Alligator Alley: A Joe DeMarco Thriller


 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
 
 
 
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 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