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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 huge man waved at Soh to cut him off. “It is too late for that, my friend,” he said. “Juan Suarez is dead. Most of your people are dead.” Soh’s face went whiter still and he started to try to talk, but Pineda held a hand up to silence him. “I recruited Suarez in El Salvador, and brought him to this country. You were doing good business out here, but there were rumors that you were no longer loyal. There were rumors that you were no longer paying your tributes in full. There was a rumor that you were building an army for yourself. I sent Suarez out here to look into that. I thought he would likely kill you in a matter of weeks, and that would have been fine with me.”

Pineda shifted his weight, and the chair gave a loud shriek.

“He didn’t, though. Instead, he fell under your spell, and pledged his allegiance to you.” Pineda drummed his fat fingers on the table, and it was like each tap was the pounding of a great bass drum. “Do you think you can cast the same spell on me?” He looked sideways at Soh, the way a giant lizard might look at its prey.

He shook his head slowly. “Juan Suarez received his fate. Will you accept your fate as well?”

Soh looked around the room, and Cormack could see the panic in his eyes. All at once, he leaped from his chair and shouted orders at the three men standing behind him. They reacted, but not in the way that he anticipated. One of them drove the butt of his gun into Soh’s stomach, and the other two fell upon him to restrain him.

“Bring him to the car,” Pineda said. “And bring the machetes.”

He stood up, and the chair breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Cormack. “It was dangerous of you to contact me.”

“I didn’t think I had a choice. And I knew my counterpart in Los Angeles would know how to reach you.”

“How?”

Cormack shrugged. “It’s the job of the head of the harbor union to know everything that happens in his harbor. I just figured…”

“Thank you for the information,” Pineda said.

Cormack stood. “I thought you should know.”

“I will make sure that whoever takes over here will obey your rules.”

Cormack knew that that was a lie, but there seemed little advantage in pointing that out at the moment. He just nodded and walked to the door.

Behind him, he could hear Soh shout his name, but he was immediately silenced, as the three men he had thought were loyal to him pummeled him into the cement floor.

Cormack walked out without looking back.

SEVENTY-SIX

Friday, September 6