Only the Dead Know Brooklyn

Home > Other > Only the Dead Know Brooklyn > Page 32
Only the Dead Know Brooklyn Page 32

by Chris Vola


  “I know I’m late,” he said. “I got sidetracked by my super, saying good-bye to the place. It’s harder than I thought it would be. But I got everything I needed. I’m leaving now.”

  Jennifer sighed dramatically. “If you want to hang out and drink Modelos with Luis, that’s fine with me,” she said. “I mean, I’ve only waited seven or eight months for you to come over. What’s another couple hours?”

  She was joking, but Ryan knew that a couple of hours or even a couple of days would be nowhere near enough time to sort through the chaos that had occurred and the possibilities of what might happen next. The fact that Arthur might still be alive. That the Manhattan tribe, once they weren’t preoccupied with the fallout from the files Jennifer had leaked, would probably make him public enemy number one. That he wasn’t sure if he was human or Ànkëlëk-ila or something in between. His apprehension about Natalia staying in Brooklyn and his thankfulness to her for giving Ryan and Jennifer her car. What they were going to do with the statues once they’d left the city, where they were going to go, how they were going to stay off the radar.

  He took a deep breath and cleared his head until the only thing that remained was Jennifer’s face creased in laughter, her big eyes beaming back at him.

  Everything else could wait, at least for a little while.

  “No,” he said, walking back toward the kitchen, “I’m done here.” Luis patted Ryan’s shoulder and winked as he headed in the opposite direction, out the front door and back to his stool and his bottomless cooler of beer. “I’m a little hungry. I was thinking that before we take off, maybe I could park Natalia’s car in your garage and we could check out that ramen spot near your place that you always wanted me to try. Is that cool with you?”

  “I don’t know if I’m in the mood,” Jennifer replied. “I had a pretty satisfying liquid lunch today. B negative. Why don’t you just pick something up on the way?”

  “Well, I guess we’re on different sides of the double helix again. Talk about a role reversal.”

  She laughed. “There have always been differences between us. We’ve made them work before. Why sweat it? I know I won’t, because … well, I can’t.”

  Ryan smiled. “I’m leaving now,” he repeated, the words sounding even better the second time around. “I mean it.”

  “I know you do,” she said before hanging up.

  He picked up the duffel bag, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.

  Acknowledgments

  Much gratitude goes out to my editors, Brendan Deneen and Peter Joseph, as well as the rest of the staff at Thomas Dunne Books and Macmillan Entertainment. Thank you for having the faith to bring me onto this project and trusting me from day one. Your unwavering support, encouragement, and positivity made writing the book a hell of a lot of fun.

  To all the teachers, mentors, early readers, and workshop-mates who have helped me shape my words over the years, especially Josephine Humphreys, Brian Henry, Jonathan Dee, Binnie Kirshenbaum, John Reed, Garrett McDonough, Stephen Cicerelli, Jobie Hughes, and Jonathan Maberry—and anyone else who’s bothered to spend time with my stories. You are the reason I continue to plod stubbornly along the literary path.

  To my Richmond and Loomis people, the Little Branch crew, the Third Stall, the Burger Bashers, and everyone else who keeps me (in)sane and reminds me that an occasionally decent world exists outside my writing cave—I couldn’t have done this without you. Special shout-outs to my 2015 roommates—Sean, Len, and Anthony—and my parents, Lodia and Charles Vola, who heard the worst of my grumblings about vampires and supernatural conspiracies, and who delicately—and sometimes emphatically—told me to suck it up. And to Sandra Morrow, whose Facebook skills are much appreciated.

  And finally, to the City of New York, without which this book couldn’t exist, and without which I couldn’t, either: thank you, thank you, thank you.

  ALSO BY CHRIS VOLA

  Monkeytown

  How to Find a Flock

  About the Author

  CHRIS VOLA was born in Hartford, Connecticut. A former assistant greenskeeper, bouncer, waiter, and editor, he lives and bartends in New York City. Only the Dead Know Brooklyn is his third work of fiction after Monkeytown and How to Find a Flock. You can sign up for email updates here.

  Thank you for buying this

  St. Martin’s Press ebook.

  To receive special offers, bonus content,

  and info on new releases and other great reads,

  sign up for our newsletters.

  Or visit us online at

  us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup

  For email updates on the author, click here.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  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

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Chris Vola

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.

  An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.

  ONLY THE DEAD KNOW BROOKLYN. Copyright © 2017 by St. Martin’s Press. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.thomasdunnebooks.com

  www.stmartins.com

  Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein

  Cover photographs: man © Silas Manhood; bridge © Andres Garcia Martin/Dreamstime.com

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-1-250-07907-7 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4668-9162-3 (e-book)

  e-ISBN 9781466891623

  Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

  First Edition: May 2017

 

 

 


‹ Prev