Old Habits Read online

Old Habits

  Christopher Waltz

  Copyright 2015 Christopher Waltz

  Table of Contents

  Praise for Ivy League

  To You, the Reader

  Dedication

  The Show Must Go On

  Times, They are A-Changin’

  …With Interest

  Going Out With a Bang

  Collateral Damage

  Ann “Oakley” Ellis

  An Old-Fashioned Armed Robbery

  Matters of the Heart

  Back to the Middle

  Benjamin Bradley

  A Familiar Face

  A Broken Home

  God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise

  A House Divided

  William Sporleder

  Just Like Brothers

  Cataclysmic Choices

  Robert Shank

  A Flare for the Dramatic

  Dig

  Closed Eyes Still Look Forward

  Emmett O’Kelly

  Minutes to Midnight

  You Would Have Gone Far, Kid

  His Story Repeats Itself

  Gabriel Malvado

  A Sneak Peek of Loose Ends

  About the Author

  Praise for Ivy League by Christopher Waltz

  "Ivy League… is a story that is not a story, because it's a completely realized version of multiple truths and lies woven together to make a dark and gritty section of the world we're not used to seeing..."

  -David James, author of Between the Stars and Sky

  “…Truly embodies the struggles of a young man while he decides what's important in life and what's worth risking everything.”

  -Allura, Blogger at Teacups & Bookends

  “Ivy league… is definitely an intriguing story. [Jamie] struggles with right and wrong, protecting those he loves, and risking his own life. He goes from being an innocent bystander to a cocky S.O.B. He will learn quickly that his decisions will affect more than just him…”

  -Scandalous Book Blog

  “Ivy League is definitely worth the chance. [Waltz] managed to write a book that is… packed with some hard choices, tough love, and major consequences.”

  -Dani Morales, Blogger at Crazy Book Chicks

  (To You, the Reader…)

  This one’s been a long time coming…

  As always, I need to thank anyone and everyone involved with helping Old Habits become a book and not just dozens of pages of notes on what I hoped it would eventually become, especially you, the reader. Because, being honest, I almost didn’t write the sequel to Ivy League. After all, though the ending was ambiguous, it still worked in a way that could be called “final.”

  Then I started listening to the things you had to say, and a lot of them revolved around wanting to know what was going to happen to Jamie and Gabe next… And while I was so happy to read and listen to the comments you had about Ivy League, I also felt very stupid for even considering not finishing the story and giving the readers, even if they are few, the ending they deserve, to not just Jamie’s, but Gabe’s story, too.

  Since I first started writing this series in 2010, the characters within the pages have become a part of my life, and whether for better or for worse, have also become a part of my family. And while you may not have the same connection to them I do, you have a connection to them.

  So, for this, I have to say THANK YOU. You’re the reason I do what I do. I hope you truly enjoy part two…

  -Christopher Waltz

  March 5, 2015

  Dedication

  For you…

  Yes, you.

  (The Show Must Go On)