BooksBarbecue
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

As he raised the knife, all she could focus on was the possibility that he was going to split open her belly and her tiny child would spill out onto the ground. That terrifying notion touched something primal within her, and as his hand was raised, she shot her delicate hand out and connected with his windpipe. She wasn’t large, and there wasn’t much power behind the blow, but it was well placed, and she could see the momentary panic on his face as he struggled to breathe. He would recover soon, she knew, so she barreled past him and ran to the gap in the fence.

She could hear him right behind her, still choking, but determined as the air forced its way through his windpipe. She was just through the fence when she felt his hand on her back, and she knew the knife would come next. At least, she thought, it wouldn’t be in her belly.

Buddy was dazed for a moment, and all he could do was call out her name. Under any other circumstances, others on the street would have stopped to help him, but there were so many dead and wounded, and so many others calling out for people who’d been lost, the world seemed to pass him by.

He didn’t know where to go, so he stumbled in the direction he’d last seen Diamond and Soh. He was headed away from the courthouse and all the death and destruction there. That seemed to make sense in his temporarily addled brain. There seemed no reason why Soh would go back toward the courthouse. He looked down and saw, to his surprise, that he was still carrying his gun.

He was on the corner of Bond and Fan Pier Boulevard when he saw her dart out from one of the nearby construction sites. “Diamond!” he shouted as he ran to her.

He was nearly there when he saw Soh reaching out for her. Buddy raised his gun, but his eyesight and his hand were still unsteady from hitting the pavement, and he was afraid of hitting Diamond. Instead he lowered his shoulder and drove himself into Soh’s chest with all the power he could.

Soh was just bringing his knife down in a looping arc to stab Diamond, and as he was carried back into the fence, his arm’s momentum continued and the knife sank into Buddy’s back. The two of them careened off the fence, and Buddy fell to the ground. He was still dazed, and he could feel the blood running down his back. The focus in his vision was coming back to him, but slowly. He looked up at Soh as the smaller man came toward him, knife raised again. Buddy raised his gun and fired. He still couldn’t aim very well, but at least Diamond was no longer in the line of fire.