“Let’s go, Linky,” she said exuberantly as she grabbed his arm and started to drag him back towards the party.
I felt like my whole body was shaking with nerves as I pulled out my phone. Our contract prohibited the use of cell phones, but I could care less right now. My life was being turned upside down once again.
“What are you doing?” Jace asked as I pulled out my phone.
It was clear the guys had come to the same conclusion I did. They looked as happy about the revelation as I was.
“Google knows everything,” I muttered as I typed in Lincoln Hudgens in my search engine. He flashed up on my screen. The picture staring back at me was of him with a smile softening his austere features. He looked warm and welcoming. I could imagine now why Jemmy was fooled by his charming smile if this was all she had to go by. I clicked on the images button and began to scroll up.
He was a well-known movie actor and had posed for several magazines. He’d recently gotten an endorsement from a car manufacturer. There had to be one picture of him posing half naked. Preferably his top half. A man that spent that much time on his physique had to take pride in it. He struck me as a man that would show the world his dedication to his body.
It took me less than thirty seconds to find a picture of him in black and white. He was wearing a pair of low-slung jeans with his boxer shorts sticking out as he bit on one of his thumbs. His other hand was hooked in one of his pockets. He was looking at the camera with sultry bedroom eyes, and even though the picture was in black and white, his eyes still looked light and compelling. I groaned and gasped simultaneously as I saw the unmistakable ? on his chest, right above his heart.
“Now what?” I asked glumly as we came into my hotel room.
“I guess we can find out where he lives and pay him a visit,” Noah stated as he embraced me and pulled me down onto my bed.
“That may be easier said than done,” Remy said tersely as he took a seat on my couch.
I took a deep breath and pulled out my phone, knowing who probably knew where he lived. My fingers hovered over my keyboard as I contemplated what I should write.
“I already have it,” Troy stated as he walked into the room. “It helps knowing people. Now we can take turns watching the house. It’s a bit complicated since he’s behind gates. When he’s alone, we can send Blake in.”
“By herself?” Remy asked slightly agitated.
“I really don’t think he’ll appreciate it if we all roll up in there,” Jace said firmly.
“I don’t think he’ll appreciate me rolling up there by myself,” I muttered. “I kind of pushed back when he was so…arrogant earlier.”
“What do you want us to do? We don’t have to go through with this. We can continue our lives as normal people,” Jaxson said as he sat down on the other side of me with a deep sigh.
“We already discussed this,” Drake said resolutely. “She’s weak. We have no clue what would happen if our connection was severed. She goes down for a day, sometimes days. Who knows what will happen to her when her gift finally leaves her?”
“I’ve been having issues with my limbs,” Noah said into the quiet room. “It’s starting to physically affect me, too. This morning I couldn’t even take a shower without holding onto the handicap bar. It took me over an hour just to wash.”
I stared at him in shock as I rolled over onto my uninjured side and embraced him. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Noah snorted in a self-deprecating way. “Me losing control of my limbs paled in comparison to you getting shot in your weakened state.”
“My visions going,” Drake a
dded softly into the stunned room. “I thought it might be just my prescriptions, and I have an appointment with an ophthalmologist today, but I know it’s not going to be a prescription issue. I know it has to do with my gift. Our gifts.”
“I’ll take you to your appointment, when is it?” Jace asked solemnly.
Drake looked down at his watch, and he stared at it for an inordinate amount of time. My heart sank when I realized he was having difficulty seeing the hands on his watch. He looked up ruefully. “Five o’clock.”
“You can’t see your watch, can you?” Remy asked as he leaned forward in his seat.
Drake shook his head a lock of his ash blonde hair falling over his forehead. “It comes and goes, and right now it went. At first, it occasionally happened; now it's increasing in its frequency.”
“Anyone else?” I asked with trepidation, looking around the room.
Remy, Troy, Jace, and Jaxson shook their heads. I took a deep shuddering breath in as I closed my eyes, hoping to draw strength from Noah’s arms. It was one thing for us to decide to continue life without our gifts. It was an entirely different thing when it started affecting all of us.
“Who’s going to do surveillance on the house first?” Jaxson inquired decisively.
“I’m going to go with whoever goes, every time. I’ll sleep in the van if I have to,” I pronounced definitively.