Somewhere in the unseen space between worlds, the heavy Karmic Bond that had tethered me to Delgado Group for three years snapped clean through.
The divine eyes closed. Fortune withdrew.
Beverly felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of panic. The unease clawed at her, making her irritable. "Stop wasting time with him. Just press his thumbprint on it!"
I gathered the bloodstained fragments of the cup, piece by piece, and tucked them against my chest.
Then, with my uninjured left hand, I reached into my jacket and pulled out the exclusive phone Lisa had given me earlier.
Dean assumed I was calling the police. He threw his head back and crowed.
"Go ahead, call the cops! Even if you do, you're the one running a cult and scamming people. Let's see who they arrest."
"This is my turf. You could call God Almighty himself today and it wouldn't make a difference."
I ignored the clown completely.
I pressed the single number stored in the phone and hit speaker.
The call connected after a single ring.
"Ms. Gilbert, the Karmic Bond has been severed cleanly. But I've run into a small problem..."
Silence on the other end. One second.