Demon Heat (City of Sinners Book 2) by Noah Harris

Author:Noah Harris [Harris, Noah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-04-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

When he picked up the phone the next morning, Richard didn’t recognize the shaky voice of the old woman on the other end of the line.

“Hello, is this Richard Miller?”

“Yes,” Richard replied. Barely, he added silently.

The acid had left his mind fuzzy and his body worn out. The visions from the acid trip the night before still swirled in his mind. He didn’t know how he could face the day. Perhaps he’d just stay in and do nothing. Anton Black, his goons, the Hooded One, they could wait for another day. This city and lifestyle were wearing him out.

Even though it was past ten, he still lay in bed. He’d gotten maybe, three hours of sleep the night before. He didn’t even want to imagine what he looked like.

Richard had to struggle to focus on what the old woman was saying.

“This is Linda Jackson speaking, Tyrone’s mother. He had to go to work early this morning, but he said he’d meet you at your apartment as you had arranged. He just wanted to remind you in case you forgot and went out.”

“Um, OK,” Richard said, confused. They had arranged to meet? So much had happened since the last time they had talked, Richard couldn’t remember. And why hadn’t Tyrone called himself?

Probably because he doesn’t want to talk to you until you talk face-to-face. Oh shit, is he going to break up with me?

“Um, thank you Mrs. Jackson. I’m afraid I did forget. What time is he coming over?”

“Eleven.”

Richard leapt out of bed. “Oh, I’d better get ready then.” Then he remembered his manners. “And how are you feeling, Mrs. Jackson? The heat is pretty hard to bear.”

“Oh, it’s been so trying, hasn’t it?”

Tyrone’s mother then launched into a long monologue about how sweltering her apartment was, how it made her feel faint and sick, how it made her arthritis flare up, how the smog irritated her lungs. Richard nodded and said “uh-huh” to signal that he was listening as he stumbled around his bedroom searching for some clean clothes among the heaps of dirty laundry. As he did so, he caught a glance of himself in the mirror and was shocked to see how worn out and pale he appeared. He looked like he was suffering from some serious illness. He looked almost as old as Tyrone’s mother sounded.

“I’m so sorry you’re feeling badly, Mrs. Jackson. Now I really must get going. I need to have a shower before Tyrone gets here. The heat, you know.”

“Oh yes, well you run along then. It’s very nice to finally speak to you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Richard cocked his head. “You have?”

“Oh yes. It’s so nice Tyrone has found a friend in Manhattan. The people can be so aloof down there. His work at the store always wears him out, so I’m glad he has a friend to visit in the neighborhood.”

Richard couldn’t help but smile at the mention of Tyrone’s “store.” If only his mom knew what he

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