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

“I’m a patriot.” His voice was thick with irony. “I’m glad you appreciate that.”

If she didn’t know him better, she would have thought his feelings were hurt. “I would have missed you, too, though. Not just the information.” She gently squeezed his hand, but he pulled it away. “You’re more than that to me.”

“That’s just physical,” he said dismissively.

She withdrew her hand, took a deep breath. “Who was it?” she asked. “At the Mariner. Who came at you?”

“MS-13,” Cormack responded. “Soh and his men. He killed Cookie.”

She thought about this for a moment. “There’s been cell traffic about Soh,” she said pensively. “Drugs mainly. You think that’s what it was about?”

Cormack shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t care, really. Any way you look at it, I’ve got to respond. Something like this can’t go unanswered.”

Kit shook her head. “We have a deal. Nothing over the line. I can’t protect you if you’re active beyond the small stuff.”

“I’m no use to you if people don’t respect me. And people won’t respect me if this isn’t answered. You knew who I was when you reached out to me.”

“Is that it?”

“No, that’s not fuckin’ it. He came into my bar. I owe it to Cookie.”

She nodded in understanding. “I can’t be a part of that,” she said. “I understand, and I’ll honor our agreement regarding everything in the past. That’s all off limits. But going forward, I can’t protect you, and I can’t know about any of it. You’ll be on your own.”

He gave her a thin smile. “That’s how I prefer it.”

EIGHTEEN

The Naked Eye was a sad, stale place before noon on a weekday. The dancers—what few there were—strolled across the stage, their expressions blank, their movements disinterested. The patrons gave them obligatory attention, occasionally laying a bill on the bar, leaning back and looking on as the dancers bent over to pick it up. It was too early for lap dances or catcalls. The music seemed to pound with feigned enthusiasm, and even in the club’s windowless world, daytime seemed to reveal the grit and grime and tragedy of the place that people were able to overlook late at night.