Page 59 of Sin

When one of the balloons floated forward from the trunk where Jinx had stashed them and tried to stick to my hair, even after I swatted it away, I asked, “So… What’s with the balloons?”

Jinx’s ears burned red. “It was all the store had. But a balloon is a balloon.”

I laughed, shoving the balloon back again. “I like them.”

His shoulders relaxed. “Good. I’m glad.”

I glanced out the window, watching as we hopped onto the freeway. “So what’s the plan?”

“Well,” London said as Blade signaled to change lanes. I wanted to cry with relief. “We moved our things to a town a few over from here. We didn’t know where Lucas went or if he stuck around, and we didn’t want to risk staying in town in case he decided to come looking for us.”

I shivered at the thought. “Okay, and then what?”

“We’ll head back to Mercy Heights. President Osborne wants you back for better medical attention. We’ve already contacted Mend, and he’s expecting us tonight.”

“What about Lucas?” I asked.

“President Osborne put another team temporarily on Lucas’s case while you were in the hospital. She thinks the most important thing right now is to make sure your injuries are healed before sending us back out.”

Of course she did. Though I doubted her concern had anything to do with my pain and more to do with the fact that she believed I was most likely the only one capable of capturing Lucas.

After what happened in that house of mirrors, I wasn’t so sure.

I decided against voicing my thoughts and used the teddy bear as a pillow for the rest of the drive. I was given some pain medicine before being discharged, and it was making me groggy despite how much sleep I’d gotten over the past couple of days.

When we pulled into the parking lot of a quaint little inn, London hopped out immediately and came around to the back to help me out of the van. I was pretty sure I could have managed by myself, but I wasn’t going to turn down this attention.

The inside of the inn was nautical themed, with anchors on every wall, stitched into the towels, and printed on the navy blue bedding. The others carried in my gifts, and I brought the teddy bear over to the nearest bed and didn’t even care how ridiculous I looked as I hugged it to me. I now understood why people used body pillows.

The others tried to talk softly while they made plans. Apparently, even though we weren’t actively going after Lucas right now, London wanted to see if we could manually track where Lucas was heading. Blade and Jinx left the four of us after a while, but I didn’t hear where they were going.

I’d already told the team what had happened with me and Lucas in the house of mirrors when I’d woken up in the hospital, how I’d failed them all when Lucas had managed to break into my head way too easily. It didn’t bode well for us if I wasn’t able to keep him out, but London simply said we’d figure it out.

For now, I needed to rest and build back my mental shields, and I knew the best way to practice was now lying on the bed next to me.

Mare chewed loudly on a piece of watermelon flavored bubblegum, blowing bubbles every now and again and making it difficult to fall asleep. I didn’t think she was doing it on purpose, though. She’d seemed genuinely distracted while London and Lewis went through security footage from the carnival, trying to find where Lucas could have gone.

“Find anything?” London asked, slumped against the makeshift desk while Lewis scanned video footage after video footage, searching for any sign of the madman running free out there.

“Not yet, but there are only so many ways he could have left the grounds. We’ll find him. Don’t worry.”

London sighed and glanced at me. When he saw I was watching him, he moved over to me and sat carefully on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine. Just groggy. Will we be driving or flying back to Mercy Heights?”

“Flying.” He traced a finger along my forearm, and I zeroed in on that movement. Ever since the house of mirrors incident, he’d been a lot more clingy, running his hands through my hair, rubbing my arm, giving my foot a squeeze. Simple things, but more touch and attention than he’d shown me in longer than I could remember. “We’ll go straight to the hospital so Mend can check you over.”

I nodded. “Where did Blade and Jinx go?”

“They’re checking out the house of mirrors to see if Lucas left any clues there.”

I thought back to that day. “He had a bag. I don’t think he took it when he ran.”

“If it’s still there, they’ll find it.” He squeezed my wrist. “Try to sleep. We’ll wake you if they find anything.”

“All I’ve done is sleep,” I complained, even as my eyelids drooped.

He laughed. “Because you need it.”

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