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

All of a sudden, the bag was ripped fully off her head. Her hand flew to her eyes. Then, slowly, she lowered her hand slightly and peered through her fingers. The place was dimly lit. It was a small, cramped square room, with uneven cement on all sides. There was dirt on the floor and no windows. She couldn’t fathom where she could be, unless she was underground in some sort of a mausoleum.

She looked up and almost screamed. The man was looking down at her. The only light was from some sort of electric lantern in the corner, so he was lit from below, giving him a ghostly appearance. He was Southeast Asian, short and slight, with large white teeth and close-cropped hair. Tattoos grew up from under his shirt, covering his neck like some sort of creeping infestation. She was partial to tattoos, and had many of her own, but somehow his were menacing in a way that scared her.

“The bathroom is this way,” he said. “It is not what you are used to, but it is all that we have.”

He smiled at her, and at that moment she knew that he had no intention of ever letting her live. He was too recognizable. If she thought that there was a chance that he was going to let her go, he would never have let her see his face. If she was going to live, she would have to escape, and she set her mind toward that goal. If not for herself, then at least for her baby.

His baby.

He was out there somewhere. Or she was. Buddy Cavanaugh didn’t know and didn’t care whether it was a boy or a girl. He cared that it was his. He cared that it was hers. He cared that it was theirs.

He touched the bruise Cormack’s fist had left on his face. He didn’t begrudge Cormack the punch. He supposed he’d react the same way if he had a daughter and someone got her pregnant. But Buddy hoped the punch was enough to purge Cormack of the worst of his ire. Now that it was out in the open—and now that Buddy knew that Diamond was pregnant—he was determined to be with her.

Buddy felt the burning need to talk to her, but Cormack still had his phone. He needed to get it back. The only way to make that happen, though, was to confront Cormack, and Cormack was in no mood to be confronted. The war had started, and it required all of Cormack’s attention. He wouldn’t like Buddy causing a distraction. Still, Buddy had no choice. Even if it meant that he would take another beating, he had to speak to Diamond before the true violence hit.