Curtain Call (The Jewel Project #7)

41. The Worst Liar

"No way. No freaking way!"

Kyle had known a lot, so Snitch Gravel's story provided little surprises for him. The last part about Tom and Jimmy had caught him off guard, sure. But this? It explained everything and yet made him want to scream.

It couldn't be so obvious. So easy.

So silly, and senseless, and immature.

Freider couldn't have been right all along and this was nothing but a high school grudge over some girl.

Maxi's killer gaze moved from Snitch Gravel to him and her demeanor changed. For a moment, it looked like she would drop her gun in shock, but her grip tightened and she stepped forward.

"Kyle?" she whispered. Her eyes shone with tears.

"Hi, Mom. Yes, I'm still alive." Which was the least of their worries right now. A part of him wanted to go hug her, make her feel safe, but the problem was she shouldn't have been there to begin with, involved in all this mess. She was supposed to be the good, innocent parent. "What are you doing here?"

"She ran away," Jimmy answered through gritted teeth. "From safety and from her responsibilities. So of course she'd end up here."

Huh, Kay hadn't mentioned that bit. The rosy tinge of her cheeks showed she'd kept it out of their little catch-up session intentionally. Which means it was likely a lot more messed up than he realized.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"That's why you left?" Sam asked, taking one step forward, his fists clenched. "To play the hero? What the hell were you thinking? Do you know how hard it was for us to figure our what to do with the kids?"

"Don't chastise me, Sam," Maxi snapped, her attention drawn from Kyle. "I obviously made the right call! You need my help!"

"For what?" Sam yelled. "We're fine!"

"Fine? Have you seen your face?"

Sam winced, bringing his hand to touch his cheek. "That happened before we left. It's part of the reason we did. But can't you see we're not captured?"

Stupidly enough, Maxi did not seem to have seen that before Sam pointed it out. Her eyes moved from Sam to the empty cages around them, only then computing that they were outside. Just to drive the point home, Sam held up the keys and jingled them.

"But he... But..." Her shocked gaze moved to Snitch Gravel. "What are you doing?"

Snitch Gravel shrugged. "Having a nice chat."

"No!" Maxi's voice was filled with panic. "No, you can't! You didn't!"

"Can we get back to the part where we obviously all realized that Mom is your ex-girlfriend?" Tom asked. "Before she shoots you and we can't have the truth."

"Tom, don't be silly," Jerry said, his tone reasonable. "Mom won't shoot him."

Kyle wasn't so sure. Maxi's eyes filled with tears again and her weapon hand was shaky. All of a sudden, it felt like their presence was of little importance, that the remaining catalysts of their misfortune had finally met.

"What did you do?" she whispered. "How could you tell them something like that?"

"Isn't it true, though?" Sam pressed on. "Weren't the two of you together?"

Maxi glanced from him to Snitch Gravel, the panic morphing into confusion. "What exactly did you tell them?"

"A lot, but not everything. Funny that you'd show up just when your part came up." Snitch Gravel took a step towards her. "Maybe you could illuminate all of us."