BooksBarbecue
Back The Preserve
Chapters (56)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Half-Title Page
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  6. 1.
  7. 2.
  8. 3.
  9. 4.
  10. 5.
  11. 6.
  12. 7.
  13. 8.
  14. 9.
  15. 10.
  16. 11.
  17. 12.
  18. 13.
  19. 14.
  20. 15.
  21. 16.
  22. 17.
  23. 18.
  24. 19.
  25. 20.
  26. 21.
  27. 22.
  28. 23.
  29. 24.
  30. 25.
  31. 26.
  32. 27.
  33. 28.
  34. 29.
  35. 30.
  36. 31.
  37. 32.
  38. 33.
  39. 34.
  40. 35.
  41. 36.
  42. 37.
  43. 38.
  44. 39.
  45. 40.
  46. 41.
  47. 42.
  48. 43.
  49. 44.
  50. 45.
  51. 46.
  52. 47.
  53. 48.
  54. EPILOGUE
  55. AFTERWORD
  56. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“Don’t do anything stupid. Not till I can catch up. What about Jock Quinn?”

“Unknown quantity. He’s conflicted. He wants to believe in something. I don’t want to make him choose—it might just break him. Besides, there’s no time. I probably ruined my chance already by confronting Lansdale like that.”

“But, what if you haven’t? What if the mission really is just for security, surveillance? Like they tell you.”

“It’s not. I can feel it. A dogface, he knows . . .”

Kanani closed her eyes, and the room seemed to darken even more. When she opened them again, her tears were gone. “They will do whatever they want to you. Take it from one islander. Cause you don’t have the mojo. They have all the mojo and they’re gonna keep it every time.”

“Mojo funded by gold,” Lett said. “Gold that you want.”

“How else I gonna make my own way. Eh? They only gave me one assignment—get that Kodama to talk nice. That was it. There’s no moving up here.”

“That’s what they do. They zero in on what makes a person tick. Exploit it. Bang.”

She drew her gold Chinese lighter from her robe pocket and turned it in her hand like a talisman.

Then she took his hands in hers, the lighter between their fingers. Their knees were touching.

She sighed, and she growled, “We shoulda made love when we had the chance.”

“I imagine you are probably right. I thought about it, you know, what it would be like.”

“Me too, Wendell. Me too.”

Lett stood.

“Go for broke,” he said.

“Go for broke.”

Kanani grinned at him. Lett made himself grin back. His shoulders felt heavy. He shrugged them to lose some of the ballast.

She let him go and find his way out. He entered the nearest tree line. He didn’t take a trail. He moved through the underbrush crouching low, using tree trunks for cover. He was on night patrol in the Hürtgen again. He was sneaking over the German border into Belgium and again across the American lines after that senseless mission that had finally wrecked him.

As he moved through the trees, he peered back over his shoulder and thought he saw a figure sticking to a corner of the boogie house, watching him go. He told himself it was just another illusion. He kept moving, kept his eyes open. Stop, and he was cornered.

29.