Release day is drawing closer. The edits are complete and the final files will be ready soon. I’m getting excited to share Harry’s next adventure with you, so I thought I’d give you a sneak peek. Enjoy!

Hell to Pay – Excerpt

“You told him you’d do what?”  Tess laughed and gaped at me in amazement.
“I told him I would cook dinner.  What’s the big deal?  How hard can it be?”
“Harry, you’ve never cooked anything in your life.”
“Sure I have.”
“Macaroni and cheese from a box doesn’t count.”
I frowned at her.  She had a point.  “Well, I guess it’s about time I tried then, isn’t it?  Now are you going to help me find a recipe or not?  I still have to run to the grocery store.”
“Perhaps I can be of some assistance?”
The computerized voice came from the speakers on the desk in the corner just as the screen blinked on, its now familiar animated robot waving at us from across the room.
“Bryce!  Where have you been?  No, scratch that.  I don’t want to know.”  Now that Bryce had unlimited, nearly instantaneous access to anywhere in the world the Internet could take him, he tended to disappear for long periods of time, more often than not surfing porn sites.  I didn’t need to hear a play-by-play of his latest stop.
“I’m eager to hear how the GhostCam 3000 worked,” Bryce replied.
“The what?  Oh, the tablet app.  It worked great, didn’t it, Tess?”
“Yeah, it did.”
“Cool.  I’m accessing the tablet now via the network so I can analyze the recording.”
“It recorded everything?” Tess looked surprised.  “So we can watch it again?”
“Can we skip the technical conversation right now and find me a recipe instead?”
The printer suddenly beeped and spit out a page.  I walked over and grabbed it.
“Easy Chicken and Rice,” Bryce intoned, his computer voice taking on an accent that suspiciously sounded like Julia Child.  “It only has five ingredients and a difficulty rating of one spoon.  Even you should be able to handle it, Harry.”
“Gee, thanks.”  I bit my lip, peering over the instructions.  “Actually, this is great.  Thanks!”  I sat down beside Tess at the kitchen island and made a list.  The chicken was supposed to take an hour and I still had to go to the store.  I needed to get cracking.
“So now that Bryce has solved your cooking crisis, can we talk about something else?”  Tess turned to face me.
“Sure, as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with you moving out,” I replied, only half-joking.
Tess snorted and then pulled a green sheet of paper from the stack of mail that had been sitting on the counter.   “Did you see this?”  She shoved it towards me.
I looked at it with a puzzled frown.  It was a flyer advertising a new nightclub called Wishes.  “No.  I’ve never heard of it.”  I pushed the flyer back to Tess.
“I think we should go check it out.  There’s a two-for-one drink special every night this month,” she replied, tapping at the flyer.
“Sure, why not?  What’s the big deal?  Why are you acting weird about asking me to go to a club?”  It wasn’t like we had never been out dancing together before, and my dating Nash hadn’t changed anything.
“It’s…well…”
Tess bit her lip and tapped the flyer again, this time pointing to the address listed at the bottom of the page.  I stared at it a moment, trying to figure out why it sounded familiar.
“Omigod!  Is that where I think it is?”
“If you’re thinking that it’s the same address as the warehouse where DiCastro tried to sacrifice you to the Egyptian god Osiris, then yes, it is.”
“They made it into a nightclub?  Who?  Who owns it?”
“I don’t know, but I heard from some of the guys at the gym that it’s been completely renovated and totally tricked out.  You won’t even recognize it.”  She clasped her hands under her chin and batted her best puppy-dog eyes at me.  “Puh-lease, Harry?  Can we go?”
I wrinkled my nose at the idea.  I didn’t particularly have fond memories of the place.  I still had the occasional nightmare about it.  “I don’t know.  I’ll think about it, okay?”
Satisfied with my answer, Tess nodded and hopped down off her stool.  “Great.  I’ve gotta go.  I promised Uncle Rigo I would inventory the new crossbow supplies tonight.”  She turned and waved on her way to the door.  “Good luck with your dinner, Harry.”  She gave me an impish grin.  “Don’t forget the fire extinguisher is under the sink.”
“Oh, ha-ha,” I replied, flipping her the bird.  “Just for that, I won’t save you any leftovers.”
“Promises, promises.”  Tess grinned at me again and then hurried out the door.

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