“Huh. You don’t say.”
“I don’t want to know,” Jimmy said quickly, holding up his hands.
“They ain’t gonna be back for a while, so me and you are gonna hang out. How does that sound?”
“Peachy.” Jimmy managed a smile, plopping back on the couch and stretching out his legs. He didn’t mind Jules’ company, but it made him worry. “Is Rod okay?”
“He’s fine,” Jules said, sitting down in the chair closest to Jimmy. “He’s got the rest of the Gentlemen with him. Don’t you worry about him.”
“And is Charlie gonna be there?” Jimmy asked, struggling to hide his contempt.
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Can anyone around here ever give me a straight answer?”
Jules thought the question over before bluntly replying, “Nope.”
Jimmy pouted and silently flipped through the channels on the television until he dozed off. His dreams were troubled, bloody, and dark, and he woke up gasping to find Jules still sitting at his side and munching on popcorn.
“Hey, sleepin’ beauty,” Jules grunted through a mouthful. “You okay?”
“Fine. Ugh, what time is it?” Jimmy blinked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
“Like five o’clock.”
“Shit!” Jimmy sprang up. “Is Rod still here?”
“Nope. He’s out. Told me to tell you to be a good boy.”
“Really?” Jimmy wrinkled his nose skeptically.
“No,” Jules chuckled, throwing more popcorn into his mouth. “Just sounded like somethin’ he’d tell you, y’know?”
“Did he say anything?” Jimmy asked hopefully, picking up the remote and fiddling with the buttons.
“Just told me to take care of you.”
Jimmy smiled a little at that, flipping through the channels to find something to watch. He passed over a news station, pausing when he saw a raging fire. “What the hell?”
“—Fire downtown continues to burn as authorities work to control the blaze,” an anxious reporter announced over the terrifying footage. “The Wynne Hotel has been engulfed for over an hour, and the fire has spread to neighboring businesses—”
“Rod,” Jimmy whispered, his heart clenching tightly in his chest. He jumped up to his feet as he watched the terrible fire in horror.
“Rescue workers are still attempting to evacuate everyone inside, but there are still several guests unaccounted for,” the reporter went on. “There is no known cause for the fire, but witnesses have come forward to say that they heard an explosion before the fire began—”
“Jules?” Jimmy stared at him urgently. “What is going on? Is Rod okay? That’s, that’s the hotel where that witness was being kept!”
“But it’s not time yet...” Jules glanced down at his phone, his usually calm expression twisting up with concern. Jimmy didn’t know if it was a troubling message or the absence of one that was upsetting him. Jules put the popcorn bowl down, dialing and pressing the phone against his ear.
“Jules!” Jimmy’s voice was shrill now, and he turned back to gawk at the burning fire. He felt sick, and he realized that he was shaking. He’d picked up enough from listening to Cold and the others to know that a fire was certainly going to be involved with this new plan, but something had gone terribly wrong.
He had never felt so worried about Cold before.
Thirdsies, Jerry, Tamerlane, and Lorre might be in trouble, too. Pym and Valdemar could also be at risk. And Charlie, Jimmy’s mind reluctantly added. They could all be in terrible danger or much, much worse.
“Jules!” Jimmy snapped desperately, his eyes starting to fill with tears.
Jules wasn’t responding, calmly poking buttons on his phone and continuing to redial numbers.
