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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

Diamond had been lying on the cold stone floor for hours. She couldn’t be sure for exactly how many hours. Perhaps four or five, she figured, but if told it had been ten, she would have no way to doubt it. The door opened, great heavy steel shrieking on hinges that sounded ancient and sent shivers through her. She could hear footsteps coming closer. One set. She wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad. They stopped when they were beside her, and there was silence for a long moment.

She wanted to scream. She was so terrified, she wanted to cry out, beg for mercy, beg for forgiveness—beg to be killed. Fear scattered her thoughts, and she fought to control her breathing.

She felt the person squat down beside her and grab her hands behind her back, and then she felt the cold steel of a knife on her wrist. She gasped and thought that she was going to bleed out, there on a cold concrete floor, until there was nothing left in her to feed the baby in her womb.

The knife pulled and tore, and then she felt the tape give way, and her hands were free.

She lay there, afraid to move at all. Finally, the person spoke. “I have water.”

It was a high-pitched voice with a thick accent, and she wondered for a moment whether it was a man or a woman. “I have water, you can drink,” the voice said again, and this time she believed it was a man, though she couldn’t be positive.

She rolled over slowly and leaned against the wall. The cloth bag still covered her head, and her mouth was still duct-taped shut. She hesitated, afraid to reach up and remove the sack or pull the tape off. After a moment, her tormentor lifted the bag halfway up her head, so that her eyes were still covered, but her mouth and nose were exposed. Then she felt fingertips on her cheek, prying and pulling at the corner of the tape. All at once, the tape was ripped from her face. It felt as though half of the skin went with the adhesive.

The man took her hand and pulled it away from her body until her fingers touched a plastic cup. He pressed it into her hand, and she took it, unsure whether she should drink. She was desperate to—it had been hours since she’d had anything to drink, and she was severely dehydrated. Still, she worried that whatever was in the cup might be poisoned. Or, worse still, it could be drugged, and her unconscious body could then be raped and beaten.

She pulled the cup toward her face and sniffed at it. The liquid had the faint odor of plastic and chemicals, but then that could have been the cup itself. She was desperate to drink, but still unsure.