couldn't even fathom anything happening to her, to his little piece of Skye.

By the time he reached the Agency building and drove into the underground parking lot, the anger he'd felt left room to complete panic. He was in no position to make threats. Not when so much was at stake. But he couldn't leave things as they were either. Not doing anything obviously resulted in people dying.

So he drew in a deep breath, unclasped his seatbelt and got out of the car. He leaned his elbows on the roof and glanced around. The place was almost empty since it was pretty late. It would be so easy for someone to off him right there, or plant a bomb in his car.

No. Not yet. They weren't done scaring them, driving them back into a corner. They still wanted something, wanted the jewel, and they knew it would be nearly impossible for them to get it on their own. They never were able to. Why would that change now?

With another deep breath, Sam headed up towards his office. The corridors were dark and empty, and it only increased his sense of unease. What was he supposed to do in his office anyway? Not like anyone had left a warning there. It would be too obvious. So he walked past his door and further along the hallway, stopping in the doorway to Harry's office.

His former best friend was there, scribbling something on a piece of paper, his eyebrows drawn in a concentrated frown. The expression on his face was so familiar, reminding Sam of a time when they used to take exams together. The memory only increased the pain and panic inside him. How had it come to this?

Harry seemed to sense his presence because he raised his eyes from what he was doing. "Sam? What are you doing here?" He glanced over his shoulder as if to check whether he was alone. Then he scoffed and returned to his paper. "Isn't it a bit late for you? Don't you have some kids to put to bed or some wife to screw or something?"

His words washed over Sam, bringing forth no feeling for once. "Did you hear about Ron?"

Harry stopped writing abruptly and raised his face. His eyes were wide, and in them Sam could see the truth. He knew.

"Yeah..." He hesitated. "I actually saw it on the news. Were you close?" There was a tiny pause before he asked, "Did you even know him?"

"Yes." Sam wish his voice wouldn't shake, but his self control had been stretched way beyond what he could handle. "Why is this happening?"