All the air from Sam's lungs whooshed out in a painful torrent as images spiraled inside his head. The last time he'd seen Snitch Gravel... The rage, the pain, the coma...
That had happened long ago. Sam was a changed man. Snitch Gravel wasn't. He didn't look a day older, just... Tired. As if his life had suddenly become an exhausting mess, not as if he was the one causing it for someone else.
Sam fought not to cower, not to step back. He was wearing a disguise, he kept screaming it inside his head, though even in his wildest dreams, he didn't believe a mask would fool Snitch Gravel.
"Any particular reason you were hanging out my window, good sir?" Snitch Gravel asked, his tone pleasant.
Sam couldn't answer. Once the fear elevated, confusion and rage took its place. The man before him had put him in a coma. Killed his father. Saved his mother. And if he wanted to keep up the pretense Sam couldn't say anything about it. Not if he wanted to live.
"I didn't know this office, or this window for that matter, belonged to anyone," he answered, his voice drawn out.
Snitch Gravel's eyes narrowed. "True, I can't pretend to own the place. I'm merely a visitor, such as yourself."
"I do not believe we've met then. Howard Cummings." Sam reached out his hand.
Snitch Gravel's squint only deepened and Sam lowered his hand. They weren't pretending that much, apparently.
"I'd be careful where I choose to snoop around, Mr. Cummings."
"I'll keep that in mind." Sam turned around and headed for the door. If Snitch Gravel wanted to pretend he couldn't recognize him, fine by him.
"I'd also be careful what I do with potentially damning information."
"Not exactly the best person to talk about anything damning," Sam muttered.
"What was that?"
It was stupid. It was beyond stupid, it was insane, but he couldn't help it. The rage defeated the fear, so Sam turned to face Snitch Gravel, even if he was only a few steps from the door.
"Did life get boring?" he asked, not even trying to change his voice anymore. "Are you finally satisfied?"
The look on Snitch Gravel's face could cripple a lesser man, but anger had always been a powerful drive for Sam, so at the moment, he didn't give a shit.
"Everything stopped," he finally said, as if expecting Sam to know what everything was. "I think everyone noticed that."
"Oh yes, it did. Except you don't keep your dogs on their leashes properly." Sam nodded towards the room next door. "But I'll take care of that for you."
"You should be careful what you get yourself into."
There was nothing he could get himself into that was worse than this. The Agency, his father. Snitch Gravel himself. "Will it stay stopped?"
Snitch Gravel grinned in that old way of his, as if the game was breathing some life into him. "Now why would I tell you that, Mr. Cummings?"
"Maybe the world deserves some peace."
"Some people never do."
You don't. But in spite of bitter feelings, there was something else he felt the need to say. "Thank you."
Snitch Gravel's satisfied expression gave way to one of full surprise. "What for?"
"Not killing my mother." And with those words, he took the remaining steps to the door.
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...
