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Back Falling Save as PDF
Chapters (29)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Epigraph
  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. ALSO BY CHRISTOPHER PIKE
  29. Copyright Page

Playing FBI, she called the Marina Del Rey harbor and told them to check on the status of the Stardust. Her guts felt like bleeding ice when they told her the ship had set sail early that morning. That meant the Techers were already on Catalina. Matt would be nearby. Not sure what she was doing, Kelly tried both his cell numbers. No answer.

“Oh shit,” she whispered.

She had to get to Catalina. A frantic five minutes of research told her that she’d missed the last ferry and helicopter ride over. A blessing in disguise perhaps. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted her own boat. Her dad had taught her how to sail as a teenager. A trip to Catalina was nothing to her—just eighteen miles across the open water.

Kelly was not ready to give up on Matt. She suspected that crazy part of her which had driven her to confront the Acid Man and the mysterious kidnapper of Amy’s baby would allow the drama to play out until the last instant. If she had a boat, she could always rescue David from the water.

“No, you’re not doing that,” she swore as she drove toward the harbor. She had already called Harry’s Ocean Rentals and spoken to scarecrow Timmy, the guy who had helped Matt load his boat on D-Day. Timmy complained that he was about to leave for the day. She said if he did not have a boat ready for her when she reached the harbor she would arrest him for crimes he had not committed. Torturing him gave her pleasure. He promised her their fastest powerboat. Then he asked her out on a date. She would think about it, she said.

The sun had settled into the underworld by the time she reached the dock. Timmy handed her a set of keys and helped her load three extra drums of fuel onto what looked like a twenty-foot jet. He wanted to flirt but she cut him short. Once on the open water, she revved the engine and was shaken as the nose popped up and the roar deafened her ears. It was fortunate the ocean was flat and visibility was near perfect. The Capricorn was full-throttle testosterone. The bow shredded the water. She had to strain to hang onto the wheel. A salty breeze stung her eyes and her hair flapped like torn wings. The faint lights of the islands shone across the dark water. She would reach Catalina in under an hour.

But then what?

FIFTEEN

FIFTEEN