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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

“What? It was.” He looked at Cormack. “This guy was screaming so loud. In his own dentist’s chair, for Christ’s sake. And Mr. Andolini, here, was just workin’ over the chink’s teeth. It was the funniest fuckin’ thing I seen.” He chuckled again. “Payback for all the poor schlubs he worked over in that same chair, I guess. Only when he was doing it, the poor schlubs were payin’ him for the pleasure. Too fuckin’ funny.”

The irony wasn’t lost on Cormack, but he was trying to keep his attention on the trail. The old woman with the dog had thrown him off. He didn’t think there was any chance that anyone else would be out in the cold. He had almost taken her head off, and that would have been more of a hassle than he could comprehend.

He heard footsteps on the path coming toward them, and he raised his hand to signal to Hall and Cicero to be ready.

The man passed the entrance to the clearing without seeing Cormack. This time O’Connell knew he had the right target. He could see the tattoos covering the man’s neck and the side of his face that was visible. Cormack stepped out of the clearing and swung the club.

It connected solidly below the man’s head, on the soft tissue between his shoulder and his neck. Cormack had been careful not to kill him with the blow, conscious of the need to gather information, but Suarez went down hard nonetheless. Cormack was on him immediately. There was no way to know what weapons, if any, the man might have on him. If he was able to get hold of a gun, the situation would quickly get out of control. Hall and Cicero were both on the path now, hanging back a step, pointing their guns at the man on the ground. Still, if Suarez managed to get off one lucky shot, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.

Cormack swung the club again, this time into his ribs. Suarez seemed to give little resistance, and Cormack worried for a moment that he’d been too aggressive and that he was possibly unconscious. Without warning, though, Suarez turned quickly, and flipped on his side. His hand struck out, and Cormack saw the flash of metal in it, and ducked just in time.

Suarez didn’t have a gun, but he had a knife. He was struggling to his knees, disoriented. He looked up and saw Hall and Cicero with their guns pointed at him. For a moment, Cormack thought that he would surrender without further resistance. Instead, he lunged at Cormack, aiming for his head. Cormack ducked again, and swung his club up hard. It connected with the man’s skull, and blood poured down his face. Suarez looked at Cormack for a moment, and then his eyes rolled up into his head, and he fell face-first into the snow.