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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

Cormack looked at the phone log again, trying to figure out whether he was missing something. All of a sudden, it struck him. The number on the phone screen was familiar to him. He frowned; he couldn’t think of any reason he would be familiar with T’phong Soh’s phone number. Was there any way that he had ever called the man? He didn’t think so.

The realization dawned slowly and terribly. It wasn’t Soh’s number. He knew the number from somewhere else.

But it couldn’t be …

His frown turned into a scowl, and he clicked on the phone screen to see Buddy’s texts. The same phone number was there as well, with a long string of texts, some of them explicit in nature—too explicit for Cormack to keep reading. All of a sudden, the feeling of satisfaction turned into rage.

He took the gun in his hand and pointed it at Buddy Cavanaugh’s head. The boy’s expression turned from terror to resignation, and he closed his eyes, ready to accept his death. Cormack reached out and grabbed Buddy by his jacket, lifted him off the chair, and threw him into the wall. Cormack caught him by the throat and held him against the wall with his left hand, pointing his gun at his forehead with his right hand. Cicero raised his eyebrows in surprise, but knew enough not to speak or interfere.

“You’re the bastard!” Cormack screamed at Buddy.

Buddy tried to raise his bound hands to his face to protect himself, but Cormack drove the gun into his gut, taking the wind out of him again. He gasped for breath for a moment before choking out, “I love her,” in a barely audible tone.

Cormack held Buddy’s neck, pushing him hard against the wall, his rage ebbing slightly, but not enough to overcome the urge to pull the trigger. “You’re the father?”

The question caught Buddy Cavanaugh completely off guard. He frowned and tilted his head at Cormack, the confusion plain on his face. “Father?”

“Fuck. You stupid bastard,” Cormack said.

Now the realization dawned on Buddy’s face, and his expression conveyed a thousand different emotions. After a moment, all he could manage was to repeat himself with more vigor. “I love her.”

Cormack stepped back slightly and considered Buddy’s words and his expression. He wasn’t convinced the young man was lying. He raised his gun to Buddy’s forehead again. This time there was no resignation in his eyes. He met Cormack’s hostile stare evenly.