Dead Man (Black Magic Outlaw Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

"Chill out, guys. Maybe this is my mistake."
    "Maybe?" yelled the man.
    "Okay. Definitely. But what do you mean this is your room? This is Versace's room." I inched closer to the far wall, circling away from the couple and the bedroom door.
    "Dude," he said, readjusting his teddy bear. "What are you, a stalker? That was years ago. This is a hotel now."
    The look on my face must have been priceless. "No, it's... Since when?"
    "A year ago, you idiot." The man stormed over to the phone beside the bed and pushed a button. "Security?"
    I ran to the balcony door. "Speaking of security," I said, slipping outside. "Little tip: make sure to lock these up at night."
    And then I bolted.

 
     
    Chapter 7

     
     

    Miami Beach is an island. A series of islands, really. A lot of people don't know that. Downtown Miami is on the coast, then you've got Biscayne Bay between it and the beach. Everyone's familiar with the downtown skyline view from the MacArthur Causeway, the highway bridge that connects the two.

    That's what I watched from the Metrobus as I crossed over. Yes, I was using public transportation. You might think it's been an especially unglamorous day for me, but I was used to the bus. My family was dirt poor.
    Seeing the skyscrapers in full sunlight brought a smile to my face. I didn't know why. I'd seen them countless times before but I recognized that, this time, I was fortunate.
    I'd been dead. For a year apparently. That was a lot of time to lose. A lot of time for things to change.
    The urgency of finding my family grew muddled. I realized they wouldn't be in danger anymore. The time for that was long past. Now I just wondered if they knew what had happened to me. If they'd be happy to see me again.
    Of course they would, right? But it's a little complicated. (Family always is.) As the firstborn, my parents were a bit disappointed in me. First in the family to reach higher education, I wasted the opportunity by dropping out after two years of community college.
    I was a lousy student. I couldn't concern myself with the banalities of academics. So I read a lot. Novels, comic books—anything that required imagination. I used that background to imagine something more. To be open to the impossible. And when I found it, the magic, it felt like it had always been a part of me.
    Luckily, my sister had gone down a different path. Seleste knew about my skills, but she hit the books with more dedication than I ever had. She was on track to go to law school. I was proud. Our parents were too, of course, but I always felt I'd let them down.
    Honestly, I didn't always honor them as I should have. The whole black magic thing ran me in secret circles. I kinda closed off to them. Didn't pay enough attention. Things had never been crazy at home but constant disappointment has a way of souring things. I wondered what disappearing for a year could do.
    The bus cruised past the city proper and headed down Flagler Street. Miami's laid out on a grid system, streets running east to west and avenues north to south. Flagler Street is the heart of Miami. Street zero. North 1st Street is above it and South 1st Street is below. It doesn't mean it's the best part of Miami, but it's Miami all right.
    We passed all the run-down strip malls and mercaditos . This was Little Havana, and it was my stop. I rang the bell and exited the Metrobus with an uneasy sigh.
    I strolled down the sidewalk. (It wasn't pink here.) When I passed a mailbox, I dropped Robert Greene's wallet inside. It wasn't certified, but I hoped the postal carrier would be in the mood for a good deed.
    On the corner was a small cafe. No interior, just a windowed bar running along the sidewalk. Old men and hustlers leaned confidently on the counter, laughing and debating local politics. Who was corrupt, whose parents were real Cubans, even a mention of Castro. There was always talk of Fidel, but now they were referring to his brother Raul as el presidente . I supposed the old dictator had