A Most Excellent Midlife Crisis - Robyn Peterman Page 0,16

same state he was in when he’d first come back to me.

“How?” I asked. My throat was dry and my words felt rusty.

Steve raised his brow and gave me the same look he’d given me when I’d broken my foot years ago because I jumped off a ladder to grab a fresh paintbrush. In my defense, it was a small ladder, but the ground was hard. “Your little stunt in my mind reversed the damage the darkness caused.”

“Are you mad at me?” I asked, trying to smile.

“Understatement,” Steve said, shaking his head. “However, it doesn’t change how much I love you.”

“Good,” I said, glancing around.

My relief that Steve hadn’t moved into the light before I could say goodbye was overwhelming. Seeing him eased the pressure in my chest.

“Hoooooooookaaah,” Birdie yelled with her foul middle digit raised.

I choked out a laugh. Never did I think that being flipped off by a cranium-challenged dead hooker would make my day.

But it did.

Birdie was holding her head and most of the squatters were missing appendages. Shitshow didn’t even begin to describe the way my roomies looked. I was going to need a lot of superglue.

Wait.

“Clarissa,” I growled. “Has she been punished?”

The room went silent. It didn’t bode well.

“Not exactly,” Candy hedged.

“Not at all,” Gram added with disgust in her voice.

“Explain,” I said as adrenaline fueled by anger helped me stand up. My legs were shaky, but they worked.

“She’s gone missing,” Heather said, entering the room and wrapping her arms around me in relief.

“I repeat. Explain,” I said, hugging Heather back.

She pointed to the bed. “Sit.”

“Nope,” I told her, slowly beginning to pace the room. The ball of fury in my gut wouldn’t let up. Moving was necessary if I was going to keep a lid on my temper.

“Fine,” Heather conceded. “The Angel of Mercy’s fate has been sealed. There is no doubt of her guilt. It’s been reported and recorded. She will be stripped of her power, heritage and Immortality. However…”

“However, what?” I ground out.

“However, she has to be found first,” Candy chimed in.

Pressing my lips together so I didn’t drop an F-bomb in front of Gram, I attempted to gather my scattered thoughts. Had John Travolta given her a heads up and she’d gone into hiding?

With what he had done to save me, it didn’t make sense. But sense wasn’t necessarily going to be made out of anything that was happening.

“I have questions,” I said in a tight voice.

“Shoot,” Heather said, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting.

“Where is Gideon?”

“Gideon, Charlie and Clarence have gone in search of Clarissa,” she said.

“What exactly does that mean?” I questioned.

“It means all Hell will break loose shortly,” Candy muttered.

“Are you being literal or figurative?” I demanded.

At this point I assumed nothing. I’d had my fill of assumptions and they hadn’t worked out so well.

“Figurative,” Heather supplied quickly, understanding that literal explanations were imperative right now. “A state of mind can’t break loose from anything.”

“That’s what Heaven and Hell are?” I asked. “Simply a state of mind?”

“It’s the easiest way to explain it,” Heather said calmly.

I was glad she was calm because I was anything but.

“So, Gideon, Charlie and John Travolta are searching the Universe for Clarissa?”

“Yes,” Heather confirmed.

“Where’s Tim?”

“Delivering the mail,” Heather said.

I almost laughed except not much was funny right now.

“And is the search for Clarissa similar to finding a needle in a haystack?” I pressed.

Candy and Heather exchanged a cryptic glance.

“Yes and no,” Candy said, taking the lead. “The soon-to-be-ex-Angel of Mercy can run, but hiding will pose a problem.”

“Immortals have footprints for lack of a better word,” Heather explained. “Wherever Clarissa goes, she’ll leave evidence of her essence.”

The news wasn’t welcome. But it wasn’t surprising either. Clarissa was well aware of what she had done and that she would be found out.

“Will they be able to find her?” I asked, testing out my fingers and arms.

“They will,” Heather assured me.

“In a reasonable human time frame?” I asked. I knew we were dealing with Immortals. A hundred years was a mere blip in time for them. I’d be dead and gone in a hundred years and I wanted to see Clarissa brought to justice. Hell, I wanted to serve the justice up and shove it down her throat.

“Remains to be seen,” Candy Vargo said, shrugging. “Just hope they find her before she finds you.”

I cocked my head to the side and glared at Karma. “Do you know something I don’t?” I inquired in a brook-no-bullshit tone.

“I know many things that you don’t,” she

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