Page 25 of Monsters of Midlife

She seemed to think twice a little bit about saying any more. “I guess when he wants you to know he’ll talk to you about it,” she said.

I pressed my mouth shut, not wanting to consider what she knew about my ex-husband and all the things I didn’t know; it was crazy. How could I still be hung up on this guy who had clearly moved on and had a whole life of his own? A life in a world I had never imagined.

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach and my skin felt clammy as the reality of what I was discovering began to sink in. The world was full of magical, dangerous creatures and my ex-husband was perhaps one of the most dangerous.

A deep sigh escaped my body as I sat on the stool at the foot of the bed. Whatever was going on with Ryder and with all this craziness, it was a little much for me and I didn’t really know how to deal with it. I stood up abruptly and began pacing.

“Hey, why don’t we go out for a drink,” Sophie asked.

My eyebrows raised and I sucked in my lower lip. Ryder was a monster. “I’m not sure I’m supposed to go outside.” They had flown me halfway across the country to hide me on this little island of Alameda. Apparently, it was a place where he thought I would be safe.

“Oh, don’t worry about Ryder,” Sophie said. “He’s a stick in the mud at the best of times.”

A chuckle bubbled up from within me. I wouldn’t necessarily have called him a stick in the mud, but he did have his rules and regulations he liked to follow; there was nothing I could do about it.

“He won’t even know we’re gone,” Sophie said.

I looked at her dubiously. “He said demons are after me.”

Sophie shrugged. “It’s probably not as bad as he made out. I know you can’t go out in public really, but no one’s going to recognize you at Furlan’s. It’s just a few blocks away.”

I knew I shouldn’t go out. Ryder wouldn’t be happy about it. That settled it for me. I turned back to Sophie and smiled. “I would love to go out for a drink,” I grinned. “But within reason.”

It hadn’t escaped me that my entire house had been swallowed into a hole in the ground. I had barely escaped. I actually was in some sort of danger. Sophie seemed willing, though, so if we walked a block down the street and had a beer what harm could it do?

“Excellent choice,” Sophie said. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be with you and no one’s going to mess with anyone at Furlan’s. Not with the way that old goat runs the place. We’re just going to have to get you dressed in something a little bit different.”

I looked down at my black slacks and my white button-down shirt. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Well, it’s fine if you’re going to be a waiter,” Sophie said with a grin. “But it’s not really going to work for us at Furlan’s. We’re going to need something a little more, you know, sexy.”

A deep laugh erupted from within me. “Sexy isn’t exactly my thing.”

“Au contraire.” Sophie raised her eyebrows at me. “I’m quite impressed with the way you flow. I don’t think you even realize it. You just need to get out of your restrictive clothing.”

I looked a little dubiously at what she was wearing. The blue, flowing velvet dress looked phenomenal on her, but it was definitely not my style and not going to work with all of my curves. She walked over to the closet and began flipping through a bunch of clothes hanging there. I looked curiously and was relieved when Sophie held up three options. One was a long red dress very similar to hers, another was similar in green but with a short skirt; a very, very short skirt. I just shook my head, laughing.

“No way,” I said, pushing them to the side.

The next option was a black knee length skirt I quite liked. It had a lift to the edge of it, giving it a sassy appearance. She paired it with a purple silk blouse.

“That would be just fine,” I said. “Thank you. It’s the perfect blend of conservative fun.”

“Then hurry up, woman,” she said flinging the clothes at me. “We better go out as quickly as possible because if Ryder does find out we left, we’re both going to be in serious trouble.”

I looked at her and gave her sideways grin. “That’s exactly why I want to go. “

Chapter 17

RYDER

“Where are we going?” Ratchet asked as we got back in the limo.

“Clayton.” My words were for Danny, the driver, but my gaze was out the window.

“Mount Diablo?” Ratchet asked in surprise.

Danny just glanced over his shoulder but gave me a quick nod. He would never go against my command, even if it was unheard of for a monster to travel to Mt. Diablo.

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