Half-Past Dawn Read Online Free PDF

her forehead.
    At the same time, Jack, who lay on the bridge, spun his leg left, sweeping out his assailant’s legs, sending him crashing to the ground, his head hitting the pavement, his gun skittering away. Jack dove on top of the man, drawing back his fist and unloading it into the man’s throat, stunning him. He continued to pound his knuckles into the man’s face but was suddenly grabbed around the neck and yanked backward. The third man was much larger, pushing 275. His fist crushed into the side of Jack’s head nearly knocking him out. For extra measure, the man didn’t stop, hitting Jack twice more, opening up a large gash on his brow and his cheek.
    And then a gun exploded, the crack of the percussion echoing in the rainy distance. Jack collapsed, a bullet lodged just below his shoulder. He looked up to see the bloodied, raging face of the blond man he’d beaten, leering down on him in anger before he was tugged away by the linebacker.
    The skinny man dragged Mia toward the black Suburban as she kicked and screamed, fighting with all of her will to break free and get to her wounded husband.
    Jack struggled to focus in spite of the pain that coursed through his body, his heart aching as he could barely move, unable to stop the men who were taking Mia.
    “Let her go!” Jack shouted through a bloodied mouth. “Take me, take me, please …” As his words faded, he was hoisted up and tossed into the passenger seat of his car.
    The large man climbed into the driver’s seat, threw the car into neutral, and hit the gas, revving the engine to redline. With a last bit of strength, Jack tried to get out of the vehicle, but the man drove a punch into his bullet wound, sending crippling shards of pain through his body.
    The man kept his foot on the gas pedal, the engine howled with pent-up energy, and he threw the Tahoe into drive.
    The wheels screamed as they spun on the wet bridge, struggling to gain traction, smoking until they finally caught and launched the SUV into the rail of the bridge. The linebacker dove through the open driver’s-side door, hit the roadway, and rolled clear.
    Inside the vehicle, Jack looked with half-mast eyes to see Mia break free from her captors and chase after the Tahoe. He then caught a sudden glimpse of the small blue box that lay on the seat next to him and, without a thought, picked it up, holding it tight, as if it was the last piece of Mia he would ever touch, and slid it into his pocket.
    The car crashed through the rail, sailing out over the river like a bird taking flight, but gravity soon took hold, and the Tahoe began its arc toward the rushing waters, knifing into the raging river, an explosion of water hurled nearly bridge-high. The car bobbed, quickly caught in the flow, tossed around as it slowly sank. As it neared the river bend, its taillights finally disappeared, their red glow hovering below the surface before fading to nothingness.
    • • •
    D ESPITE THE DRIVING rain and the churning waters, there was a silence over the valley, the white noise of the downpour obscuring and absorbing all other sounds, creating a quiet over the Byram River, as if in reverence. The downpour continued to rage, roughing up the waterway, the storm surge carrying the water high up on the banks.
    And then, out of the black water, climbing up into the dark night, he clawed his way onto the shore. His shirt was torn, hanging from his body, and blood poured from his shoulder.
    He crawled through the mud and finally collapsed, gasping for air, rolling onto his back. His mind was blank, as dark and empty as the night around him; it struggled for purchase. Jack reached up, pressing his fist into the bullet wound on his shoulder, and his mind finally cleared, his thoughts returned, pouring in with panicked awareness as he realized …
    Mia was gone.

CHAPTER 5
    F RIDAY , 7:00 A.M .
    S TANDING IN THE KITCHEN , as the realization that Mia must have been kidnapped washed over him, an even worse