Dead Is All You Get: A Dave Pulaski Thriller Audiobook

Royce slapped his head, trying to get at the flies that plagued him. In an instant, his eyes glowed iridescent purple. Then he lurched at me, slavering like a hungry ghost…

Isaac fought to stay conscious as we waited in the reception area for Pederman’s orders. The supervisor had listened to my lame-ass Butch and Sundance plan and nixed it—rightly…

Guthrie Manson hung back, his ancient eyes sparkling. His wife, Caramel, was thin with flowing white hair. Expertly, she started a blood transfusion for Isaac, who lay on a twin bed in a guest bedroom…

Guthrie placed a large bowl of stew on the table. It smelled unusual but appetizing. “You did not just make this,” Pederman said to the missus…

We carried the camera and memory cards to the living room. Springer connected the device to Guthrie’s massive TV using one of the cables…

When we arrived at the command center, Holly was waiting in front of the administration building with Griffin, Fabian, and Erzen. I held my wife close, our unspoken words declaring that we’d nearly lost each other again…

I sat on the sofa, swilling a Dew to mask the taste of vomit. Holly had followed me into the trailer. We were alone…

Back in the day, downtown Tres Marias might have been described as charming. Little stores and restaurants used to line both sides of the main drag…

Pederman led us single file to the first row. The mayor rolled his eyes when Greta curled up next to Griffin. I did my best to contain my loathing for our elected official…

Zoning out for a sec, I imagined leaping onto the dais and putting a bullet into the head of each of those useless dicks. When I looked at Warnick and Erzen, their eyes were on the cops guarding the exits…

No one wanted to tell Isaac the truth, so we faked smiles as he lay in his hospital bed. The room was pleasant. Morning light streamed through a large window, softened by grime from the old firepits…

A thought nagged at me as we pulled into the command center, but I couldn’t bring it into focus. Probably all those years of drinking…

After retrieving the weapons from the dead guards, we stood at the closed gate. The guard shack was empty—same as the parking lot. And no sounds came from inside the building…

Evan kicked her feet as her mother held her. Steve sat next to Nina, holding her hand. He looked much better—nothing like the scared and bleeding victim we’d found in the forest…

Reddening, Steve gave Evan his finger to play with. He looked at his wife, who patted his arm encouragingly…

My friend Jim eyed me like a bug under a microscope. He was dressed in white and reminded me of an old-timey bandleader—the name might have been Cab Calloway…

Early blue light bled through the curtains. Shivering, I opened my eyes. I could still feel Jim’s presence and smell the smoke from the burning bodies…

Without judgment, Holly talked me off the ledge. She and Warnick had caught up with me as I stormed out of the command center. I didn’t even know where I was going. All I knew was that I had to do something…

Springer used binoculars to scan the countryside from the Humvee’s passenger window as Warnick drove. Sitting in the front, Pederman looked grim. Holly was next to me and held my hand…

The mayor’s wife pushed the food around her plate with a plastic fork. She rubbed her eye with her little finger and stared off somewhere like a dayroom patient…

The words the mayor’s wife had spoken swirled in my head. What was she saying? Of course, the mayor was in charge. He was responsible for everything. Or was he?…

The next day, we returned to Robbin-Sear. We hoped to discover what the mayor, Walt Freeman, and the rest had in mind for Tres Marias…

It was no surprise that Hannity was uncooperative. Holly and I sat with Pederman in a conference room at the isolation facility. Warnick was on the cop’s other side, gun in hand, in case the dipshit tried anything…

It took me a minute to absorb what Hannity had said. Now it all made sense. Guthrie was right—follow the money…

We planned to enlist Hannity and the other cops, then immediately begin evacuation preparations. Like the mayor and Walt Freeman, the police captain was MIA…