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Chapters (73)
  1. Goodbye to the Dead
  2. Also By Brian Freeman
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. CONTENTS
  8. PROLOGUE
  9. THEN
  10. 1
  11. 2
  12. 3
  13. 4
  14. 5
  15. 6
  16. 7
  17. 8
  18. 9
  19. 10
  20. 11
  21. 12
  22. 13
  23. 14
  24. 15
  25. 16
  26. 17
  27. 18
  28. 19
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. 23
  33. 24
  34. 25
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. NOW
  46. 36
  47. 37
  48. 38
  49. 39
  50. 40
  51. 41
  52. 42
  53. 43
  54. 44
  55. 45
  56. 46
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. 58
  69. 59
  70. 60
  71. 61
  72. FROM THE AUTHOR
  73. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

‘Let me talk to her,’ Stride said. ‘I need to talk to Cat and make sure she’s okay. Take off the gag.’

He didn’t dare look at Serena, but he hoped she was keeping a dead aim on the man for the instant when Cat was free.

‘I need to talk to Cat,’ Stride repeated. ‘That’s a deal-breaker. Take off the gag!’

The man relented. He ripped the tape away from Cat’s mouth and yanked out the gag inside. In doing so, he had to let go of the chokehold holding the girl in place. Stride wanted Cat to fall where she was, but instead, with her hands free, she grabbed the man’s wrist and sank her teeth into his thumb and knuckle, biting down hard until her teeth were stopped by bone.

The man wailed. The gun fired wildly in the air. His hand, spurting blood, let go, and the pistol dropped at his feet.

Stride ran. So did Cat. The girl threw herself into his arms, and Stride spun her around and lowered her to the ground and sheltered her with his body. He couldn’t see behind him. He couldn’t see the man drop to the tracks as bullets missed high, couldn’t see him grab the gun with his uninjured hand and swing around to aim at Stride’s back.

An easy shot. A paralyzing shot. A kill shot.

The beach was alive with gunfire. Deafening, overlapping.

The man aimed, but he never fired again. A dozen bullets hit him at once. In his chest. In his head. The gun fell again, and so did he.

Stride waited, protecting Cat, until the echoes died to silence.

58

58

Cat fidgeted on the hospital bed.

‘I’m fine,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to be here. When can I get out of this place?’

Stride held her hand. ‘You’re not going anywhere until the doctors check you out. You and the baby. We want to make sure you’re both okay.’

‘I want to go home—’ she began, but then she stopped nervously. She looked away, not meeting Stride’s eyes. She wasn’t sure if she had a home anymore. She didn’t know whether, after everything she’d done, Stride would let her stay.

‘Don’t worry, you’ll go home soon,’ he told her. ‘Maybe tonight, definitely tomorrow.’ Then he added: ‘And we have a lot to talk about.’

Her pretty face was unusually pale, her long hair dirty and matted. ‘What’s going to happen to me?’