Jimmy nodded and stood, too, taking Kyle's phone out in the process. There was already a text from Jessie letting him know everything was fine at the hotel. But it didn't say much. Snitch Gravel's men had still found them easily. The thought plagued his mind as they made their way back. They found the rest of the group at a table in the thankfully empty lobby.

Tina was already terribly pale, so he guessed Jessie and Kay had told them about the latest attack. Jerry also wore a pained expression, while Billy sat quietly, his arms crossed over his chest, nibbling on his lower lip.

"Thank God," Kay breathed the moment they reached the table. "Are you okay? You're both wet."

"Yeah, we're fine," Jimmy said, sitting next to Jessie. "We just decided to make a couple of snow angels before we left."

Kay wasn't distracted and kept watching Kyle expectantly, but he didn't say anything, just drummed his fingers on the table, following their progress as if it was the most interesting thing ever.

"Senseless jokes and potential colds aside, how on earth did they find us?" Jerry asked and all eyes turned to him.

"Maybe they were looking for something else," Jimmy said.

"Yeah, bullshit," Kyle interjected, not raising his eyes from his fingers. "Like that would ever happen. They were after us. There's nothing of interest here."

"But assuming they know we've been to Avignon, which they shouldn't," Jerry continued, "we stopped here because we wanted to throw them off. We had no reason to. We could've reached Tours by now. So how--"

"Tina, where'd you get that?" Jessie cut in, pointing at the book Tina clutched to her chest.

"What?" Tina held the book tighter. "It's just a novel I bought. Am I not allowed to read?"

"I asked you where you got it," Jessie insisted, her tone with a slight edge to it. "And when."

Jerry's eyes widened as if he realized what was going on, but Jimmy was still baffled why Jessie felt the need to roast Tina over a book.

"Please answer," Jerry said.

"I got it at the gas station outside of town," Tina finally answered.

"And how'd you pay for it?" Jessie continued, looking even more annoyed.

And that's when Jimmy finally realized why it was important. Even without an answer, he knew Jessie's hunch was right. There was no other explanation for it.

"You used your credit card, didn't you?" Jessie insisted.

"What's it to you?" Tina fired back, her face red with anger.

"They traced us!" Jessie yelled. "That's what it is to me!"

"Jessie, calm down," Jerry said, raising his hands. "She didn't know. This is my fault. I didn't tell her."

"It's not your fault," Jessie started.

"Jessie, knock it off," Kyle said, his voice calm and even. "Tina, it's okay, it's not the end of the world. We're in the middle of the country. We could go anywhere from here."

"Except back to Avignon, because I'm betting she paid for the guidebook with her card as well," Jessie mumbled.

"Maybe we should really head in another direction," Billy said warily. "Throw them off."

"We don't have time for that. We're meeting Sam and Tom in Chambord," Jimmy said.

Silence filled the room and the tension seemed to ease, which was a blessing. He hated how on edge everyone was, how Jessie had lost her cool with Tina, how Jerry was being sloppy, how Kyle kept ignoring Kay as if that would fix anything.

"You should have opened with that," Jerry finally said, his voice a little shaky. "Where are they? How are they?"

"They're in Paris," Jimmy answered. "They said they're in a bit of trouble, but they're handling it. And, better yet, Angie's with them."

Kay whooped in delight and everyone else seemed to lighten up.

"That's great," Kyle said, excited, letting Kay cling to his arm.

"They also said Snitch Gravel's men raided the Louvre and Versailles, but apparently came out empty handed," Jimmy continued with a smirk. "So I guess I was right about Paris being too obvious."

"Yes, you were right, I was wrong. Who cares?" Jerry laughed, throwing his hands in the air. "Sam and Tom are fine and they've got Angie as well!"

"Did they say anything about Christine?" Tina asked.

The atmosphere in the room shifted once again. Even if Tina hadn't shouted or appeared angry in any way, Jimmy could tell it was only the calm before the storm.

"Yes," Jessie whispered. "Sam said they didn't find her."

"Of course, they could take the time to look for Angie, but not for my sister." Tina's voice was laced with venom as her eyes filled with tears. "Because that's the way it always is. Christine and I come last."

"Tina, let's be reasonable," Jessie said. "Angie probably escaped on her own--"

"And what were their boyfriends doing, then?" Tina yelled. "Having a tea party? Visiting the city? Good thing Angie didn't need them."

"Knock it off, you're being unfair," Jessie said, losing all friendliness in her voice. "I'm sure Tom and Sam did their best to find and save Christine."

"Of course they did! Everyone always does! Because how else would you be everyone's sweetheart if you didn't stick up for them?" Tina stood, her fists clenched. "Which one of is it, then? Because Kyle's apparently not enough for you either."

What the hell was that crazy woman spewing? Jimmy got to his feet too, trying to calm down the bubbling rage inside him, keep it from rushing out of his mouth and causing more damage, but he couldn't just stand by.

"Tina, that's enough!"

She turned to him, her eyes brimming with tears. "I've had it, Jerry. I've had it with you always taking her side!"

What the actual fuck? "I'm not Jerry, I'm Jimmy. And I've had it with this crap! It's not my fault or Jessie's that you can't tell the difference between me and Jerry."

"What on earth is Tina talking about?" Kay asked.

Jimmy's eyes turned to her, to how she was looking at Kyle utterly confused, to how the annoyance on Kyle's face made him look scary again. Holy fucking shit, this was getting out of hand.

"No, come on." Jerry got to his feet and reached out his hands as if trying to calm everyone down. "We're just tired and stressed out. We should forget it and..."

The word sent all desire for peace flying out the window. "Forget it?" Jimmy snapped. "We should fix it! And if you won't do anything about it, maybe it's time that I did."

"I'm fed up with people talking about me like I'm not here," Kay said, the anger in her voice pouring more gas on the fire. "I want to know what's going on!"

"Are you satisfied now?" Jessie growled at Tina. "You got everyone fighting! Angie would've actually punched your mouth in."

"It's all your fault, you goody two shoes, getting everyone on your side," Tina wailed, tears pouring down her cheeks. "You only care about yourselves. None of you care about Christine!"

"Come on, Jessie, drop it, please," Jerry said desperately.

"Fine, but I'm only doing this for you," Jessie said, though her belligerent tone didn't imply the fight was anywhere near over. "If she wasn't your girlfriend I wouldn't be taking shit from her. She doesn't care that all this makes you look bad."

"It's not like that..." Jerry started, but Tina cut him off.

"Stop doing things for my boyfriend. No one's asked you to!"

Jimmy slammed his fist on the table, fed up with the noise, with the injustice and the sheer stupidity of the whole situation. "Stop picking on Jessie already!"

"Knock it off, all of you!"

Kyle's voice was enough to silence everyone. The repressed anger in it had Jimmy's entire body tensing, waiting to intercept him in case things got out of hand. But his brother, even if pissed as hell, was still himself.

"What the hell is wrong with you? We're on a mission and you're fighting about what? Tina being jealous because she can't tell the difference between Jerry and Jimmy? Who the fuck cares? That's the problem now?" He got to his feet, his eyes shooting daggers at all of them. "You--" He pointed at Tina. "Get that nonsense out of your head. And you--" He turned to Jimmy this time. "Keep your mouth and your temper in check. This is not the time to be fighting." He threw Kay a fleeting glance but said nothing to her. Instead, he whipped around and headed towards the elevators.

His words snapped Jimmy out of his murderous state, and his shoulder slumped. Even if his words hand been true and not harsh, Kyle had left chaos in his wake. Kay buried her face in her hands, leaning her elbows on the table. Jessie moved to her, wrapped one arm around her shoulders and bend over to whisper in her ear.

Tina dropped back on her chair too, crying her heart out. Billy just looked around, pale and confused, maybe searching for a way to make all the crying and screaming go away. Jimmy and Jerry remained standing, watching each other across the table.

"There's a bit of tension between Kyle and Kay," Jerry mumbled unexpectedly.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Jimmy muttered back. "Wrong kind of tension." His eyes fell on Tina and a knot tightened in his stomach. Not so much guilt as discomfort for escalating the entire situation. "You should comfort her, she needs it," he said to Jerry. "She's just exhausted and very worried about Christine."

Jerry held his gaze, not looking at his girlfriend. "Not sure I can right now. Not until I fix what she probably broke. You talk to her. I have to fix Kyle and Kay." And he whipped around and headed to the elevators.

As if sensing it was about her, Kay got up too and followed him out of sight.

"Well, I think it's about time I got some sleep," Billy said, stretching dramatically. "Good night, guys."

And it was only Jimmy and Jessie left with a crying Tina. A silent exchange passed between them, but the result was obvious. Jessie couldn't go comfort Tina, so it left him, even if he was still angry at her, sure he hadn't said anything out of line. But he'd do it. For the sake of everyone involved, he'd calm her down and assure her it was no big deal. Even if it was.

❄

The shock of that day was neverending. When Jerry joined her towards the room he and Kyle shared, Kay was convinced her plan was thwarted, because she couldn't talk to Kyle with Jerry there and she honestly doubted Kyle would come out to talk since he seemed so keen on avoiding her.

But as it turned out, Jerry was only escorting her to the door. The moment they reached the room, he opened the door and nudged her inside. "I think you two need to talk. I'll be back in a half an hour. I'm sorry about all this." His voice was extremely strained, as if he didn't think leaving them alone in a room was a good idea.

"What exactly are you sorry for?" Kay narrowed her eyes at him, but his expression was unreadable.

He just shrugged as an answer, turned tail and closed the door behind him.

Kyle, who had been looking out the window turned towards her, his face adorably confused. And her heart ached because he'd sent her away, because he was trying so hard to stay away from her, and because he might find what happened as being confirmation that he needed to keep his head straight.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," he answered, and fortunately his tone was normal. "But Jimmy said that not asking comes with some perks, so I'm sticking to that."

Kay gritted her teeth, but the whole Tina - Jessie situation was absurd enough as it was, so she really didn't want to get into what Tina was saying or implying or whatever. Jessie had proven to be a great friend so far, so taking sides was beyond easy.

"So..." She balanced back and forth on her heels. "Are you ready to talk now?"

He groaned, but finally turned his entire body towards her and leaned against the windowsill. "Yes, I'm sorry. Sorry I snapped, sorry I lost focus, sorry--"

"No! You can't be sorry for losing focus."

"What?"

"Be sorry for not talking to me, for snapping, for being distant, but don't be sorry for the one good thing you did over the past two days." She took in a deep breath and stepped towards him. "Because if you're going to say you're sorry for kissing me, I'm going to..." She had no idea how to finish that sentence.

His eyes narrowed and he got the slight predatory glint in them she loved so much, the one that assured her that, despite the mask and his role as leader, he wanted her. "You're going to what?" The challenge in his voice was unmistakable.

"Show you you're not." And she walked to him, put her hands on his face and pulled him into a kiss.

He could've stopped her, but he didn't even put up a fight, just wrapped his arms around her, pressing her against him, kissing her back so hard, her knees shook and she felt the need to sit down, or better yet, lay down.

"I never am," he whispered, pulling back from her. "But I shouldn't. I can't think when you're around me. It's like my entire body buzzes, like my brain refuses to focus on anything other but you. Because you're everything."

He was killing her. "I'm sure you'll handle it just fine."

"I'm not handling it. I'm not even coming anywhere close to handling it." He planted a soft kiss on her lips, then pulled away. "You get under my skin so easily and then I go ahead and make mistakes like letting subpar goons get the better of me."

A shudder ran through Kay's body, because his statement wasn't entirely true. "What really happened out there?"

"Jimmy thinks I'm too on edge."

"That's not what I asked."

He looked upward, lost in thought and she felt like stomping her foot and screaming like a petulant child. Why did he have to keep her out of the loop? They'd agreed they'd face this together.

"I'm going to try something," he said, fixing her once again with that smoldering look. "Work with me, okay?"

"O-kay," she said warily.

He gave a solemn nod before his mouth crashed over hers. There was nothing gentle and soft about this kiss, just pure lust. He grabbed her thighs and lifted her off the floor, pulling her closed to him. She wrapped herself around him kissing him back, her head already spinning as she tried to make sense of what was going on.

Before she could focus, her back hit the bed and he was on top of her, trailing kisses down her neck.

"Oh, God," she breathed, her body heating up instantly. What was he doing? He kept complaining that she was distracting him and now he was... nibbling on her earlobe and running his hands all over her. Who cared why he was doing this?

She raised his hoodie and pulled his t-shirt out of his jeans, finally gaining access to his skin. She ran her fingers along the ridges of his abs, going higher and higher, wishing she could just pull his clothes off. He lifted her sweater too, together with the tank top underneath it and kissed her stomach. Her back arched, bringing her closer to him, to the heat and the passion.

"He's right," he whispered against her skin. "He's so right..."

"What are you talking about?"

Kyle pulled away from her, still holding her against him. "You're going to have to help me."

She was panting too hard to think straight. "What?"

He rolled off her, bringing her on top of him and sat up, holding her in his lap. The movement eliminated all other thoughts, because there was nothing she loved more than this position. She got to look down at him for one thing, and their bodies fit so well together.

"Jimmy had a theory," he said, pressing his cheek against her chest and holding her tighter. "That I use up all my self control trying to resist you and that's why I'm doing a crappy job railing that other... My more violent side."

What he said sounded important, but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to that. She just wanted him to hold her forever.

"The thing is," Kyle continued, "it does take an insane amount of control to pull myself off you." He raised his face, his eyes searching hers. "So I'm going to need your help."

"You want me to push you back?" she asked, incredulously. When he nodded, she cupped her cheek and leaned over him, stopping one breath away. "And how am I supposed to do that when I want you so much?"

He groaned and held her tighter against him. "Don't do this to me. I can't risk losing it like that again. I could've hurt you."

"You'd never hurt me," she whispered, her lips brushing against his.

It was all it took to have him pinning her down again, start kissing every inch of her he could reach. She grinned, loving the effect she had on him, how he could make him lose his head. His hands ran up her thighs, on her bare stomach, as his lips moved from her mouth to her neck.

"You're not helping me," he whispered in her ear.

The words were like a bucket of icy cold water. He sounded upset. It took him precisely one second to get off her and stand, stuffing his t-shirt back in his jeans as he went. She propped herself up on her elbows, trying to understand why he looked so annoyed now. A moment ago, he was kissing her.

"Teasing is fun, Kay. Me getting murderous because I can't control myself is not. I really need you to help me with this. I need to know that you'll push me back."

"But I don't want to push you back."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Could you just do this for me until Sam gets here? Because we're in a shitty situation and I can't handle it if all I can think of is--" He bit his lip hard.

"What are you thinking?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you want me to spell it?"

Yes, she did. But she also knew him well enough to tell she shouldn't push him. Because he was serious and her lust was making her fail at being a supportive girlfriend big time. So she shook her head like a good girl, sat up and arranged her clothes. A part of her wondered what would happen if she said yes, challenged him, just casually took her sweater off. Would he be able to control himself?

"Ah, crap. Jerry," she muttered.

"Huh?"

"He said he'd come back in a half an hour which is an oh-so-obvious warning that we shouldn't be getting into anything that lasts longer."

"And you decided to tell me now?" Kyle asked, dumbstruck.

"I forgot. Trust me, controlling myself isn't all that easy either."

They both fell silent, watching each other with weariness. Kyle finally relaxed and strode to her.

"Listen, just a few more days, okay?"

"Then what?"

He leaned over her. "Then we'll make it work somehow."

She wanted to ask what he meant, but she didn't want to be disappointed in case it wasn't was she thought. Though she totally shouldn't be thinking things like this. They were on a mission, not vacation. He was right, he had to focus. They all did. All this senseless drama was just turning them into easy targets.

"I'm sorry. You're totally right." I just want you too much for it to be healthy. But she smiled instead of saying that last part.

He smiled back and gave her a quick kiss. "I love you. Hold on to it, because you won't be hearing it until I'm revoked as leader."

"I love you, too. And I promise you won't be hearing it from me either."

"Thank you. For understanding and for holding on to me when you should be running for the hills."

She just smiled some more. God, sometimes Kyle was an idiot. How could he even think there was anything wrong with him? He was perfect just the way he was.

❄❄❄

Surprise! Another update. Just because I wanted to get this entire chapter out there. I loved writing it and it flowed so easily.

How do you feel about Tina? About Kyle and Kay and Jerry's change of heart? About how Jimmy and Jessie are handling it.

Don't hold back. All thoughts are welcomed. Now vote and comment for me. I'll just leave this here 🐖