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13
Jake left his car at the church. After all, Father Cresson had said it was Holy ground and demons couldn’t touch it. What better place for his prized car? As he walked along the boulevard towards his casino he had a strange feeling he was being followed or watched. He chalked it up to paranoia and shrugged it off. But he knew better. After that session with Father Cresson he felt different. An energy was growing within his solar plexus, spreading a relaxing warmth all over him. Logically, calm was the last thing he should be right now but he felt like he could almost take a nap.
So while Nadia and Alan were still resting, Jake relaxed on the sofa in his office. The TV across the room was on, but Jake wasn’t paying much attention to the African lion documentary. His mind wandering, creating almost dream-like hallucinations in the altered half-conscious state. Things he wo
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Seven Come Eleven 14
The elevator was dark, the lights were out or missing. The door didn’t close behind them, the button panel didn’t light up and the car didn’t move when the buttons were pushed. Alan rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Stairs it is, I guess.”The service stairs were near the bar. It wasn’t a long walk to it but in the darkness everything was a potential enemy, so the trio remained wary. Alan opened the stairwell door as quietly as he could, allowing the other two in.“You know, I am confused,” Jake said, looking down from the second landing. “If this guy is as strong as he says he is, he could just get us. What is the hold up? How did fireworks stop Griffin? This could end up being some sort of game for them with a boss at
Seven Come Eleven 15
The being that materialized in the lightning strike suddenly appeared in the bar behind Griffin and Richard. Bruce was, like them, a hunter of souls. He had lost Nadia and Jake in Sedona and in any other situation he’d have forgotten about it. But the scar left by the Holy water Nadia had tossed at him was visible on the left side of his face and he had a bone to pick.“We’ve had them holed up in the office on an upper floor for a while now. They can’t stay there forever. Humans can’t take the heat or go without food and water that long. We’re planning to wait them out.” Richard explained, sipping a martini from a fluted glass. “You can wait with us, there are three of them.”“I didn’t know the other man and the woman had a pact,” Griffin repl
Seven Come Eleven 1
Spring 1988"This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard." Jake rolled his eyes and twirled a drumstick. "The devil? Are you fucking serious?" Miles nodded. "They say the blues singer Robert Johnson did it. He was supposedly the worst guitar player ever, and then one night he stood on the crossroad playing and a black guy came by and tuned his guitar." Jake rolled his eyes before he replied. "That doesn't mean it was the devil. It was probably a dude wandering by, heard how bad he was, then stopped and showed him how to play.""It was the devil!" Dan insisted, his guitar case in his hand as they walked along the dirt road. "I've read all about it."Jake glanced at their bass player, Brian. "You in on this too?""Yup. I mean how can I not be." Brian turned to look at Jake but he didn't look
Seven Come Eleven 2
Chapter TwoBack in the office, finally alone with his thoughts, Jake stared out the window at the parking lot. He could see his own car from here and it never failed to make him smile when he saw his bright orange mustang, waiting for him, inviting him to let the top back and feel the wind. Not today though, he didn’t feel much like leaving and going anywhere.Turning, his eyes fell on the old band poster he kept in here as a memento. He hadn’t picked up a guitar or drumsticks in years. All of that was packed in the basement of the casino in a dark corner. He couldn’t help a chuckle at how young and naive they had been back then, stupid teenage runaways in California when the Sunset Strip was the place to be and make a name.
Seven Come Eleven 3
Chapter ThreeNadia stood on her balcony and watched the sun rise just over the mountains, a fresh cup of coffee in hand. Nadia had slept little, having spent the night unpacking the things she had brought. Jake had told her the penthouse was furnished, so her furniture went to storage. Empty boxes were scattered through the large open living room, but she was done unpacking. The only thing left unpacked was a box of Dan’s things that was shoved into her closet, out of sight and out of mind. She would never toss it, but wondered if she’d ever open it again.The ringing of the phone cut into her thoughts. “This can’t be good news this early in the morning.”
Seven Come Eleven 4
Dan had been dead close to a year. Nadia missed him but she did not miss the constant danger and chaos that was involved. He had been a gambler, but not a very good one, and this had strained their marriage many times. In the months before his death, Nadia believed the marriage was on its last legs, though she had held out hoping for a solution.Shaking herself from the intrusive and painful thoughts, she turned to the door. “I will get my purse and we will go if you insist on coming with me.”“I insist,” Jake said as the door closed behind her.The bank was in the neighboring town of Boulder City. It was a small bank, not even a chain. A friendly young manager who seemed to recognize
Seven Come Eleven 5
Only a small reading light, that illuminated the spot above Nadia’s book as she sat in bed reading, broke the darkness of the bedroom. Nadia was focused on the novel in her left hand and the warm tea in the other. She’d been unable to sleep even after several drinks at the bar. Jake had been holed up in his own penthouse all day reading about demons and how to avoid them and the infamous story of the devil at the crossroad. Nadia wasn’t offended by his absence but the distraction would be nice, she thought. A hollow knock on the door drew her attention. Half expecting Jake or Alan, she stood, pulling her silk kimono robe tighter around her body. The man on the other side was tall, intimidatingly so. His hair was slicked back, and he was wearing an immaculate suit. He inclined his head slightly at Nadia, playing
Seven Come Eleven 6
Petrie Del-Ray was a talented counterfeiter; he didn’t just make cash either, he was talented in making fake credit cards, social security cards, and identification of all kinds. His neighbors and anyone who saw him believed he was a technician who fixed office equipment and casino machines. No one gave a second thought to Petrie’s van being at casino's, banks, and other businesses at odd hours.Jake ran into him as he came in pushing a large case on a dolly. Petrie’s chubby face broke into a smile. “I hear you have a job for me?”“I do,” Jake walked with him onto the elevator with Petrie, who barely reached his shoulder. He was heavy bodied and spoke with a thick Bronx accent. He had been a boxer up North for several years, how he’d ended up here in
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