by Jeff Abbott
“I won’t.”
“I won’t come looking for you again, in that case.”
Sam Capra was giving her life. She tried not to tremble. “I won’t. I promise.”
“I can’t make that promise for Mila’s…family. They will not be so forgiving. They won’t hurt your kids. But they might kill you.”
Holly paled.
“You’ll spend your life looking over your shoulder, Holly. But maybe that is the price you’re supposed to pay. That’s your downfall.” Sam Capra got up and walked out into the bright sunshine on the beach, the sky blue above him.
And Holly thought, I’m still in a cage.
I walked away, the ocean a blue shimmer, a group of European women and small children playing in the white-capped surf. Peter and Emma Marchbanks ran past me toward home. They didn’t glance at me and I didn’t glance at them. Holly had done all she had because she wanted something better for her children. The problem had been her road to heaven was paved with bad intentions. Now their perfect lives were gone, but at least they might have a life full of honesty.
My road wasn’t any easier. I still had the bars but Jimmy might take those away from me at any moment. I could fight him if I knew who else in the Round Table I could turn to with my accusations. I had no evidence, only conjecture.
Or, like Holly, I could try and run. Vanish. Walk away forever. Make a new life for Daniel. Leonie might run with us. Or she might resent any such attempt on my part to vanish. She wanted normalcy with Daniel as her surrogate son. If I took that away from her, what would she do?
Mila was married to a man who was capable of nearly anything. His calculations had nearly gotten us both killed. But would she even believe me if I told her? If I ever had the chance to tell her?
I was afraid of Jimmy. He was afraid of me. For now, a détente. Until I could decide what to do.
I returned to the airport in Dabolim and called home. Leonie was fine, her voice bright. Daniel cooed and gurgled and made spit noises and laughed. I cooed and made daddy noises, telling him I’d be home soon, very soon.
I hung up. Why couldn’t I have both? A safe home to return to and the world to roam. This was a world where the bad guys still lurked in shadow but held more power, more wealth, than ever before. Where they wore a kind of mask of respectability to the world.
I still wanted to be the man who tore those masks free from the shadows. For Daniel, for all the kids. Holly and Glenn and Janice had made the mistake of thinking only of a better house, a better school, a better career.
I wanted, for Daniel, a better world.
I studied the arrivals and departures screen and decided.
I bought my ticket; but not to New Orleans. I owned a bar in Mumbai. I hadn’t been there yet. And I thought I could use a drink.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Mitch Hoffman, Jade Chandler, Daniel Mallory, Peter Ginsberg, Shirley Stewart, Jamie Raab, David Shelley, Ursula Mackenzie, Deb Futter, Lindsey Rose, Beth deGuzman, Siobhan Padgett, Sonya Cheuse, Thalia Proctor, Brad Parsons, Anthony Goff, Michele McGonigle, Christine M. Farrell, Dave Barbor, Holly Frederick, Sarah LaPolla, and the terrific teams at Grand Central Publishing and Little, Brown UK.
Also thanks to those who kindly helped me with my questions: Laura Lippman, Sherrie Saint (Director of Investigations, Alabama Dept. of Forensic Sciences), Commander Lea Militello (San Francisco Police Department), Bevan Dufty, JT Ellison, Tom Perrault, Karl Scholz, Marcia Gagliardi, and Ashley Schumann. Errors or bendings of truth for dramatic purposes are my fault, not theirs. Very special thanks to Leslie, Charles, and William, as always.
About the Author
Jeff Abbott is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of thirteen novels. His books include the Sam Capra thrillers Adrenaline and The Last Minute, as well as the stand-alone novels Panic, Fear, and Collision. The Last Minute won an International Thriller Writers award, and Jeff is also a three-time nominee for the Edgar award. He lives in Austin with his family. You can visit his website at www.jeffabbott.com.
Also by Jeff Abbott
Sam Capra series
Adrenaline
The Last Minute
Whit Mosley series
A Kiss Gone Bad
Black Jack Point
Cut and Run
Other fiction
Panic
Fear
Collision
Trust Me
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Contents
Welcome
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Part One: Wednesday, November 3
1
2
3
Part Two: Thursday, November 4
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Part Three: Friday, November 5
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
Part Four: Saturday, November 6
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
Part Five: Sunday, November 7
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
Part Six: Monday, November 8
74
75
76
77
Part Seven: Last Days
78
79
80
81
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Jeff Abbott
Newsletters
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Jeff Abbott
Cover design © 2013 Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Jacket design by Flag
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: July
2013
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ISBN 978-1-4555-2841-7