Chapter 18
“Anyone care to fill me in?” I asked before dipping my grilled cheese, peanut butter, and jelly sandwich into my tomato soup.
I saw some of the guy’s shudder at my food choice.
I hummed in satisfaction. It was hitting the spot for me.
Even if Lincoln didn’t make it quite as good as Drake would have.
The edges were nice and crispy, but the middle was slightly mushy.
I wasn’t complaining. The flavors were all still there.
Plus, Drake had some of our favorite soups in the freezer so it didn’t take much to heat it up.
Jace spoke up first. “Jemmy was at the extraction. The only problem is, she’s not exactly herself.
She seems to know who everyone is but has no…
emotion attached to them. It’s like she’s a robot.
We tried to ask her some questions and were met with a stonewall.
She only answered very basic questions. Like, when we asked her where she was, she answered, away.
Then when we asked where away exactly was, she wouldn’t answer. ”
I frowned and finished the bite of food that was in my mouth. “Do we know why she’s in that state?”
Remy ran a hand through his hair, and I couldn’t help but notice that he hadn’t gotten a trim in quite a while.
It looked like it was long enough for him to throw it back in a ponytail or a man bun at that point.
“One of the Florida people senses a foreign object in her but cannot determine what it is or its purpose.”
“Is it something like what those women had in Horatio’s facilities. If it’s made from metal, can we draw it out and heal her?” I asked before taking a drink of my milk.
Noah came in and placed some hummus and snap peas in front of me. I smiled and then I leaned my head back. I puckered my lips for a kiss. He smiled before brushing his lips against mine. His smile slowly faded before stating.
“That’s the problem, it’s located too close to her brain stem. If we attempt to remove it, we may cause permanent damage to her brain. We’ve never attempted to heal the brain. We can’t take the risk.”
My brows drew together in dread and concern. I’m sure Horatio learned from his mistakes the first time around. He would be vile enough to ensure any of his implants weren’t as easily removed as his first ones had been. My stomach churned wondering what he could have inserted Jemmy with and why.
“So, what’s the solution? What can we do to—heal her.”
Lincoln sat down with his grilled cheese sandwich.
“Neville is on the search for someone that may be able to extract it. He helped a young girl with her manifestation a few years ago. The young girl was bullied in school and was cornered by her bullies in an alley on the way home. She struck out and her whole fist went into her bully’s chest.
“Luckily, Neville knew people to make the bullies forget the incident. Needless to say, she was freaked out, and it took a while for Neville to gain her trust. Once he did, he was able to find a mentor in her area to help her with her gift since her dad was a non and her mother was in denial of her own gift. The problem is her mentor died her senior year of high school, and Neville wasn’t able to keep in touch with all his pupils.
Plus, her family moved. Neville is trying to find her, but he is being pulled by a few adolescents who are manifesting and he’s tired from last night’s mission.
It may take him a little while to find her. ”
There were a few minutes of silence before Jace cleared his throat and put his coffee cup down.
He had opted out of our late-night snack but decided to grab a cup of coffee and to a slice of coffee cake Grandma Hazel had brought over sometime today.
The woman went to the bakery at least twice a week to bring treats back for us, and we were more than thankful for it.
“About last night—”
Jace leaned forward and I knew a serious discussion was going to ensue. Then I recalled what they were discussing as I was waking from my sleep. I had a strong suspicion of what it may be about, so I decided to head off the conversation.
“I’m not going out on any other missions. I realized my limitations. It’s not worth the risk for the babies or myself any longer.”
“Really?” Remy eyed me suspiciously.
I had to cover my mouth, so I didn’t spit out any of my hummus and sugar snap peas while I laughed. “Yes, really.”
Troy looked at me just as skeptically. “That easy.”
I shrugged before dipping another veggie into my dip. “Yes, really. It was scary last night and honestly, I don’t like the idea of our children using their gifts already. I don’t know if my fear is triggering them, but it can’t be good, right?”
“I’m glad you don’t want to go out anymore, but truthfully, I don’t think it causes any strain on the babies.” Lincoln reassured me. “After talking to Greg, Pops, and your ultrasound it doesn’t appear to have any effects on them.”
“We’re more worried about them releasing their gifts once their outside of your womb. Can you imagine our son or daughter unleashing a storm if we don’t give them their bottle on time.” Noah smirked.
A few of the guys laughed while Jace and Remy seemed unamused. I rolled my eyes at them. “Come on that was funny. I know twins are a handful as it is, now we have to worry about their gifts. I already have a feeling our more active one is going to keep us on our toes.”
Troy reached over and caressed my belly. “I think it’s our daughter. Huh, bambina?” He knelt beside me to croon to my belly. “You’re the one causing chaos in mama, aren’t you?” He looked back up at me. “When we did your scan and where you told us you feel the most movement, it’s our daughter.”
As if on cue the baby on my lower right side rolled violently. I grimaced slightly but laughed. I took his hand in mine and placed it where one of my children was moving. Troy grinned and I knew the look of adoration and love would never get old.
I had to admit I was slightly disappointed that I had missed the last scan.
I reassured myself that I was due for another one in a week or two.
Dr. Branch wanted me to come see her more often despite the fact all in all I was in good health.
She still considered me high risk because of my size and because I was carrying twins.
“We probably should think about keeping them out of public once they’re born—for a little while.” Remy stated. “Goodness forbid we’re shopping in a grocery market and one of them gets unhappy and cause a tornado.”
I thought about that for a moment and had to agree, but then I realized what he said. When we went shopping. We hadn’t gone shopping in a hot minute. The perfectly mundane task of grocery shopping seemed more and more appealing every day. I couldn’t wait until we could get back to reality.
Jace gave me a tentative look before stating. “I think that goes without saying, even though Pops and Greg said there’s no guarantee that the babies will actually be able to use their gifts once their born. Besides do we want to do much running around with newborns if we don’t have to.”
“When we do, we can do it in controlled environments,” Lincoln stated. “It would suck for her to finally be free of this place and then have her locked up again.”
I smiled at him and reached over to squeeze his hand before saying. “Speaking of getting out of here, when did you reschedule our meeting with the builder.”
“Tomorrow afternoon. He has all the permits required and he’s having the land cleared of some it the trees and vegetation, so they can break ground next week.” Jace informed me.
I finished my last bite of food and stood up. I grinned excited by the prospect. “How does everyone feel about a rancher with a full-size basement?”
“No upstairs?” Jaxson frowned.
I shook my head. “I don’t relish going up and down stairs to do laundry, check on the kids, etc.”
“We can always have laundry facilities on each floor and keep the kids on the same floor while their little,” Remy reasoned.
“I like the idea of a rancher too. We can have one of those sprawling ranchers with the kitchen and living room centrally located,” Troy admitted.
I walked over to the stove and began to move the pans into the sink. Lincoln appeared next to me and attempted to push me out of the way. “You should be resting.”
I rolled my eyes at him, smiled, and shook my head. “I’m not an invalid and my muscles would probably appreciate some movement. Go finish your snack. There’s not much to clean up.”
Lincoln gave me an exasperated look before kissing my forehead and returning to his seat at the table.
Jace continued our previous discussion. “I’m fine with whatever, just as long as we have a music room.”
“Pick whatever plan you want, Blake. I just want a pole barn with room for my woodworking tools,” Remy volunteered.
“I’m okay with Blake choosing the house. And we should probably get an inground pool—with all the safety features—for Drake.” Jaxson grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl.
Noah leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his coffee. “Should we build a pool house so we can use it all year round?”
I put the pans on the drying rack, shook my head, and smiled.
A year ago, I would have laughed if anyone told me I would be discussing whether or not we should have an indoor pool built for a new home.
Sometimes my past seemed like just yesterday, yet other times like right now it seemed like a lifetime ago.
It was almost like I was viewing my past as an outsider looking in not believing this could be my life now.
“I’m sure Drake would love an inground pool and a kitchen fit for a chef.” Lincoln commented. “Maybe we can plan for the basement to be finished and put the teen boys down there along with a rec room.”