Authors: Christopher Pike
Thirst No. 5 (50 page)
The manager agreed to Russ’s terms. He called for two women who grouped the chips in stacks of twenties, after first separating them by color. Russ had won so many gold chips—worth a thousand dollars a pop—it made my head swim. Yet
Russ seemed to take it all in stride. It was just another night at the casinos to him.
The women completed my count first. $57,800.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I gasped.
“Would you like a check or cash?” the manager asked me.
“A check,” Russ replied. “Jessie, is your legal name Jessica?”
“Yeah. Jessica Ralle. Do you need my middle name?”
“It’s not necessary unless your bank prefers it,” the manager said.
“Hell. My bank has probably never seen a check that large.”
The women finished with Russ’s count. $642,450.
“My full name is Russell Devon,” Russ said.
“We need to see both your IDs,” the manager said. “And as I’m sure you’re aware, we’ll automatically be withdrawing the sum you’ll owe the IRS for these winnings.”
I suddenly felt faint. Of course, I had been playing with a fake ID. I had never planned on winning an amount where they would need to see my ID, never mind withdraw money for the IRS. I leaned against Russ and buried the side of my face in his ear.
“I need to talk to you alone,” I said.
Russ asked if we could be excused for a few minutes and the manager was agreeable. We went around the corner, out of earshot, and even before I could explain what the problem was, I burst out crying.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I kept saying through my tears. Luck like
this really didn’t happen in the real world. I wasn’t going to get the money.
Russ stared at me with a faint smile on his lips.
“Let me guess,” he said. “You’re not twenty-one.”
“I’m so sorry, Russ.”
“Relax. Did they ask for ID when you two first sat down?”
“We showed them something our friend whipped up on his computer. These guys will know it’s fake.”
“I’m sure they will, since they’ll want your Social Security number as well. But it’s not as big a problem as you think. You’re going to leave here, now, and walk across the street to the Mandalay Bay. It’s only two hundred yards up the Strip. That’s where I’m staying and that’s where I planned to take you for coffee when we were done here. Go through the front door and take a sharp right. You’ll find a coffee shop that’s always open.” He checked his watch. “I’ll meet you there in fifteen minutes.”
“What are you going to do?”
He shrugged. “Tell them that you were obviously playing with my money and under my direction and that we changed our minds and want it all under my name. But I’ll take out sixty grand in cash so you get your share tonight.”
“Will they give you that much cash?”
“They won’t want to. But I’ll tell them if they can handle this whole matter quietly, I’ll promise to return tomorrow night to gamble. They’ll go for it. At this point, all they care
about is getting a chance to win their money back.”
I wiped at my teary eyes. “I feel like such an idiot.”
He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead.
“Not at all. Anyone else would have gotten hysterical if they thought they had lost so much money.” He paused and glanced around. A pit boss watched us from a distance. “It’s important you leave before they stop and check your ID. If they see it’s fake, they’ll deny your winnings.”
Just then a faint doubt stirred deep inside me.
What if I went to the coffee shop and sat there for thirty minutes and I started to get nervous with him taking so long? And what if another half hour went by and he still didn’t show up? Then, finally, what if I went to the front desk and asked them to ring Russell Devon’s room and, lo and behold, he wasn’t registered at the Mandalay Bay?
What would happen?
I’d realize I was the biggest fool on the whole damn Strip.
“Shouldn’t we meet in your room?” I asked casually.
He didn’t hesitate. He pulled a room card from his pocket. “First tower. Room four-three-one-four. Be careful, that’s the only key I have on me. I’ll knock four times.”
I suddenly felt much better. “Great.” I went to leave.
“Jessie?” he called.
I paused. “What?”
“What’s my room number?”
“Four-three . . . Ahh . . . damn, I’m drunk.”
“Four-three-one-four. Say it aloud three times.”
“Four-three-one-four. Four-three-one-four. Four-three-one-four.”
“Once you’re in the room, call down for coffee and dessert.”
“What kind of dessert do you want?”
“I’ll have what you’re having. Now get out of here.”
The moment I stepped out of the casino and onto the busy Strip, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. The night was still warm but I felt embraced by a delicious joy that cooled my brain. I had just won an impossible sum of money, I realized, but it seemed as if my happiness came from another source. Russ was not an ordinary guy, he was a magic man. I had a strange feeling that if I stayed close to him, really got to know him, I’d discover the source of his magic.
CHRISTOPHER PIKE
is a bestselling author of young adult novels. The Thirst series,
Witch World
, and the Remember Me and Alosha trilogies are some of his favorite titles. He is also the author of several adult novels, including
Sati
and
The Season of Passage
. Thirst and Alosha are slated to be released as feature films. Pike currently lives in Santa Barbara, where it is rumored he never leaves his house. But he can be found online at
christopherpikebooks.com
.
ALSO BY
CHRISTOPHER PIKE
THE THIRST SERIES
WITCH WORLD
REMEMBER ME
THE SECRET OF KA
UNTIL THE END
BOUND TO YOU
COMING SOON
CHAIN LETTER
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
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First Simon Pulse paperback edition March 2013
Copyright © 2013 by Christopher Pike
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Designed by Mike Rosamilia
The text of this book was set in Adobe Garamond.
Library of Congress Control Number 2012952196
ISBN 978-1-4424-6731-6
ISBN 978-1-4424-6732-3 (eBook)