Ghosts The King & Slater Series Book Five Matt Rogers Copyright © 2020 by Matt Rogers All rights reserved. Cover design by Onur Aksoy. www.onegraphica.com Contents Reader’s Group Facebook Page Books by Matt Rogers Preface Prologue 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 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 Chapter 70 Chapter 71 Chapter 72 Chapter 73 Chapter 74 Chapter 75 Chapter 76 Chapter 77 Chapter 78 Chapter 79 Chapter 80 Chapter 81 Chapter 82 Chapter 83 Chapter 84 Chapter 85 Chapter 86 Chapter 87 Chapter 88 Chapter 89 Chapter 90 Chapter 91 Chapter 92 Chapter 93 Chapter 94 Chapter 95 Chapter 96 Chapter 97 Announcement Afterword Books by Matt Rogers Reader’s Group About the Author Join the Reader’s Group and get a free 200-page book by Matt Rogers! Sign up for a free copy of ‘BLOOD MONEY’. Meet Ruby Nazarian, a government operative for a clandestine initiative known only as Lynx. She’s in Monaco to infiltrate the entourage of Aaron Wayne, a real estate tycoon on the precipice of dipping his hands into blood money. She charms her way aboard the magnate’s superyacht, but everyone seems suspicious of her, and as the party ebbs onward she prepares for war… Maybe she’s paranoid. Maybe not. Just click here. Follow me on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/mattrogersbooks Expect regular updates, cover reveals, giveaways, and more. I love interacting with fans. Feel free to send me a private message with any questions or comments. Looking forward to having you! Books by Matt Rogers THE JASON KING SERIES Isolated (Book 1) Imprisoned (Book 2) Reloaded (Book 3) Betrayed (Book 4) Corrupted (Book 5) Hunted (Book 6) THE JASON KING FILES Cartel (Book 1) Warrior (Book 2) Savages (Book 3) THE WILL SLATER SERIES Wolf (Book 1) Lion (Book 2) Bear (Book 3) Lynx (Book 4) Bull (Book 5) Hawk (Book 6) THE KING & SLATER SERIES Weapons (Book 1) Contracts (Book 2) Ciphers (Book 3) Outlaws (Book 4) Ghosts (Book 5) LYNX SHORTS Blood Money (Book 1) BLACK FORCE SHORTS The Victor (Book 1) The Chimera (Book 2) The Tribe (Book 3) The Hidden (Book 4) The Coast (Book 5) The Storm (Book 6) The Wicked (Book 7) The King (Book 8) The Joker (Book 9) The Ruins (Book 10) “Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all.” Joseph Epstein Prologue Deep in the bowels of the Las Vegas Justice Court, five people entered a windowless room in single file. First came Chief Judge Alastair Icke. He was on his lunch break, which made the meeting staggeringly important, for Icke was an enormous man with a slab of a belly that bulged out of his robe. He didn’t skip meals lightly. He was the only one of the five who had business that day within the courthouse, and therefore the only person in the room who’d officially signed in. Which is partly why he entered first. And, well, it was his influence for sale. Icke pretended he didn’t know his four guests, mostly to reassure them. These were stressful times. He’d met each of them separately multiple times in the past within their official roles. Definitely not through an illegitimate coming-together like this. Across the judicial and law enforcement systems, the four guests were some of the most influential people in the county. When Icke was added to the mix, the quintet became all-powerful. He knew what they did. He knew why they were here. But he expunged their official titles from his mind, because that’d make this whole ugly pill easier to swallow. Gloria Kerr came next. She’d maintained the same severe expression for the ten years he’d known her, and he hadn’t seen the mask slip once behind closed doors. Public interviews and appearances were one thing, but in private, she’d always been ice. Her two companions — two forty-something men, both almost as important — followed her in and sat down either side of her. She unbuttoned her suit jacket and settled back into the swivel chair. She didn’t blink. Her beady black eyes bore into Icke. Keith Ray came last — early sixties, built solid as a lumberjack, with big hands and a ruddy weather-beaten face. It was easier for Icke to pretend he was nobody, because now, technically, he was. He’d recently retired from the force. Which did nothing to dampen his influence, but he’d reached a point where it was better to step away than keep pretending to be something he wasn’t. Kerr’s companions were inconsequential, so Icke shifted his focus between her and Ray, disregarding the other two men entirely. They were here because they had to be — assistant District Attorneys, both in on the racket. Icke didn’t say a word. He’d found that whoever spoke first was at a disadvantage. Ray took the bait. He faced Icke and said, ‘She needs to go down for the maximum time.’ Icke cocked his head. ‘How long?’ ‘How long can you give?’ ‘Me personally?’ ‘Whichever judge is presiding over the case, obviously. Whichever judge determines the sentence.’ Icke figured he’d play verbal chess a little longer. Just to show them who the shot-caller was. He said, ‘Are you implying I can influence that sort of thing?’ Gloria Kerr sat forward, her eyes dead and cold. ‘Cut the shit, Alistair.’ Icke turned to her. ‘For someone who wants a favour, you’re not being very polite.’ ‘The small talk’s done,’ she said. ‘You had your fun. You know there’s no favours. Nothing’s free. This is a negotiation.’ Icke adjusted his robe, making sure to take his sweet time. There wasn’t a sound to be heard — not even breathing. All four guests kept their inhalations and exhalations measured. Icke said, ‘Okay, Gloria. You cut the shit too. Tell me exactly what it is you want, and exactly why I should do it for you.’ ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ she said. ‘Better safe than sorry. Wouldn’t want anything misinterpreted. Wouldn’t want anything left unsaid.’ Kerr said, ‘She’s onto us. I let her get away with her little Sherlock Holmes routine for far too long — maybe because I felt bad for her. It was a mistake. I was toying with her. Now I eat.’ ‘And what do I have to do with your dietary choices?’ ‘You’ll give her the maximum,’
