Free A Karma Girl Christmas by Jennifer Estep Page B

insisted we run the story about Travis aka Tornado Teague right away. I went along with the plan. I was, after all, the golden child. I’d uncover the others’ identities soon enough.  
    Now, I was reaping the rewards of my clever brilliance, and so was everybody else. Everyone except Henry Harris, the newspaper’s technology reporter. He was the only person not joining in the festivities. Instead of drinking, he crouched at his desk near the back of the newsroom and stared at his computer screen. His fingers stabbed the keyboard with rapid strokes. Henry was a bit of an odd duck, with his nose always glued to his computer or buried in some book about the latest, greatest, technological advances. I liked him, though. He was nice, polite, and always helped me unfreeze my computer when it freaked out.  
    I grabbed an extra glass of champagne, strolled over, and plopped it down on his desk.
    Henry blinked like an owl. “Oh thanks, Carmen. I didn’t realize it was time for the toast already. I guess I just lost track of things.”
    “No problem, Henry. Come on, join the rest of us. We’ve got free booze and pizza, courtesy of the company.”
    “Well, I really should finish this story—”
    I pulled Henry out of his chair and into the middle of the newsroom. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. This was one of the best days of my life, and everybody was going to share in it, whether they liked it or not.         
    “Speech! Speech!” one of the junior reporters shouted.
    “Yeah, Carmen. Tell us why you do the things you do,” someone else asked.
    “It’s like … karma,” I said, espousing my unmasking philosophy, which everyone had heard many, many times before. “We all know that villains cheat and steal and lie, but the heroes do it too. They lie to their friends and families. They make excuses and let down those closest to them time after time. That’s bad karma. One day, all that lying is bound to catch up with them. I just make sure it happens sooner rather than later. What goes around comes around. It’s karma.”
    “Hear, hear,” Henry said in a quiet voice.
    I clinked champagne glasses with Henry and the rest of my drunken colleagues. I’d never felt so exhilarated in my entire life. I was floating, flying, soaring. I was on top of the world. Now that I’d unmasked Tornado, the rest of the Fearless Five would soon follow. After that, I’d tackle the Terrible Triad.  
    My phone rang, jarring me out of my smug, self-satisfied reverie. “Carmen Cole.”
    “Carmen, it’s Chief Newman,” a deep Irish voice rumbled in my ear.       
    “Hey, Chief. What’s up? Calling to congratulate me?”  
    I’d spent many hours going through files with Bigtime’s chief of police, and the two of us had developed a good working relationship. The chief also wanted to learn the identities of the Fearless Five and the Terrible Triad. Both groups had destroyed their fair share of Bigtime, and Newman wanted them to foot the bill for the cleanup and repairs. Not to mention all the unpaid parking tickets they’d accumulated with their souped-up supercars and vans.
    “Not exactly.” He paused. “I’ve got some bad news, Carmen. It’s about Travis Teague. He’s dead, Carmen. He committed suicide.”
    My champagne glass slipped from my fingers. It shattered on the floor.

Excerpt from HOT MAMA,
    Book Two in the Bigtime paranormal romance series
     
     
    PART ONE—WEDDING BELLS
    Chapter One
    My wedding day.  
    It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. A time of joy and celebration and new beginnings. The day every girl dreams of from the time she’s old enough to play dress-up in her mother’s clothes.
    It was exactly that sort of day.
    Joy. Hope. New beginnings.
    But it wasn’t mine .
    Carmen Cole twirled in front of the full-length mirror. Her white satin wedding dress swung out in an arc then gathered back in on itself. Thousands of crystals dotted the fitted bodice and full