BooksBarbecue
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

Cookie could feel the heat from the fire as it spread from the bar to the stools to the floor. The place was old and wooden, and probably hadn’t been through a legitimate inspection in more than a decade. It was clear that the entire building would be engulfed within a matter of minutes. Cookie felt a pang of guilt as he realized that the place would be destroyed on his watch. He wondered whether he would be able to live with that.

His concerns were brief, though. Once the Asian reached a spot beyond the hallway threshold where there was little risk that a shot from upstairs could reach him, he drove the knife hard all the way into Cookie’s torso.

Cookie felt the warmth through his entire body. He was surprised that there was no pain. He’d been in agony when the knife was only an inch or so inside his chest, but when it penetrated his lungs and took the breath from him, he went numb. He couldn’t tell whether he was breathing anymore, and he suspected that meant he no longer was. His head was swimming, and he felt his knees buckle. The Asian was yelling something, but Cookie could no longer make out the words. He was caught by the irony that he was a man who had spent much of his life on the sea, and now here he was, on dry land, drowning in his own blood.

The world tilted on its side, and a great wave swallowed all sound. Behind him Cookie could see the flicker of the fire as it spread, and it felt as though it would engulf him. He knew it wouldn’t, though, at least not while he was alive.

He wouldn’t last that long.

TWELVE

Cormack stood at the top of the stairs, looking down as the fire lapped at the railing. This was not good. He would have much preferred to face the guns than the fire. Guns were man-made, and somehow he’d always had the sense that anything created by mankind could be defeated. Fire, though, was sent by God, and when God wanted to take you … well, things were pretty much out of your hands then.

He moved slowly down the stairs, testing his resolve against the flames, gauging whether he might be able to run through them. It was no use, though, he realized quickly. It was thirty feet from the bottom of the stairs to the outside door, and the entire span was an inferno now. Even if he were able to make it, he was sure Soh would be outside with guns pointed at the door.