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nowhere. Not on paper and not on the World Wide Web of knowledge. The Internet forgot no one, and lost no one, not even those the government wanted forgotten. When they’d discovered an obscene amount of money in overseas accounts in her name, the IRS launched an examination for tax fraud, which coincided with the probe of money laundering.
    None of the charges panned out, of course, because, shocker of all shockers, she was actually innocent. She disliked being a suspect in a criminal investigation and although the Feds formally closed their investigation, she thought they would always suspect her of something.
    Financial security lent some comfort. Obscene amounts of cash proved Micah loved them in some sordid way. Pfft. But in the three years since his disappearance, she’d learned to hate him with a passion.
    Things settled down. She and Amos grew comfortable with the mundane routine of daily life, until Amos went demonic and started killing animals and attacking her.
    Madison walked into the bathroom. She stared at her reflection for a long time. Her glassy eyes held the look of a wild, caged animal. Dark smudges darkened the delicate flesh beneath them. Lines furrowed her forehead as if someone set a farmer loose on her with a plow.
    If her hair weren’t so blonde, she wouldn’t have been surprised to find gray in the tangled mass. Her hands shook as she lodged strands behind her ears and released a deep, concerned sigh. She struggled to keep further tears at bay as she turned on the tap. The splatter of water hit the ceramic sink, and she splashed her face. The cold water should have alleviated her raging anxiety or the fear spiking with devastation through her system. Regrettably, it failed to soothe her frazzled nerves.
    A quandary of emotions and doubts filled her mind. In truth, she felt as if a wrecking ball battered the walls of her sanity. The headache rap, tap, tapping at her temples proved the wrecking ball’s persistency to take her out. Worse, she worried cracks veined through the foundation of her judgment.
    James and Phoenix Birmingham would have her believe in demons and Mimickers and God only knew what else. How could she believe all this? How could she not? Could they really exist? Her very religious father would have said yes. He’d often preached about Lucifer’s minions being let loose on unsuspecting humans. He’d warned her soul balanced between two worlds, and if she failed to alter the course of her life, she would burn, burn, buuuurrrrrn!
    She stared at herself in the mirror. Her father had been a cold-hearted bastard, and she’d never really missed her parents until now. Madison didn’t want to think about her father or his passion for preaching hellfire and brimstone. Neither did she want to think about the problems currently plaguing her life. She wished she could change the dial of her life as easily as a television station. Life would be much simpler and less complicated if she could.
    “How could Amos send that thing back to Hell the way he did?” she whispered to her reflection. “How can I believe he’s capable of it?”

    ***

    Zo let loose an ironic chuckle. “Well, I guess we’re not going to be friends anytime soon.”
    “Spectacular, showy entrance, Zo,” Nix said with a wink.
    “What’d I say wrong?” Zo turned a puzzled frown on Gage, who shrugged and massaged her nape. “She does know we’re here to help them, right?”
    Even if he never wanted a permanent woman in his too dangerous life, Nix envied their relationship. “She knows. I think her attitude has a lot to do with fear and even more denial.”
    “So, what happened to the Mimicker? Which one of you had the pleasure of killing it?”
    James scratched the back of his head, his features pulling into a brooding frown. “The boy had the pleasure. Wouldn’t you agree he is the one responsible, Nix?”
    Zo and Gage gaped at him, and Nix nodded his head, agreeing emphatically with his uncle.
    “What?