Chapter 146

When I arrive at the Greenwich Village hotel a few nights later, I follow Mr. Smith’s instructions and head straight upstairs. We’re in a different room than usual, and nerves skitter up my spine as I walk along the corridor, looking at the numbers on the doors. I haven’t seen him since the meeting with Mason, but we’ve spoken on the phone. I told him about my plans to move to Brooklyn straight away. Drake is stuck in the middle enough as it is, and I didn’t want him to feel like he had to have that conversation with his brother. “Brooklyn?” he repeated. “Yes, Elijah, it’s a⁠—” “Yeah, let’s not start with that again—I know where Brooklyn is. Why do you want to move there?” “Because I like it and Amelia offered to rent me her old house. I meant it when I said I was leaving our place. Please don’t make a big deal of it. Please … just try to be happy for me.” He went silent for a few moments, and I pictured him googling Brooklyn crime statistics with steam coming out of his ears. “Okay,”