To Vegas with love
Page 1
To Vegas With Love
The Pen is Mightier Book 3
J. A. Cipriano
Copyright © 2018 by J. A. Cipriano
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Thank You for reading!
Author’s Note
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Also by J.A. Cipriano
The Pen is Mightier
The Pen is Mightier: Company Ink
The Pen is Mightier: To Vegas… with Love
* * *
Star Conqueror
Star Conqueror: Recompense
Star Conqueror: Legion
* * *
Super Human
United We Stand
Victory Road
* * *
King of the Gods
Falcon Punch
* * *
World of Ruul
Soulstone: Awakening
Soulstone: The Skeleton King
Soulstone: Oblivion
* * *
Bug Wars
Doomed Infinity Marine
Doomed Infinity Marine 2
* * *
The Legendary Builder
The Builder’s Sword
The Builder’s Greed
The Builder’s Pride
The Builder’s Wrath
The Builder’s Throne
The Builder’s Conquest
* * *
The FBI Dragon Chronicles
A Ritual of Fire
A Ritual of Death
* * *
Elements of Wrath Online
Ring of Promise
The Vale of Three Wolves
Crystalfire Keep
* * *
Kingdom of Heaven
The Skull Throne
Escape From Hell
* * *
The Thrice Cursed Mage
Cursed
Marked
Burned
Seized
Claimed
Hellbound
* * *
The Half-Demon Warlock
Pound of Flesh
Flesh and Blood
Blood and Treasure
* * *
The Lillim Callina Chronicles
Wardbreaker
Kill it with Magic
The Hatter is Mad
Fairy Tale
Pursuit
Hardboiled
Mind Games
Fatal Ties
* * *
Clans of Shadow
Heart of Gold
Feet of Clay
Fists of Iron
* * *
The Spellslinger Chronicles
Throne to the Wolves
Prince of Blood and Thunder
* * *
Found Magic
May Contain Magic
The Magic Within
Magic for Hire
* * *
Witching on a Starship
Maverick
Planet Breaker
1
“You know, if I wanted to waste my whole morning, there are a lot better ways we could do it,” Gail, the blonde bombshell sitting to my left in the tiny hospital’s conference room said. “Because this whole telling us to be here at ten AM and then not saying a damned word for …” She checked her watch. “… two hours thing is really lame.” She sighed. Loudly. “Just saying.”
“It’ll be okay, Gail,” I said, reaching out and rubbing her hand with my own. The touch of her was electric, and as she looked over at me, I realized she was right. There were way better ways to spend my morning. Just saying.
“You could always use your pen to speed things up,” Maggie, the pale redhead to my right who was also one of the top doctors in the world said before raising one shapely eyebrow at me, giving me a look that practically dared me to break the space-time continuum. “I mean, your time is really valuable, Roger.” She nodded once. “They need to show you some respect.”
“Girls, it’s fine,” I said even though it sort of wasn’t. They had kept us waiting for an inordinate amount of time now, and I was starting to get annoyed, enough that I was considering pulling out my magic pen just to get our meeting started. “It isn’t like we have a lot to do.” I shrugged because it was true.
That was actually why this outing had started. See, after I’d helped Gail’s grandfather recover from his cancer, Gail had the bright idea to have me help more people. I’d fought the idea only because I was worried someone might undo my magic and kill everyone I’d helped, but I’d been informed by the only person with said power that it couldn’t happen.
“Look,” Gail said, putting her hands on her hips as she looked past me at Maggie, and I could feel the two of them combining their power for a super special attack. “Just use the pen already. They’re clearly dicking with us.” She shook her head. “They aren’t taking you seriously, or they’d be here.”
“Yeah …” I started to say as I felt Maggie’s hands slip around my waist and trail deliciously along my thigh in a way that made me wish we weren’t in a goddamned hospital.
“The sooner you hurry,” Maggie breathed into my ear, “the sooner we can have a threesome.” I felt her hot breath on my skin a moment before she nipped at my ear. “Won’t that be fun?”
“Fine, but I’m holding you to that,” I said with a shrug. “Let it not be said I am not benevolent.”
“Oh, you’re quite the giving leader,” Gail said, depositing herself on my lap and looking at me. “Now let’s make it so that they take you seriously and get shit done.” She touched my chest, running one slender hand up my body in a motion that let me know that threesome wasn’t just talk. “Because these jackasses need to know what you’re offering.”
“Also,” Maggie said, her words a promise on my neck, “don’t have Skye make you appointments anymore. Do it with the pen because otherwise …” She didn’t need to say more.
This was the sixth appointment Skye had made for me with a hospital, and like the others, it had dragged out forever. It wasn’t her fault that hospital owners were douchebags who seemed to run on their own kind of time, but I knew that if I made one with my pen, it’d keep. Too bad I never really thought about it until I was here in a waiting room.
; “Yeah, you’re both right.” I nodded as I flicked my wrist, causing my pen to shoot from its hiding place in the sleeve of my high-tech, nanomachine-infused shirt. As it did, I produced a pad of paper in my other hand with a similar gesture. Then I wrote the line I’d been dying to write since about five minutes after we’d gotten here, and I’d been told to wait in the fucking conference room.
Everyone shows up to the meeting in the next thirty seconds.
As the golden ink solidified on the page, I knew it had worked because the words didn’t disappear. A smile crossed my lips as I looked between Maggie and Gail. “Guess you guys should try and look more professional. Much as I love your hands on me, it might not go off as well if they saw you two like this.”
“Eh,” Gail said with a shrug as she slid off my lap. “Any guy who sees us is gonna envision us naked.”
“And some of the girls,” Maggie added as she moved back into her seat and straightened her blouse. Then she gave the security camera in the corner a little wave. “Not that they won’t see it anyway.”
That was probably true on both accounts. I always hated when other guys looked at them, but then again, they were both incredibly attractive, and I’d be lying if I didn’t envision them naked all the time … and I’d slept with them so …
The door opened a moment later, pushing the thought from my mind. A grumpy older man with a bald spot the size of Kentucky on his head appeared in the doorframe. He was dressed in a crisp, black three-piece suit, and one of his hands clutched a leather briefcase that probably cost more than all the furniture in this room. He cast a disapproving glance in my direction before sighing.
“Mr. Stevens,” he said, drawing out my name like it was a curse. “I thought I was clear the last time that nothing would come from our meetings.” He looked around the room like he was trying to find someone to yell at.
It had used to be a nice Afro-Hispanic woman named Gabrielle who wore yellow and white dresses, but I was guessing he hadn’t replaced her since I liberated her from his employ. Now she was heading up a department I liked to call “The Team for World Harmony” though I didn’t think the name was going to stick.
“I just don’t understand why you don’t like money.” I rubbed my eyes for a moment while trying to decide my next course of action.
I’d not known this meeting was with Chet McMahon. If I had, well, I’d have not bothered. The asshole owned so many hospitals in Nevada that I shouldn’t have been surprised. That he kept showing up at the meetings personally just to tell me to fuck off though was a testament to how good of a hacker Skye was, because I was pretty sure someone had gotten fired after each of our meetings. Hence my acquisition of Gabrielle. After all, anyone who threatens his personal assistant can’t be that awesome to work for.
“Because I’m so rich that all I need money for is to keep score.” He practically spat the words. “You aren’t even rich enough to talk to me.” He gestured at me. “Dealing with you for a hospital won’t even move the damned needle for me.”
“I can give you a lot more than money,” I said, but I knew it was sort of not true. After our first meeting, I’d had Skye dig up everything on the guy and found, to my astonishment, he had no family, nor did he want any. The guy was just a corporate raider through and through, and I didn’t exactly want to help him ruin more good companies just to get a damned hospital from him.
“I don’t need anything more than money.” He gestured to my girls. “I could buy them if I wanted, but I don’t. I’ve fucked so many beautiful women that it’s all just the same.”
“I think we’re done here,” Gail said, glaring at him and standing.
“Dick,” Maggie said, also standing.
The sad thing was that, as I got to my feet and considered bankrupting him for the five-billionth time, I realized something. This meeting was actually going better than the previous ones had. He’d obviously looked me up between now and then.
“Don’t forget to have your parking validated on the way out,” Chet said, shrugging as he turned on his heel and made his way out of the conference room. The guy had never made it inside.
“Part of me really wanted to like tie his shoes together or something,” I said, sighing. “Or, you know, liquidate all his assets and give them to a charity.”
“The problem is there are a billion assholes just like Chet.” Gail gave me a smile and put her hand on my shoulder. “Maybe we should just build our own hospital?”
“I think that might be the way to go,” Maggie added. “Though if you like, I could shiv Chet and leave him to drown in a puddle of his own blood.”
“Nah, I know it sounds crazy, but I actually want to beat him at his own game.” I smiled and gestured at the hospital. “I think Gail is right. If we can’t buy a hospital, we can just build one. That way, he’ll know we’re better.”
“I still like the ‘stabbing him’ idea, but you do you, Roger.” Maggie smiled at me and took my hand. “This is also why I’d be a terrible steward of the pen.”
“Me too,” Gail agreed. “I’d have just written myself the owner, and yes, I know that doesn’t actually work.”
“It would be easier if it did,” I said as we stepped through the doors and moved into the waiting room for the hospital.
“We’ve been waiting for five hours! I need someone to help my son,” a woman exclaimed, one hand gesturing to a kid with a clearly broken arm while she glared at the attendant, a drone-faced man who looked like he delighted in the misery of others.
“And you’ll wait longer.” He shrugged, voice and eyes conveying that he was dead inside. “Your insurance isn’t good enough to have less than a six-hour wait.” He looked past her for a moment at the non-line. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other people to help.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked moving closer to the woman who looked like she was about to leap over the desk and tackle the guy despite the three-inch thick bulletproof glass separating them.
“These assholes won’t help my son because there’s an extra ‘expedition fee’ that we have to pay to get him help.” She threw her hands in the air in frustration. “Can you believe that? This is the emergency room.”
“Lady, if you wanted better service, you should have paid for it,” Dead Inside said, barely looking up from his crossword puzzle.
“The answer for nine down is douchebag,” I said, glancing at him for a moment before nodding to the woman. “My friend here is a doctor, she’ll help you free of charge.”
“I will,” Maggie said, taking my cue and moving toward the boy who was trying to be brave despite being in obvious pain. “In fact, I’ll help everyone in here.” She glanced at me as she spoke, and I nodded.
She went to work then, pulling her medical bag from her own nano-suit of infinite pockets. As she did, I wrote a few quick notes on my pad, ensuring her treatments would be super effective.
I’ll be honest. It felt pretty damned good.
2
“Sir, you and your ‘friends’ need to leave, or we’ll be forced to call the authorities,” Dead Inside said as Maggie finished setting the kid’s arm and wrapping it in casting material. I wanted to say it was fiberglass, but I really had no idea.
“Why is that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the paper-pushing jackass.
“Because this is private property.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and to be honest, it was a fair point. The hospital was technically private property.
“So, you guys are mad my friend helped that boy?” I gestured at Maggie and the boy.
“That’s not what I’m saying—”
“Yes, it is.” I cut him off with the wave of a hand. “Admit it.”
“I, erm …” he spluttered as I turned away from him and looked around the room.
“Listen,” I said, gesturing at Dead Inside. “This jackass wants us to leave, but I don’t think my friends are done helping people.” I shot a glance at Gail and Maggie who both nodded emphatically. “So, here
’s what I propose. If you wanna stay here and wait for your insurance company or this hospital to decide it likes you more than money, that’s cool. But if you’d rather be treated free of charge by one of the best doctors in the world, I am gonna need you to step outside and form an orderly line next to my pop-up hospital.”
I pointed outside, and the entire room followed my movement as I prepared to activate some voice commands with my pen. “There’s a pink tent over in the public park across the way filled with medical equipment.” There was a ping in my ear, letting me know the voice command had become reality. “Just form an orderly line, and we’ll see everyone right away.” I smiled. “And we’ll honor your place in line here. Cool?”
Without another word, I moved toward the door with Maggie and Gail following me. The moment the fresh air hit me, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized we’d been holding. Not because I was worried my pen wouldn’t work, because as the ping had confirmed, nestled at the edge of the park across the street was the pink tent, exactly as I had commanded.
“So, we’re in the pop-up hospital business?” Gail asked, taking my hand as we moved toward the tent. “Is that even a real thing?”
“I wonder if people will follow,” Maggie said, glancing back over her shoulder.
“I think they will,” I said with a shrug. “You set that boy’s arm in a few minutes after they’d waited for five hours. Once they start talking, there will be people over there. Speaking of which, you two better get ready.” I pulled my hand free of Gail’s even though I didn’t want to and produced my pen. “Gail, do you mind learning some medical knowledge?”