Semi-Psychic Life (Glimmer Lake #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,31

children who love him. He has friends. He has family. He’s been missing for five days, and I haven’t seen a single thing on the news. No one is looking for him except for me.”

“Val—”

“So back off.” She sniffed. “I need to do this. I can find answers. I know… I know things, okay?”

“No one is saying—”

“All of you are saying it.” She pressed the heel of her hand to her eye. “Why are those women asking questions? Don’t they know they’re not the police? What do they think they’re doing?”

“Valerie, you, Robin, and Monica are not trained investigators. If foul play was involved—”

“If foul play was involved and someone came after him, no one would know because they’re not looking!” Val let out a choked laugh. “Are they? Are they looking, Sully? Are they treating him like a… a regular dad who went missing? Are they treating his case like they would if Steve Garcia went missing?”

Sully was still silent.

“Or are they assuming because he was a working-class guy with some debts who pissed off a rich man that he’s a thief on the run?” She closed her eyes and leaned back. “Just tell me, Sully. Is anyone looking for him?”

“No.”

“Then don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing to find my boys’ daddy.” She ended the call and pushed the phone forward into Robin’s waiting hand. She stuffed her fist in her mouth and bit down hard to keep from screaming.

Josh, where are you?

What did you do?

Where did you go?

She was going to find out what happened. If it took her the rest of her life, she was going to find out what happened to Jackson and Andy’s dad.

“Are you okay?” Robin asked. “Do you need more water?”

“I’ll be okay.”

“What happened between you and Sully?” Monica asked. “He just threatened to go beat the shit out of a guy he doesn’t know if that guy threatened you. That is not casual and flirtatious behavior. That’s ‘I care a hell of a lot about this woman’ behavior.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Val said.

“Was it bad?”

“No. It wasn’t bad.” In fact, it was good. It was nice. And thinking about the cold walk home from Sully’s house in the early-morning hours after she’d slipped away from his bed made her sad. She should have stayed. She should have given him a chance. She should have gotten out of her own head and tried.

But she didn’t have time for that. She had a business and two kids to worry about. And now she had an ex-husband who was missing.

Chapter 10

Val was exhausted by the time they got home, but she was able to lie down for an hour before Jackson and Andy got out of school. She was up and making grilled cheese sandwiches for an afternoon snack when they came barreling through the door.

“Hey, Mom!” Andy the whirlwind burst into the kitchen, hugged her around the waist, and slung his backpack on the kitchen table before he ducked under her am. “Grilled cheese! Is it ready?”

“Give me a minute.” She ruffled his hair. “How was school, professor?”

“Great. We’re building rockets in science class and I really think my group is going to do the best. There’s a contest next week on Friday I think; can you come?”

“I have to check my schedule, but I’ll try.” She kissed the top of his head, realizing that she only had one or two more years before Andy’s head, like Jackson’s, would be well out of reach.

“Hey, Mom.” Jackson’s deep voice still surprised her. “Any news today?”

Val looked over her shoulder and shook her head. “Sorry. I talked to Sully, but nothing.”

Jackson nodded. “Right.”

“You want a grilled cheese?”

He smiled. “Yeah. That sounds good. Who’s sick?”

She usually only made grilled cheese and tomato soup when one of them was sick. “This time it’s me. I have a killer headache.”

“You want me to make the sandwiches?” Jackson said. “You could go lie down.”

Val smiled. Yes, he was an alien parasite, but he was her alien parasite and he was the best. “Thank you so much, but I better not. If I do, I’ll fall asleep and I don’t want to wake up at two a.m.”

It wouldn’t be the first time. When her powers first manifested and she didn’t know what was going on, she ended most days curled into a ball in her bedroom. A year plus, and she was better. Between the gloves and the antianxiety medication, she was coping, but