Payable On Death
The Jax Rhodes Series
Book One
Rachel Rawlings
Print Length: 207 pages
Publication Date: April 5, 2016
ASIN: B01C1U2TZ0
Genre: New Adult Urban Fantasy
Book Description:
A deal with the Devil. Demons haunting your every step. When an Angel offers you the chance to redeem yourself, you take it. Because eternal damnation isn't all it's cracked up to be.
But the Devil always gets his due.
On the streets of Baltimore redemption is..... Payable On Death.
Chapter One
"You're
too young to be so troubled. You haven't even seen a quarter century.
You're just a babe." The man flicked his cigarette in to the dark, a
shower of little orange sparks erupting when it hit the pavement.
"I'm not your babe. Leave me alone." I
pushed off the railing on the pedestrian bridge crossing over I-95 and walked
away.
He followed.
"Ah, poor choice of words. I was simply
commenting on your age. You're no one's babe, Jacqui. How could you be? You're
too afraid to let people get close, lest they see the bruises." He ran a
hand along his hair, ensuring each piece in the slicked-back style remained in
place.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?"
I'd never seen him before in my life. Someone that perfect left an impression.
If we'd met before, I would've remembered.
"I can make things better for you. Take away
your pain, ease your suffering. You hardly sleep, listening at your bedroom
door for any sign of trouble. I can help with that." He was confident. He
had to be, walking around Baltimore at night dressed in a three-piece suit,
diamond cufflinks gleaming even with only the dim blue light from the police
CCTV cameras to highlight them.
"I don't know what you think you know about me or what you've heard but I don't do drugs.
So you can go peddle that shit somewhere else. I'm not buying." Despite
having more reasons than I could count, I'd managed to avoid getting hooked on
heroin - an impressive feat given the amount flooding the city.
"Mmm. I almost wish you were. It makes things
so much easier when drugs are involved. Let me ask you a question. Do I look
like some street thug drug peddler to you?"
I took in the meticulous tailoring, the expensive
shoes. "You're definitely not from around here." I gestured to the
boarded up row homes across the street.
Weeds overran the small front yards, brushing the
bottoms of the windowsills. Plywood replaced glass in almost every window. Trash
littered the street, the city cans overflowing onto the sidewalk to the delight
of the ever growing rat population. Sirens echoed in the distance, the dealers
on the corner unfazed.
Welcome to Harm City.
Still, it was safer on the street than at home
most nights.
"Home for me is a lot farther south of the
Mason-Dixon line than Maryland, dear child. What are you doing up here?
Shouldn't you be home? With your mother?"
"You don't know me, you don't know my mom.
Get the fuck out of here before I call the cops." I held up my phone and
pointed at the BPD security camera.
He clucked his tongue, wagging a finger at me.
"Such a foul mouth for such a pretty face. I know a lot about your mom.
The lie she told about going to a basket bingo with her friend Janice. Mom never
made it out of the house by the way. She's very pretty, your mother, I see
where you get your looks. Maybe if she hadn't fussed with her hair and makeup
so much or if she'd chosen a different blouse..."
I'd heard those excuses from my mother so many
times. If she hadn't done this or that, he wouldn't have beat her. Breathing
seemed to be what set him off where I was concerned. I avoided going home as
often as possible. For my mother's sake as much as mine. He seemed better when
I wasn't around.
"It looks bad this time. The neighbors are
out for the night. No one to call for help. And he's upset, very upset."
"The neighbors are out? If by ‘out’ you mean
abandoned and boarded up, then yeah, they're out. He's always upset. I've
begged her to leave, so many times. She won't. She said if she ever did, he'd
kill her. Trust me, if I go back now, it will only make things worse.."
"It's different this time, Jacqui girl."
The same thing my mother said every time my stepfather came home with flowers
and a box of wine to apologize. "He came home early, found the suitcase
she packed to take with her to the shelter by the door. She's hurt. All alone
in that house. With him."
I started to run, only making it a couple of steps
before he grabbed me.
"You'll never make it in time. I can help
you, Jacqui girl. I can put an end to all this. Don't you want to help her?
Don't you want to save your mother? Save yourself? This isn't the life you
deserve. No one should live like this. Forgotten by everyone, left to the
drunken rages and violent fits of that monster you live with. Why is this
happening? Why did He forget about you? He's supposed to love you. Doesn't He
care what happens to you?" He pointed toward the sky.
"What's in it for you? Why do you care what
happens to us? If you know all that, you know I don't have any money and
neither does my mom." I should have screamed for help.
His breath whispered across my ear. "Money
isn't the only form of payment.”
For a moment, I considered it, considered giving
over my body in exchange for him following me home and killing my stepfather.
In all the years of darkness and misery, I’d managed to stay straight, stay on
the path. Faced with the brutal murder of my mother, was I willing to throw it
all away?
I nodded.
"I know a place we can go, but not until you
hold up your end of the bargain." My stomach heaved when I thought about
what I'd agreed to do.
"Oh, you sweet, simple girl. You are so
delicious. The soft unmarked skin of youth pulled tight over toned
muscle." He licked his lips. "Yes, I am quite sure I would enjoy
every moment. However, I don’t recall stating the terms."
"Do we have a deal or not? You said I was out
of time." Panic gripped my heart. Was
she dead already?
"You're right, Jacqui girl, I did Have you
put it together yet? Who I am? He didn't answer you. He never helped you. But I
can."
Everything clicked. I should have ran. I should
have said no. There were a million things I should have done.
"Can you save her? Can you put an end to
this?"
The Devil smiled. "I believe we can come to
an agreement."
About the Author:
Rachel Rawlings was born and raised in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. Her family, originally from Rhode Island, spent summers in New England sparking her fascination with Salem, MA. She has been writing fictional stories and poems since middle school, but it wasn't until 2009 that she found the inspiration to create her heroine Maurin Kincaide and complete her first full length novel, The Morrigna.
When she isn't writing, Rachel can often be found with her nose buried in a good book. An avid reader of Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, Horror and Steampunk herself, Rachel founded Hallowread- an interactive convention for both authors and fans of those genres.
More information on Hallowread, its schedule of events and participating authors can be found at www.hallowread.blogspot.com and www.facebook.com/Hallowread .
She still lives in Maryland with her husband and three children.
Goodreads Author Page http://goo.gl/FZW0RN
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