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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

She was knocked off her feet, and she was looking up at the man coming after her. There was a deep, bloody gash in his belly, but that didn’t seem to be slowing him down. He had the broken bottle raised high above his head, and a maniacal look in his eyes. He took a step toward her and raised the bottle up even higher, ready to strike at her.

All of a sudden, his chest seemed to explode. His blood splattered her face and the wall behind her. The man hovered above her for just a moment and then collapsed inches from her knees. Behind him, there was the figure of a man, a gun in his hand aimed at the body on the floor. He was dressed in what looked like a fitted high-tech scuba suit with a vest and a foul-weather hood that covered most of his head and most of his face. He was looking at her in an odd, familiar way, and she wondered what was going on. The shock of watching her tormentor’s chest explode, and the taste of his blood in her mouth, had sent her into shock, and she was no longer processing information logically. Then the man reached up and pulled his mask off.

It was Buddy, and she immediately started sobbing. She wasn’t even sure why, but the tears started streaming uncontrollably down her face and sobs racked her chest. He came over, pulled her to her feet, and put his arms around her, but only briefly.

“We’ve gotta get out of here,” he said.

The thought of having him there with her inspired a strength that she thought had left her. The tears stopped flowing and she caught her breath. “OK,” she said. “Let’s go.”

FIFTY-TWO

Soh realized quickly that something was wrong. The attack had been abrupt and intense, with deafening explosions and a hail of gunfire. Then, as quickly as the assault had started, it ended. It took a moment for him to realize it—his men were continuing to fire their weapons out of the small entryway, into the frigid night, and the gunfire in the fort was disorienting. But after a moment, it seemed that the fight was entirely one-sided.

“Wait!” Soh screamed at his men. “Stop firing!”

It took a moment, but the gunfire died away from inside the fort. All that was left was silence. Soh made a motion to one of the MS-13 gang members closest to the entryway, and he pushed the door all the way open and crawled out. A moment later he called back into the fort.

“They’re gone!” he yelled. “I can hear them running!”

“Move!” Soh screamed at his men. “After them!” Suddenly a bolt of panic went through his body. He turned and looked back toward the inner recesses of Fort Strong.