Chapters (82)
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ONE
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- FIVE
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- EIGHT
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- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
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- THIRTY
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- FORTY
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- FIFTY-SIX
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- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- Praise for Blood in the Water
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Cormack put a hand on Buddy’s shoulder and shook his head. “Don’t try to talk, son,” he said. “Not yet.” He patted the shoulder gently. “The time to talk is coming, rest assured. First, it’s my turn.”
Cormack leaned back and took a deep breath. “It’s not the betrayal itself that bothers me, Buddy,” he began. “It’s the nature of the betrayal. It’s what you’ve betrayed me for. If you’d hooked up with another legitimate outfit and started to cut into my territory … well, I could understand that. It’s the way our business works. I wasn’t always the boss, which means that I had to remove others to get where I am. In some ways, that’s to be respected.”
Cormack leaned forward, so that he was talking almost directly into Buddy’s ear. He spoke very quietly. “But you didn’t do that,” he said. “Instead, you sided with a sociopath. These MS-13 motherfuckers aren’t like us, you understand? You remember what they did to that crippled girl out in Everett? They raped her and then cut her to pieces with machetes. You imagine that? You think that me, or Cicero, or any of those men upstairs would do something like that?”
Cormack shook his head and leaned back in the chair. “And Soh is the worst of them. He’s not just MS-13, but now he’s working with the Carpio brothers. You read about Vincente Carpio? The sick fuck who cut the heads off all those people? Well, Soh is working with his brother, Javier. He’s now looking to take over the drug trade not just here, but on the West Coast. You really want to be in bed with these people?”
Cormack let the silence stretch out for a few minutes. Buddy Cavanaugh started to try to talk again, but Cormack shook his head. “Almost, Buddy, almost. I just want you to have a minute to think about what you’ve done. Now, in a minute, I’m gonna take the tape off your face, and then you’re gonna talk, OK? I’m gonna need to know everything you know. I’m gonna need to know when you were approached, and how. I’m gonna need to know where Soh is, and I’m gonna need to know everything you know about his organization. Cicero here—” Cormack nodded behind Buddy—“is gonna help jog your memory if it becomes necessary. But it’s not gonna be necessary, OK? Just remember one thing, kid: you’re not gonna live through the day, ’cause that wouldn’t be right to Cookie, but we’re not gonna cut your head off and leave it in your lap. And trust me, that’s the direction you’re headed right now.”