Author/Uploaded by Mike Lawson
Contents Also by Mike Lawson Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 1...
Contents Also by Mike Lawson Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Author’s Note and Acknowledgments Guide Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Chapter 1 Start of Content Pagebreaks of the print version Cover Page ii iii iv v 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 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 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 Back Cover ALSO BY MIKE LAWSON THE JOE DEMARCO SERIES The Inside Ring The Second Perimeter House Rules House Secrets House Justice House Divided House Blood House Odds House Reckoning House Rivals House Revenge House Witness House Arrest House Privilege House Standoff THE KAY HAMILTON SERIES Rosarito Beach Viking Bay K Street OTHER NOVELS Redemption MIKE LAWSON A JOE DeMARCO THRILLER ALLIGATOR ALLEY Atlantic Monthly Press New York Copyright © 2023 by Mike Lawson Jacket design by Henrey Sene Yee Jacket collage: background © Boogich/Getty RF; man © Losonsky /Shutterstock All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Scanning, uploading, and electronic distribution of this book or the facilitation of such without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Any member of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or anthology, should send inquiries to Grove Atlantic, 154 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10011 or [email protected]. FIRST EDITION Published simultaneously in Canada First Grove Atlantic hardcover edition: February 2023 This book was set in 12-pt. Garamond Premier Pro by Alpha Design & Composition of Pittsfield, NH. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available for this title. ISBN 978-0-8021-6052-2 eISBN 978-0-8021-6053-9 Atlantic Monthly Press an imprint of Grove Atlantic 154 West 14th Street New York, NY 10011 Distributed by Publishers Group West groveatlantic.com I finished this book in March of 2022, about the time Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. This book is dedicated to the brave Ukrainians fighting for their survival, and I’m hoping that by the time this book is released in 2023, there will have been a resolution to that terrible conflict. Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Author’s Note and Acknowledgments 1 The Everglades—at midnight—was the last place twenty-three-year-old Andie Moore wanted to be. There was only a pale half-moon providing any light, and she could barely see where she was walking. She was also terrified of snakes and alligators, and there was no doubt that there were alligators all around her. She knew this because she’d parked her car on the Everglades Parkway, the highway that runs east-west across southern Florida. The Everglades Parkway has another name. It’s called “Alligator Alley”—and it’s called this because the damn alligators thrive on both sides of the highway. About fifty yards in front of Andie were four people walking together, heading into the swamp. She was following them, praying they wouldn’t