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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

The explosion from the missiles knocked Buddy off his feet, and his head slammed into the pavement. When he opened his eyes, he had no idea for how long he’d been unconscious. It couldn’t have been for long, as smoke and ash still rained down from the explosion’s aftermath. He was groggy, and it took him a moment to get his bearings. He remembered a feeling of panic, and a sense that someone was in danger, but it took a moment for him to put the pieces together.

Vincente Carpio was being brought to the courthouse …

Buddy was there to try to stop Soh …

He’d been watching the van, watching the waterfront …

Soh was there …

Missiles overhead …

Diamond!

It all came flooding back to him. He was on his feet, unsteadily at first. He felt like his skull had been split, but he fought through the pain, shading his eyes against the sun, which now seemed brighter than he could ever remember. He looked up the street, toward where he’d seen her fall as the missiles flew overhead.

She was no longer there …

And neither was Soh.

SEVENTY-ONE

Kit Steele felt someone moving her. She was in the front seat of the corrections van, her head was leaning against the dashboard. Her forehead was sticky from the blood that had run from the gash in her scalp, covering her face. The blood congealed in her eyes, making it difficult to see. At least, she thought, someone had reached her and was providing assistance. More important, it meant that they had also gotten to Vincente Carpio, and they were undoubtedly taking him into the courthouse now. Ultimately all she cared about was that he would be held to account for what he’d done, and he would never be allowed to prey on others again.

The first responder was rough with her as he pulled her from the van. She supposed, though, that was he focused first on getting victims to safety, and there was little safety in a crumpled vehicle.

“Walk!”

The voice was male, with a Hispanic accent. It seemed an odd demand.

“Walk!” The order came again, and she forced her eyes to open slightly. The sight was horrific. Skulls danced before her—a sphere of bloody, massacred heads. And in the middle, eyes as evil as any she had ever seen.

The shock brought her back to consciousness quickly, and she realized that she was looking into the eyes of Vincente Carpio. She felt something hard and sharp pressing into her abdomen and she looked down to see a gun jabbed under her rib cage.