New York A Novel Novels & Stories

ZOE “Your place is beautiful!” Rachel exclaimed, as she sprawled on my bed. I nodded, grateful for this apartment. It was big and beautiful. “It is.” “Apartments are very expensive in New York, my place sucks.” She shivered in hypothetical chills. “Is that why you were outside so late?” I asked, handing her a glass of juice. I wasn’t really good at hosting. “Thank you.” She took a sip before she continued, “That’s part of it. I’m still uncertain about what to do in New York. I thought to take a walk, observe, and learn. Maybe I’ll get an idea.”

Lauren POV My first day back in New York was… quiet. Strangely quiet. Not the chaotic, fast-paced kind of New York I remembered. The kind where horns blared constantly, people rushed past each other without making eye contact, and the city never truly slept. This quiet came from inside me. Because for the first time since everything began, I wasn’t running anymore. I was here. Back in the city where my life had fallen apart. Back in the same place where I had walked out of my marriage.

Arghhh How many people would die in the meantime? How many more families would Antonio destroy while the commission debated "due process"? I pushed off the expensive sheets silk, probably thousand thread count, the kind of luxury I still wasn't used to and padded barefoot to the window. The city spread out below, New York waking up to another day of commerce and chaos and lives that had nothing to do with mafia politics. Normal people. Normal problems. I'd forgotten what that felt like. "Can't sleep either?"

He stood on the roof of a crushed taxi in the middle of Times Square, his massive white paws denting the yellow hood. The city was a graveyard of glass and steel. Billboards flickered with dead advertisements, casting a pale, sickly light over the wolves prowling the asphalt below. Thousands of them. New York was no longer a city of people. It was a concrete jungle where the air smelled of exhaust, old blood, and the metallic tang of the Eternal Moon. "Vic! Say it!" Elodie’s psychic howl shoved against his mind.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to watch since he didn’t watch TV that often. **** Beverly was at The N.Y. offices catching up on her email. The N.Y. was a two-year-old news website that put out a hard copy magazine every month. Some people called it a gossip rag. Whatever it was The N.Y. was the most popular online site in New York. The N.Y. was popular for not holding punches and printing anything about anybody newsworthy. Beverly had just made full-time employment. The pay was better than being a temp all over the city, but she still had to watch her pennies. New York was not a cheap city to live in.

"Burn off the crazy. I’ll be in the bedroom. Vincent is installing a new firewall on my laptop." "Don't go outside," I order. "I won't." She leaves me alone in the library and the silence rushes back in. I look at the map of New York on the wall. It’s my city. My territory. But right now, it feels like a maze. And somewhere in the center, a minotaur is waiting. I trace the line of the East River with my finger. Italian money. Albanian muscle. American tech. It’s a hydra. And I’m running out of swords.

Chapter 157: Pizza Although he knew that New York is supposed to be the 'city that doesn't sleep,' Hunter was mildly surprised that the sidewalks were nearly as busy at eight o'clock at night as they had been in the afternoon. After they'd dressed in Poppy's loft bedroom, they'd left the apartment heading in the same direction from which Poppy had come after work.

Eugene stood in front of the glass windows, gazing at the darkness gradually falling over New York. At some point, New York became completely enveloped in darkness. Twinkling lights adorned New York's night streets. Viewed from above, New York looked like a city made of glittering jewels, making it impossible to imagine the blood, death, and war seeping into its every corner. But Eugene already knew New York's dirty, dark back alleys that were completely different from its appearance. In the stinking, dark back alleys, a man gasping for breath begging for his life, and a killer smiling as he pulled the trigger.

"The family has arranged a secure luxury apartment for you on the Upper West Side." "Don't mention it, Miss." Arthur bowed slightly. "Contact me anytime if you need anything." He respectfully exited the room. The moment the door closed, silence fell. I walked to the window and pulled back the white curtains. The Manhattan skyline filled my view. Skyscrapers stood shoulder to shoulder, the sun glinting off their glass facades. This is New York. Not Chicago. No Maximus. No endless hail of bullets. No money to be laundered. Just me, and a fresh start.