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Back Blood in the Water Save as PDF
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

Javier was far less gratified to see that his brother was bringing a hostage with him. Hostages, in his view, were often more trouble than they were worth, and in this case it was clear that the presence of the woman was not preventing the police from firing their weapons. She was also slowing Vincente down, and speed was of the essence if they were to get away. The increased traffic on the water would make it possible for them to disappear and get on another boat undetected, but only if they could get away from the shore before the police could get a boat on the water.

“Vincente! Vamos!” Javier called to his brother.

More gunfire rained down from the seawall, and Javier directed one of his men manning the forward machine gun to return fire.

Vincente and the woman he was dragging with him were almost at the boat, and Javier could almost taste the sweetness of a successful mission when he heard more gunfire. He looked up at the shoreline to find the source, but there was no one visible—it seemed that they had been chased away, and yet someone was shooting. The gunfire came again, and one of the men on the second boat screamed out in agony and fell into the water. Still, though, Javier could see no one firing from the shore.

“Over there!” one of his men yelled.

At that moment, Javier realized that the gunfire wasn’t coming from the shore—it was coming from the water behind them. He turned to see a boat headed toward them at full speed. There were two men on board, and one of them was firing an assault rifle as they bore down on Javier’s men.

“Shoot!” Javier screamed at his men, directing them to fire the mounted machine guns at the unanticipated attackers. The machine guns, though, were bulky, and turning them was difficult. Vincente was almost at the boat, but it wasn’t clear whether he would be able to get on board in time for them to get away. “Get in, Vincente!” he called.

Vincente and the woman stumbled on board just as the oncoming boat slammed into the port side of Javier’s vessel, and Javier heard the hull split. One of his men was thrown overboard, and the machine gun he’d been trying to swing around at the attackers fired into the air. Freezing water started to flow in through the split. The boat that had rammed them was caught on the hull, and it, too, was taking on water. “Onto the other boat!” Javier shouted. It pulled alongside, and Javier jumped onto it.