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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

She could hear the commotion behind her as guardsmen lashed the boats to the pier, but she didn’t look back. As soon as her feet hit the splintered wood she drove forward. Her gun was drawn, and she focused on the dark figure just now clearing the fence at the edge of the pier. She ran faster than she ever had before, possessed by the need to capture and to punish. She would not let him escape. She was no longer motivated by her job; she needed to fulfill a moral imperative, and as she pushed herself to the edge of her physical abilities, she knew that she had crossed a dangerous line where her perspective and her judgment had been compromised. Even that realization was not enough to stem her obsession, though, and she pushed on faster.

FOUR

Carpio’s feet hit the hard, uneven ground on the other side of the fence. Earthmovers had spent the better part of two months on the site before the freeze set in, pushing giant mounds of dirt and rock from side to side, removing debris to be carted off, and their tracks had cut into the ground, leaving a checkerboard of pits and ridges in the frozen mud. He landed awkwardly on the edge of one of the ridges and heard a loud popping in his right ankle. He let out a muffled scream, but stifled it immediately. He rolled to his left and stood, taking most of his weight on his left leg as he hobbled forward.

The construction site was a maze of heavy equipment and materials and he ducked behind a tall pile of rebar, moving steadily toward the side of the site that bordered Northern Avenue. If he could get there, he might have a chance. It was a slim chance, but it was all he had at the moment.

He crept forward, ducked under a giant crane and around a temporary trailer that served as the nerve center for the construction site. He slid his back along the side of the trailer until he could see around the corner, and caught sight of the fence at the far side of the site. His spirits leaped at his good fortune when he saw that there was a gap in the gate, wide enough, he thought, that he might be able to squeeze through. His ankle throbbed, but there was hope if he could make it to the street.

He took a deep breath and felt the frozen air stinging his lungs as he started what was the closest to a sprint he could manage. He’d gotten only two strides from the trailer when the break in the fence widened, and a stream of police flooded through into the construction site. They were clad in full body armor and armed with military rifles. The sight brought him up short and he reversed course, diving back to the cover of the trailer.