“I’ll never look away, you guys,” she whispers to both the dead and the living. “I promise. I’m here.”
Lucky raises his head from the sofa to regard her, and Lena looks back at him, smiling despite the tears shining in her eyes.
“I’m here, Chef,” she says.
The ancient-looking landline phone on the desk rings, and after several of those rings, it occurs to Lena she ought to answer the call because that’s what the boss would do, and that’s what she is now.
“Sin du Jour,” she says into the receiver after liberating it from the cradle and pressing the handset to her ear. “This is Lena Tarr . . . Yes, I’m the executive chef . . . No, I—”
Lena furrows her brow as the voice on the other end speaks, her free hand reaching for a pad and pen from the desktop to make notes. She begins scribbling fiercely.
“No,” she says into the phone. “No, we don’t usually serve werewolves, for safety reasons, but I can’t say I’m familiar with were-sloths . . . Yes, I’m sure they are very docile, but . . . Wait, I’m sorry, did you just say ballroom dancing?”
The conversation lasts another few minutes, Lena jotting down the particulars all the while. When she finally hangs up the phone, she sees Lucky’s head raised from the couch and his deep-set eyes staring at her expectantly.
She leans back in Bronko’s old chair, somehow feeling more comfortable in the expansive leather than she did only moments ago.
“Well,” Lena says to the dog. “This is going to be a weird one.”
Acknowledgments
Well, here we are. This is the end. I want to thank all of Sin du Jour’s regular diners who’ve chosen to return here again and again. I hope by the end of this book, you feel as though you’ve consumed a grand feast beyond your wildest expectations. Failing that, I just hope you were entertained for a while and that you laughed a little, and maybe even cried a little. I gave you my best and my weirdest, for whatever that’s worth.
My final thank-you to my editor, Lee Harris, can’t really be expressed in words upon a page. When I first pitched him the idea for this story, I never truly believed that three years and 250,000 or so words later, I’d be concluding the seventh volume of this series. The reason I’ve been able to do that is because of his belief in me and Sin du Jour, and his tireless championing of both. He also pushed and inspired me to make Taste of Wrath the epic television two-parter-style finale I’ve always wanted to write for a series.
That spirit of gratitude extends to the rest of the Tor.com Publishing crew. Irene Gallo, the best damn associate publisher in the biz, as well as Carl Engle-Laird, Katharine Duckett, Mordicai Knode, Christine Foltzer, and the rest of the folks who keep the pirate ship pointed true north. I can’t heap enough praise on Sin du Jour’s constant cover designer, Peter Lutjen, who, alongside Irene and Christine, just kept topping themselves with each phantasmagorical cover they produced. Sin du Jour’s copyeditors, Liana Krissoff and Richard Shealy, remain the stalwart and indispensable oarspeople of this journey, and their value can’t be overstated. I’d also like to acknowledge all the reviewers who have supported and evangelized the series since our first book. They helped keep us afloat.
I want to thank my agent, DongWon Song of HMLA, ever my Hanzo sword. I want to thank Helljack, my webmaster and all-around cyber assassin. I want to thank my wife, Nikki. As I compose these acknowledgments, we are a week away from our wedding, and will have been married for many months by the time you read these words. However, that was my first time writing “my wife” and it felt more amazing than I ever imagined it would. I want to thank my mother, Barbara, who is a one-woman publicity department more enthusiastic and tireless than any publisher could possibly hope to employ. I also want to thank my mother-in-law, Jodie, who let Nikki and me live with her while our new home was under renovation, and in whose home I finished writing the first draft of Taste of Wrath. This final Sin du Jour book is dedicated to her husband, my father-in-law Mitch, who left us far too soon.
Finally, and once again, thank you. There are no books without readers, and you helped me tell one of the best stories I’ve ever told. I won’t forget any of you.
About the Author
Photograph by Earl Newton
MATT WALLACE is the author of the Sin du Jour Affairs, The Next Fix, The Failed Cities, and the novella series Slingers. He’s also penned more than one hundred short stories, some of which have won awards and been nominated for others, in addition to writing for film and television. In his youth, he traveled the world as a professional wrestler and unarmed combat and self-defense instructor before retiring to write full-time. He now resides in Los Angeles with the love of his life and inspiration for Sin du Jour’s resident pastry chef.
You can sign up for email updates here.
ALSO BY MATT WALLACE
THE SIN DU JOUR SERIES
Envy of Angels
Lustlocked
Pride’s Spell
Idle Ingredients
Greedy Pigs
THE SLINGERS SAGA
Slingers
One Fall to Finish
The Victim Hold
Where Gods Cannot See
Savage Weapons
The Failed Cities
Galactic Football League: Title Fight (with Scott Sigler)
Rencor: Life in Grudge City
Thank you for buying this Tor.com ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters.
For email updates on the author, click here.
TOR•COM
Science fiction. Fantasy. The universe. And related subjects.
*
More than just a publisher's website, Tor.com is a venue for original fiction, comics, and discussion of the entire field of SF and fantasy, in all media and from all sources. Visit our site today—and join the conversation yourself.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
PART I
MEET THE NEW BOSS,SAME AS THE OLD BOSS
GOODWILL
RESTRUCTURING IS ANOTHER WORD FOR COLLAPSE
MAKEUP CLASSES
SAFE HOUSE
UNDER THE HAZING MOON
DESPERATE MEASURES
TWO DARRENS, ONE BEWITCHED
CABIN IN THE WOODS
I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE
DEMON IN A BOX
HEADS, YOU LOSE
PART II
MORE GOOD THAN HARM
SHORTHANDED
FAMILY MEAL
AS ELOQUENT AS A RATTLESNAKE’S TAIL
THE WAITING ROOM
CHANGED
UNLOADING
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
LOOK AT ME
SEAMS
SITTING UP WITH THE DEAD
LATE PREMIERE
THE DEBT
PART III
RED TAPE
GRAND REOPENING
I WILL ALWAYS BE HERE
OFFICE HOURS
About the Author
ALSO BY MATT WALLACE
Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novella are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
TASTE OF WRATH
Copyright © 2018 by Matt Wallace
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Peter Lutjen
Cover photographs © Getty Images
Edited by Lee Harris
A Tor.com Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
ISBN 978-0-7653-9324-1 (ebook)
ISBN 978-0-7653-9325-8 (trade
paperback)
First Edition: April 2018
Our eBooks 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, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.