Free Heaven's Key (Demon Hunter Book 1) by Electa Graham Page A

connections. He’s a bit of a nut, but he’s legit, and he might be able to get us what we need.”
    “Later. Right now, we’re between jobs, and I think we deserve some fun. I saw a slew of Indian casinos on our way to Delilah’s. Let’s pick one and do a little gambling.”
    “We need to keep Cain out of your head and Bevie said you have a gambling problem. So now you’re doubling down on your self-destructive behavior?”
    “Bevie told you way too many things about me. I’m not supposed to gamble, but I’m going to anyway. That’s the joy of being an adult. You can be as self-destructive as you want to be.” He clutched the wheel a little tighter.
    “Look, I’ll let you hold the money because the amount of cash we have right now is obscene. I’ll just take a tiny amount to have fun with. Oh, but I should warn you. I’ll be drinking, so I might try to forcefully take it back. So arm yourself. You also might want to frisk me before we hit the floor because I’ll try to pack to make it a fair fight.”
    “Can’t wait; sounds like a boatful of fun.”
    “Cole, lighten up. I was mostly joking.”
    “I don’t find this funny. I’m worried about you.”
    “I don’t want to think about him right now. I want to get drunk, gamble, and have some fun.”
    “This is serious, Jael.”
    “It’s my head, Cole. I know how serious it is.” He dropped it, but I could see he was angry. He wanted me to react in a certain way and I wasn’t going to. I was scared and I knew it was serious, but for my sanity, I needed to forget for a bit. He had no right to tell me what I needed to do. Partners were a pain in the ass.
    It took two casinos before I was happy. I wasn’t too picky, but I liked the hotel to be nice enough that if I won big, my room could get a lot nicer. Cole was being quiet, but I had already heard the sweet siren song of the slot machines and everything else dropped away. I needed to have a little fun and that was exactly what I was going to have.
    We parted ways when we checked in. Cole grabbed his key card and took off without even looking my way. I went straight to my room and had a shower and went right to bed. I got fourteen hours of sleep without one visit from tall, dark, and evil.
    Even though he hadn’t made an appearance, he was still on my mind. Mr. Gin would have to help me out with that one. I checked my email and William hadn’t gotten back to me yet. That wasn’t unusual. He was thorough and he didn’t like to send me anything until he was certain he could send everything there was.
    Cole remained silent. I knew I should call him, but I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture and he would be watching me like a hawk the whole night. He had the money, so it was safe. He could sulk in his room and think me irresponsible all by himself.
    I decided to put on some makeup and get dressed up. Sipping a gin and tonic the whole time, I was feeling good. Blackjack was going to be my game tonight. I didn’t have a lot of money to work with, but if I bet carefully, I could make it last a long time.
    The elevator doors opened onto the casino floor. The pinging of the slots and the clanging of the change was a soothing song. Gambling gives some a high, but for me, I feel totally relaxed, something I rarely get to feel. It was still early, but the regulars were milling about and, judging by the amount of staff on, they were expecting a busy night. Things would be hopping in no time.
    The table by the entrance felt lucky. The dealer was cute, if a little young, and I liked how he smiled. There were two other people at the table; a man who looked like a salesman who hadn’t had a commission in a while and a woman. She was young and beautiful. Her dress was red and couture. She would have blended in better at the Bellagio than this place.
    I won the first few hands and it made me get a little cocky. I started betting like I had a bottomless purse. A couple bad hands had me out of my first two hundred.