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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

It took a moment for Cormack to answer. He stared hard at Buddy, and it seemed as though he was trying to come to some judgment about the young man. “Soh has her,” he said at last. The words seemed to deflate him slightly, but he stayed on his feet and it took him only a moment to regain a look of determination.

The news hit Buddy like a sledgehammer in the chest. It took him a few seconds to breathe. “What do you mean Soh has her?” he demanded at last.

“He kidnapped her,” Cormack said. “I assigned Joe Konicki to guard her, keep her at the house. Apparently she had to go the doctor’s office. Soh’s men must have been watching them. They took Joe out and grabbed Diamond. He has her now.”

Buddy felt like he was going to pass out. He stumbled to a chair and sat down, and took a few seconds to absorb what he’d been told. His disorientation didn’t last long. “How do we get her back?” he asked.

“I’m working on it,” Cormack said. “First I have to find out where they’re keeping her. I think I’ve got a way to do that.”

“Then what?”

“It depends on where she is. I’ll have to come up with a plan on the fly. One way or another, I’m going to go get her.”

Buddy nodded, deep in thought. “I’m coming with you.”

Cormack shook his head. “I’ve got people with more experience in this sort of thing.”

“How many of them stand to lose what I have to lose.”

“What, exactly, do you think you stand to lose?” Cormack said pointedly.

“I stand to lose Diamond and a baby I just found out about.”

“And you’re going to be there for them? Not just in this, but afterward? You’re not going to duck out—disappear when things get tough?”

“Never,” Buddy said. “She’s going to have to leave me, if it comes to that. I’ll never leave her.”

As he said the words, Buddy truly believed them.

Diamond’s mind worked furiously. She was in a tiny bathroom down a short passageway from the room where she’d been kept. She couldn’t figure out where they were. The entire place was cement—the walls, the ceiling, the floors. It looked as though the building had been deserted. There was trash and debris littering the passageways, and graffiti on many of the walls. The bathroom was disgusting. The toilet was steel and no longer functional. There was no toilet seat, and the waste from previous visitors covered the sides and bottom of the bowl. The stench was almost too terrible to endure.