Even if Angie had been expecting it, ever since she'd received the text from Tom, her pulse refused to return to normal.
It wasn't even a complicated or emotional text. It was simple and to the point, much like Tom was.
We need to talk. In half an hour at Dinno's?
Yes, they needed to talk, he could bet his ass. Angie wasn't as dumb as to believe Sam hadn't told his twin what he'd done, what she'd said. The truth was finally out and they needed to face each other about it.
Dinno's was safe. It was where they occasionally went for coffee after a long shift at the Agency, or a rare night of fun. It was half a block away from their apartment and since it was nine thirty, the perfect time for morning coffee. Also, the cafe usually opened at eleven, so he'd probably pulled some strings just so they could have privacy.
As she grabbed her keys and made her way down to the street, her pulse quickened even more. He was being considerate, making things easy for her. Asking her to meet him in a familiar place that wasn't necessarily filled with memories, within walking distance, at a time of day that would be most convenient for her. Because it was a hell of a long distance from his parents' house.
No, stop it. It's just a coincidence. He's the one who picked the time and place without even asking for your opinion.
The lie would've maybe worked if she didn't know him so well. Tom had always seemed the selfish, showoff type, but he'd bent over backwards for her from the day they'd met. Before she could continue to think of ancient history, she reached Dinno's.
He was already there, of course he was. Seeing him sent a jolt of panic through her. What Sam had told her had broken the chains around her, but that didn't mean she'd had the chance to analyze it, come to terms with it. To compute that the person sitting in front of her was a cheater, and not the man she loved with all her heart.
He stood and waited for her to reach the table, but she couldn't move.
It was impossible. Tom hadn't cheated on her. It would have left a mark on him of some sort. He wouldn't be looking exactly the same as he always did, wouldn't make her heart beat so fast she could barely hear anything else outside of it. One single detail helped break the paralysis. The sunglasses. The symbol of estrangement and lies.
Her hands balled into fists and she strode forward, her teeth gritted together. Tom or no Tom, what was done was done. By both of them. And as much as it looked that way, nothing was the same.
He looked pale, maybe a little thinner, but still nowhere near as skinny as he'd been when she met him. Sitting across from him in a cafe brought her back to the past, to how they used to dance around the darkness in their lives just so they could have a few moments of light.
They'd had so much of it. She'd never been happier than she'd been with him, even if that came with so much danger and craziness. But as she'd recently learned, that wasn't on him. It was on everyone's ancestors.
Her parents. William.
Who had it been for them? Who'd been in the Agency and failed at some point, sentencing them to a life of danger?
"Hey," he said. "Hope you don't mind, but I already ordered."
She didn't give a flying fuck. "What do you want?"
He made a face that clearly said "duh", but kept any sarcasm in. "Sam told me what happened." He paused and pursed his lips as if he had so much more to say about it, but chose not to. "I'm so sorry. I'd ask you how you are, but that would be... Pointless, I guess, since I already know."
YOU ARE READING
Lose Control (The Jewel Project #5)
Adventure"It's never going to end, is it? The rivalry, the hatred, the madness. Not even now. Not even after so many years." It has been three years since the last jewel was recovered, and the Agency seems to have put the project to rest. They have a new tar...
