by Seeley James
I said, Yeah. OK. Fine. Go ahead. What’s the message?
Mercury said, Life is about balance. She wants you to know you need to balance the grief with joy. Otherwise, her legacy on Earth is nothing more than a depressed guy. She wants to be remembered as the woman who rocked the gondola with Dalsgaard and Brandt, not the woman who turned Jacob Stearne into an emotional black hole.
I looked at the city view. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower turned its lights on. At some point in my life, I recall someone telling me hell wasn’t a place you went when you died, it was a place you made for yourself in life. You had to actively choose to live there. This man also told me choosing to see life as heaven was much more rewarding. To celebrate everything from the joys to the pains is how you turn hell into heaven. That man might’ve been Mercury. But I doubt it.
I turned around and saw the last of Pavard’s friends holding the door for me. I jogged to catch up.
Ms. Sabel clutched my arm as we followed the group down the sidewalk. She nodded toward a man sitting alone at a sidewalk café. Professor Rafael Tum sipped a coffee with his iron gaze locked on us. With a slight wave of his cup, he acknowledged us when we passed by.
“I offered the Stone to him. He said he didn’t want it yet,” Ms. Sabel said in a hushed tone. “Do you think he wants it back now?”
“Where is it?”
“Somewhere in the Sabel Security ops center.” She referred to a massive armory in the countryside. “Uhm. They lost it.”
“If he asks,” I said, “let him go find it.”
The merry parade followed the Pavards to a nearby hotel and inside. The ribbon led up to a small ballroom. Judging from the size of the hotel, it couldn’t be a big ballroom, but it was larger than the apartment. Four serious gendarmes patrolled the small lobby. Two guards in dress uniform manned the ballroom doors. They opened them as we approached.
A band, balloons, and a cheering crowd welcomed them in. The President of France shook their hands first. Then Luca Brandt of the BND stepped forward. Behind him lined up Dalsgaard and the other police chiefs of Europe. Dignitaries from around the region joined the line.
Ms. Sabel pulled my elbow. We stepped to the side and watched the beaming Pavards soak up the attention.
“You did this?” I asked.
“Called a few people—it kinda escalated.”
We stood there watching human kindness in action. It is amazing how wonderfully people respond to the love of friends. All too often we wallow in anger when it’s obvious we need each other. We need kindness. We thrive on upbeat, unbridled optimism. When we work together, we build things up. Like bridges, hospitals, schools, rockets to the moon. And we work best when we compensate for each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Jenny was right about balance.
When they’d greeted everyone, the Pavards took to the dance floor. Everyone watched and applauded them. When the song ended, the anniversary couple came straight to us. The Major asked Ms. Sabel to dance. I asked Delphine.
As we stepped out to join them on the dance floor, I asked Ms. Sabel, “Do you know anything about yin and yang?”
Wow! You made it!
Wasn’t that great? It might’ve been a struggle at times, but you got here, and I appreciate your perseverance. Could you do me a big favor? Please leave a review.
If you can’t get enough of Pia, Jacob and Mercury, wait til you see what happens next. Stay in touch by joining the Secret Society where there are drawings, story background, and all kinds of inside information. Join by following the link below. If you have plenty of spam already, consider joining the fan page on Facebook. There’s a lot more mischief going on there. Missing a book from the series? Click here for a full list.
Now that you’ve read this book, wouldn’t you love to hear more from me?
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SeeleyJames.com/secretsociety
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My heartfelt thanks to the beta readers and supporters who made this book the best book possible.
• Extraordinary Editor and Idea man: Lance Charnes, author of the highly acclaimed Doha 12, SOUTH, THE COLLLECTION, STEALING GHOSTS and CHASING CLAY. If you like beautifully written art heists, visit http://wombatgroup.com
• Medical Advisor and Character Diviner: Dr. Louis Kirby, famed neurologist and author of Shadow of Eden. http://louiskirby.com Without his help, the ending would’ve been a snoozer.
• Amazing Editor: Mary Maddox, horror and dark fantasy novelist, and author of the Daemon World Series and the fantastic thriller, DARK ROOM. http://marymaddox.com
A special thanks to my wife whose support, despite being a tad reluctant, has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Last but not least, my children, Nicole, Amelia, and Christopher, ranging from age twenty to forty-seven, who have kept my imagination fresh and full of ideas.
Books by Seeley James in Order:
Sabel Origins #1: The Geneva Decision
Sabel Origins #2: Bring It
Sabel Security #1: Element 42
Sabel Security #2: Death & Dark Money
Sabel Security #3: Death & The Damned
Sabel Security #4: Death & Treason
Sabel Security #5: Death & Secrets
Sabel Security #6: Death & Vengeance
Sabel Security #7: Death & Conspiracy: A Jacob Stearne Thriller
Sabel Security #8: Death & Betrayal: A Jacob Stearne Thriller*
Sabel Security #9: Death & Deception: A Jacob Stearne Thriller*
Sabel Security #10: Untitled: A Pia Sabel Mystery*
* Coming Soon
For a full list visit
seeleyjames.com/books
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
His near-death experiences range from talking a jealous husband into putting the gun down to spinning out on an icy freeway in heavy traffic without touching anything. His resume ranges from washing dishes to global technology management. His personal life stretches from homeless at 17, adopting a 3-year-old at 19, getting married at 37, fathering his last child at 43, hiking the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim several times a year, and taking the occasional nap.
His writing career ranges from humble beginnings with short stories in The Battered Suitcase, to being awarded a Medallion from the Book Readers Appreciation Group. Seeley is best known for his Sabel Security series of thrillers featuring athlete and heiress Pia Sabel and her bodyguard, unhinged veteran Jacob Stearne. One of them kicks ass and the other talks to the wrong god.
His love of creativity began at an early age, growing up at Frank Lloyd Wright’s School of Architecture in Arizona and Wisconsin. He carried his imagination first into a successful career in sales and marketing, and then to his real love: fiction.
For more books featuring Pia Sabel and Jacob Stearne, visit SeeleyJames.com
Contact Seeley James:
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Website: SeeleyJames.com
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Copyright © 2020 Seeley James
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. If you violate these terms, I’ll send Jacob Stearne after you. Or Mercury. So, watch it.
DEATH AND DECEPTION: A Jacob Stearne Thriller is a work of fiction. All persons, places, things, businesses, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real people, living, dead or somewhere in between; gods and goddesses or other divine beings; or events, locales, or places, is purely coincidental. If you think otherwise, you don’t know the author very well—he’s simply not that smart.
If you would like to use material from the book in any way, shape, or form, you must first obtain written permission. Send inquiries to: s
[email protected]
Published by
Machined Media
12402 N 68th St
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
DEATH AND DECEPTION: A Jacob Strearne Thriller, released July 21st, 2020
Print ISBN: 978-1-7333467-5-7
ePub ISBN: 978-1-7333467-4-0
Distribution Print ISBN: 978-1-7333467-6-4
Sabel Security #9 version 2.31
Formatting: BB eBooks
Cover Design: Jeroen ten Berge