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

“Get out! Cormack, get out!” Cookie shouted again. As he got the words out he was kicked in the stomach, and the air left his body. He choked and gasped as he was held by the shoulders. Someone grabbed his hair and yanked his head up. He was looking into the face of the Asian man, who was still standing in the center of the room.

“Where is he?” the man asked.

Cookie opened his mouth, but the wind was still knocked out of him, and all he could do was gulp for air. The man reached behind his back and pulled out a curved shoreman’s knife, held it to Cookie’s throat.

“I said, where is he?”

“G-gone,” Cookie choked out.

The Asian man shook his head. “No, not gone. Otherwise you would not call to him.”

“He was in the back,” Cookie gasped. “He would have made it out already.” Cookie nodded toward the hallway that led to the back door. The man’s gaze followed the nod, then he shook his head.

“I have more men outside. We would have seen him. Where is he?” He pushed the knife hard enough into Cookie’s throat that the bartender could feel blood running down his neck.

“He’s—”

As Cookie began to speak, a shot rang out from the hallway back toward the bathrooms. The man standing in the hallway’s entrance crumpled, his face disintegrating into meaty strings of blood and tissue, blown apart by a shot to the center of the back of his head.

That left four live intruders inside the bar. Two were holding Cookie up, one was holding a knife to his throat, and the other was now moving across the bar from the spot by the back door. The two men holding Cookie dropped him and he hit the floor hard. They pulled guns and started firing toward the stairs that led up to the office. Cookie was still doubled over from the beating he’d taken, but he started to get to his feet to add to the fight. As he did, though, he was grabbed from behind by the throat. He felt a knife pushed into his side, through the skin and just far enough to reach into his rib cage. He screamed out and his knees buckled, but he was caught and held on his feet by the man holding the knife inside him. Cookie was amazed at how strong the small Asian was.

“Do not struggle,” the man said to Cookie. “Or I will push the knife into your heart and you will die.”

Cookie screamed out in pain again, but fought to stay still.