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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

An arm suddenly clawed its way over the threshold from the entryway to the kitchen. The man’s head followed. It was Mark. Or Mike—she still wasn’t sure. He was covered in blood, and he was gagging and coughing. She could see a monstrous cut in his throat. His eyes were bulging out, pleading with her for help. And then, just as suddenly, he was pulled back into the entryway, and there was a grunt of finality.

She was frozen, just standing there, looking toward the wall behind which her protector had just disappeared. “Mark?” she said faintly.

A man stepped from the entryway into the kitchen. She recognized him from Fort Strong. He had tattoos covering his face, and he was covered in blood and holding a long knife. “You are the daughter,” he said. He stepped toward her. “I am here for you.”

At that moment, Cormack stormed into the union offices at the edge of Boston Harbor, at the end of Black Falcon Avenue, “Get the harbor traffic cleared, now!” he shouted at Toby White, who was sitting at the desk overlooking the inconceivable traffic on the water. It seemed as though a person could walk across the harbor stepping on boats and not get his feet wet.

Toby White didn’t move.

“I said now!” Cormack shouted again. “We need to get this cleared! Carpio’s using it to attack the courthouse!”

“I can’t,” Toby said at last. He’d pulled himself up almost into a ball on his chair, his crooked legs tucked unevenly under his body. “The radio’s busted.”

“What are you talking about?” Cormack demanded. “What happened to it?”

Toby shrugged.

“What do you mean busted?” Cormack strode over to the desk and looked at the wreckage of the radio. The realization dawned on him. “Oh, fuck,” he said. “It was you, Toby.”

Toby looked away, unable to meet Cormack’s eyes. Cormack lifted him out of the chair and threw him into the wall, holding him by his shirt.

“It was you. You knew that I was at the Mariner the night it burned. You told Soh I was there. You’re the one who has been feeding Soh information from the start.”

“I didn’t want to,” Toby said weakly. “I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.”

Cormack pulled his fist back, ready to hit Toby in the face. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, though. He stood there, suspended. His legs felt weak. He loosened his grip on Toby’s shirt and let him slide to the floor. “You didn’t know what you were getting all of us into,” he said. He pointed out the window. “Do you see that traffic out there, Toby?” Toby refused to look, so Cormack grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to. “Do you see it?” he spat.

“I see it,” Toby whimpered.