BooksBarbecue
Back Blood in the Water
Chapters (82)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. FIFTY-FIVE
  59. FIFTY-SIX
  60. FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. FIFTY-NINE
  63. SIXTY
  64. SIXTY-ONE
  65. SIXTY-TWO
  66. SIXTY-THREE
  67. SIXTY-FOUR
  68. SIXTY-FIVE
  69. SIXTY-SIX
  70. SIXTY-SEVEN
  71. SIXTY-EIGHT
  72. SIXTY-NINE
  73. SEVENTY
  74. SEVENTY-ONE
  75. SEVENTY-TWO
  76. SEVENTY-THREE
  77. SEVENTY-FOUR
  78. SEVENTY-FIVE
  79. SEVENTY-SIX
  80. Praise for Blood in the Water
  81. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  82. Newsletter Sign-up

The engines gave a low rumble, and the boat pulled out away from the dock, rising and falling with the swells. The cold air cut through her clothes, even as she felt herself suffocating in the heat of the bag over her head. She thought she could still hear men talking, perhaps in English this time. The cadence of the discussion no longer seemed foreign, but the engines were humming now, drowning out any chance for her to catch specific words.

Time stretched out without measure, and she had no idea how long they’d been on the water. Maybe twenty minutes, maybe forty … maybe an hour.

Eventually, the engines quieted, and the boat slowed and swirled in a great arc that caused the hull to pitch back and forth in an uneven tempo. She could hear the voices again, now, some in English and some in Spanish. The English voice called out to grab hold of lines, and the Spanish voices chattered back and forth in response. Then she felt the boat bump into some hard object, bouncing twice off what she assumed was a dock before the lines held the hull still.

The door to the cabin opened, and men grabbed her and hoisted her up on their shoulders like a marlin—a trophy fish, landed after a long battle at sea. She was careful not to squirm like a fish, lest they drop her, or throw a shoulder into her abdomen, harming the baby.

They handed her up onto a stable surface, and two men took hold of her again, pulling her along by her shoulders, her feet dragging behind her. This time, it wasn’t gravel or concrete. Instead, her feet beat out an uneven rhythm, ticking over the wood slats of what she assumed was a long pier. The pier gave way to stone, and then to grass and briars, up a hill. She thought her shoulders might dislocate as she was dragged, and she flexed her muscles to take some of the strain off the joints. If her shoulders gave out, her chances of escape would be severely limited.

Then they were back on concrete, clearly high up on a hill. The icy wind blew so hard, even her face was frozen under the bag. The condensation from her breath iced over, and the fabric fused to her face. She had to move her cheek against the bag to clear space to breathe.

That lasted only a few moments, though, as she heard a great steel door swing on heavy rusted hinges, and she was pulled into a shelter. It was cold and dank, but not nearly as much as the boat ride had been, and the break from the wind was a welcome relief.