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Chapters (108)
  1. Also Available from V. E. Schwab and Titan Books
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Genesis: Six Weeks Ago
  5. I: Resurrection
  6. I
  7. II
  8. III
  9. IV
  10. V
  11. VI
  12. VII
  13. VIII
  14. IX
  15. X
  16. XI
  17. XII
  18. XIII
  19. XIV
  20. XV
  21. XVI
  22. XVII
  23. XVIII
  24. II: Revelation
  25. I
  26. II
  27. III
  28. IV
  29. V
  30. VI
  31. VII
  32. VIII
  33. IX
  34. X
  35. XI
  36. XII
  37. XIII
  38. XIV
  39. XV
  40. XVI
  41. XVII
  42. XVIII
  43. XIX
  44. XX
  45. XXI
  46. XXII
  47. XXIII
  48. XXIV
  49. XXV
  50. XXVI
  51. III: Ascension
  52. I
  53. II
  54. III
  55. IV
  56. V
  57. VI
  58. VII
  59. VIII
  60. IX
  61. X
  62. XI
  63. XII
  64. XIII
  65. XIV
  66. XV
  67. XVI
  68. XVII
  69. XVIII
  70. XIX
  71. XX
  72. XXI
  73. XXII
  74. XXIII
  75. XXIV
  76. XXV
  77. XXVI
  78. IV: Judgment Day
  79. I
  80. II
  81. III
  82. IV
  83. V
  84. VI
  85. VII
  86. VIII
  87. IX
  88. X
  89. XI
  90. XII
  91. XIII
  92. XIV
  93. XV
  94. XVI
  95. XVII
  96. XVIII
  97. XIX
  98. XX
  99. XXI
  100. XXII
  101. Exodus
  102. I
  103. II
  104. III
  105. A Message from Victor Vale
  106. Common Ground
  107. About the Author
  108. Document Outline

“He couldn’t break the habit,” continued June. “But he couldn’t afford it, either. So Caprese’s men go over to sort out the balance. Break a few fingers. Only Jonathan’s wife is home too. She pulls a gun, and it all goes sideways. Wife dies. According to medical records, so does Royce. For a few minutes, anyway. But in the end, he pulls through. So Caprese sends more guys around, and those end up dead too. Now no one wants to take credit for a botched kill, and no one wants it getting out that they failed, but for all that they still need Royce in the ground.

So they outsource.”

“They called you.”

June smiled. “Yeah, they called me. But I couldn’t kill him.”

Marcella raised a brow. “What, you had a change of heart?”

“Hardly,” said June. “I mean I really tried to kill him. And I couldn’t.”

Image 64

XI

THREE WEEKS AGO

XII

MERIT CITY LIMITS

JONATHAN Royce owned one good suit, and it didn’t even fit.

It had, once upon a time—when he was thirty pounds heavier—but now, it slumped and sagged, always on the verge of slipping off. Just like his wedding ring, staying on only because of a twice-broken knuckle. Jonathan had never been a large man, but these days he was all harsh angles, underslept and undernourished. It was ironic, really— Jonathan looked like an addict, even though he’d been clean since Claire’s death.

Everyone he knew had dabbled—drugs and music went hand in hand, and the jazz scene was no exception.

But heroin was a hell of a high.

Not the roller coaster peaks of cocaine, or the mellow que sera sera of good weed, but a dreamy wave, a blissful way out of your own life, and your own head, a summer midnight swim in the ocean bare-assed kind of freedom—at first. Jonathan had seen the addiction coming, watched it roll in like a tide, but he was already wet, and he couldn’t drag himself back to shore.

And just like a high tide, an undertow, it came and washed everything away.

Money. Joy. Safety. Sanity.

Every day, the tide a little higher. Every day, the water a little deeper.

Every day, a little farther from shore. Easy to get swept away. All you

gotta do is stop swimming.

Jonathan looped the tie around his neck, fumbling with the knot, his fingers aching.

It had been nearly a year, and the joints still hurt every day.