Losing It: A Collection of VCards by Julia Crane, Stacey Wallace Benefiel, Alexia Purdy, Ednah Walters, Bethany Lopez, A. O. Peart, Nikki Jefford, Tish Thawer, Amy Miles, Heather Hildenbrand, Kristina Circelli, S. M. Boyce, K. A. Last, Melissa Haag, S. T. Bende, Tamara Rose Blodgett, Helen Boswell, Julie Prestsater, Misty Provencher, Ginger Scott, Milda Harris, M. R. Polish Page A

Seth. But I didn’t know where to start.
    Angelica had taken Seth, and I had no way of finding her if she didn’t want to be found. The fallen had no privileges when it came to Heaven. I could search the world for years and come up with nothing. It would be a waste of time trying, because he wouldn’t be on Earth. She’d have taken him somewhere I couldn’t go.
    As a result, the past few weeks had been miserable. I was lost without both of them.
    Maybe I was being selfish in coming to see Josh, especially since I wasn’t sure about my feelings for him. But maybe he’d be happy to see me, and I’d fall into his arms like I had when we’d first gotten together.
    It seemed like so long ago that I’d defied The Council and given up everything for him. I liked him better when he wasn’t angry with me. But Josh had the right to be angry. I’d deserted him when he’d needed me the most. If only I could explain to him that it was out of necessity, not want. I didn’t want everything to happen the way it did. I might be an angel, but some things were out of my control.
    I needed to apologize properly. Closure. That’s what I needed.
    What I really wanted was to bring him home.
    I clutched the piece of paper, trying to decide what to do. The thought of leaving crossed my mind, but I couldn’t. I had to know where we stood, if there was any chance for us at all. I’d given up so much for Josh, but somehow he’d come out with the raw end of the deal. I may have become fallen, but technically, he was dead.
    My hand shook as I reached up to knock on the door. Get yourself together, Grace. I’d faced far worse things in my existence than a vampire with a bad temper. The wood scraped my knuckles as I knocked three times.
    For a moment, I hoped he wasn’t home. But then I also hoped he was. Why was love so complicated? Did I even love him? I was about to knock again when the hinges creaked. I braced myself for Josh’s reaction.
    He frowned and tried to close the door in my face. I stuck my foot in the gap and grimaced from the pain; it was a reminder of how strong he was since he’d become a vampire. It surprised me the door didn’t disintegrate under his touch.
    It got to the point where I couldn’t take it and I pulled my foot out. Paint flecks rained onto the step when the door slammed.
    If Josh thought I was going away that easily, he was mistaken.
    I knocked again.
    The door opened a crack. “What are you doing here? He doesn’t want to see you,” Charlotte said.
    I could’ve asked her the same question.
    Charlotte was the other reason we were in this mess. She’d lied to me, and she wasn’t who I’d thought she was. I’d become a fallen angel for her, to protect her, only she’d betrayed my trust by concealing the truth.
    An angel in a vampire’s body—who’d have thought?
    Jealousy bubbled inside me and I shoved it aside. There was nothing between Josh and Charlotte. She’d created him. She was watching out for him, but I hadn’t considered that they might be living together. I didn’t want them to be living together.
    “I need to talk to Josh,” I said. “You can either open the door or I can make you.”
    Charlotte pursed her lips and hesitated before opening the door all the way.
    We had unfinished business, but I wasn’t here for that. Charlotte and I could sort out our differences at a later date, when we had lots of open space and no one around to get hurt.
    I stepped over the threshold and into the terrace.
    “He’s upstairs.” Charlotte gestured to the staircase in front of me and I set my foot on the bottom step. She didn’t move, standing in that statuesque pose I’d come to know so well.
    “Why did you let her in?” Josh asked from the landing.
    “She’s right.” Charlotte looked from Josh to me, and back again. “You two need to talk.”
    Josh stared at us, his dark gaze resting on me. “You can go, Charlotte. I don’t need you.”
    She sighed and narrowed her eyes.