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Back Blood in the Water Save as PDF
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

They dragged her down what seemed like a long corridor, her feet sliding across a concrete floor covered in dirt and leaves. Once, in school, she’d been on a field trip to the crypts of the Old North Church in Boston, where eleven hundred settlers from colonial times had been buried. It was said that their souls inherited the ground underneath the church. The place she had been taken felt and smelled very much like those catacombs.

She had no idea for how long they dragged her, and it felt like they passed through several doors. At one point, they missed a door and her head slammed into the jamb. She let out a small cry of pain, and they pulled her harder, so that her head hit the wood again, and her neck snapped forward as she cleared the threshold.

After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped and tossed her into a corner. The floor was cold and hard, and the place smelled like stale sweat and gunpowder. Every sound echoed off the walls and it felt like she had been brought to a medieval dungeon.

Someone crouched down and spoke through the hood directly into her ear. He was so close, she could smell his foul breath, and his sweat was sickly sweet. He spoke with a heavy accent. “Do not talk,” he said. “Do not say a word, understand? We will kill you, and send your body in pieces back to your father if you make a sound. Nod if you understand.”

Diamond nodded. She could feel the tears running down her face.

“Good,” the man said. Then he withdrew, and she was alone. At least, she felt alone. For all she knew, there was someone in the room with her, but if so, he remained silent.

She extended her arms so that she could feel the wall. It felt like it was made of cement, and it was cold and damp. She curled into a ball, facing the wall, protecting her abdomen. If they wanted to kick her now, at least it would start with her back or her extremities, and that might protect her baby.

As she lay there, fighting off the demons her imagination conjured, she knew now that her only hope was that Cormack was actually even more dangerous than the animals who had grabbed her.

FORTY-TWO

Cormack gripped the phone so tightly his hand began to hurt. He knew he had to remain calm. Soh was looking for him to get angry—to lose control and make a mistake. Now, more than ever, he had to make sure that he was rational and in control.

“Can I talk to her?”

“No,” Soh replied.

“How do I know she’s alive?”

“I have said she is alive. She will stay alive as long as you do what I say.”

“What is it that you want?”

“You took one of my men. Is he alive?”