THE NEXT ALEX CROSS
Hi everybody!
First on the community, check out the cover (and chapter one!) of the new Alex Cross novel, I, Alex Cross.
Cheers,
LB
I, ALEX CROSS
CHAPTER 1
FIRE AND WATER
One
Hannah Willis was a second year law student at Virginia, and everything that lay ahead of her seemed bright and promising—except of course that she was about to die in these dark, gloomy, dismal woods.
Go, Hannah, she told herself. Just go. Stop thinking. Whining and crying won’t help you now. Running just might.
Hannah stumbled and staggered forward until her hands found another tree trunk to hold onto. She leaned her aching body into it, waiting for the strength to take another breath. And then to move another burst of steps forward.
Keep going, or you’ll die right here in these woods. It’s that simple, college girl.
The bullet lodged somewhere in her lower back made every movement, every breath an agony, more pain than Hannah had ever known was possible. It was only the threat of a second bullet, or maybe worse, that kept her on her feet and going at all.
God, the woods were almost pitch black back in here. A quarter moon drooping over the thick forest canopy did little to light the ground below. Trees were shadows. Thorns and brambles were invisible in the underbrush; they pierced and raked her legs bloody as she pushed through. What little she’d been wearing to begin with—just an expensive black lace teddy—now hung in shreds off her shoulders.
None of that mattered though, or even registered with Hannah anymore. The only clear thought that cut through the pain, and the panic, was Go, girl. The rest was a wordless, directionless nightmare.
Finally, and very suddenly—had it been an hour? more?—the low canopy of trees opened up around her. “What the….” Dirt turned to gravel underfoot, and Hannah stumbled to her knees with nothing to hang onto.
In the hazy moonlight, she could make out the ghost of a double white line, showing the curve of a country road. It was like a miracle to her. Half of one, anyway, she knew she wasn’t out of this mess yet.
When a car motor sounded in the distance, Hannah leaned on her hands and pushed up off the ground. Summoning strength she didn’t know she had, she stood again, then staggered out, into the middle of the road. Her world blurred through sweat and fresh tears.
Please, dear God, don’t let this be them. This can’t be those two bastards.
You can’t be so cruel, can you?
A red truck careened around the bend then, coming at her fast. Too fast! Suddenly, she was just as blind as she’d been before, in the woods, but from the truck’s headlights this time.
“Stop! Please stop! Pleee-ase!” she screamed. “Stop, you sonofabitch!”
At the last possible second, the tires squealed on the pavement. The red pickup skidded into full view and stopped just short of flattening her right there into road kill. She could feel heat coming off the engine through the grill.
“Hey sweetheart, nice outfit! All you had to do was stick out your thumb.”
The voice was unfamiliar -- which was good, really good. Loud country music was blasting from the cab, too—Charlie Daniels Band, her mind vaguely registered, just before Hannah collapsed onto the pavement.
The driver was down there on the road a second later as she regained consciousness. “Oh my God, I didn’t… What happened to you? Are you -- what happened to you?”
“Please,” she barely mustered the words. “If they find me here, they’ll kill us both.”
The man’s strong hands wrapped around her and grazed the dime-sized hole in her back as he picked her up. She only exhaled, too weak to scream now. A cluster of gray and indistinct moments later, they were inside the truck and moving really fast down the two-lane blacktop highway.
“Hang in there, darlin’.” The driver’s voice was shaky now. “Tell me who did this to you.”
Hannah could feel her consciousness slipping away again. “The men…”
“The men? What men, sweetheart? Who are you talking about?”
An answer floated vaguely through Hannah’s mind, and she wasn’t sure if she said it out loud or maybe just thought it before everything went away.
The men from the White House.
First on the community, check out the cover (and chapter one!) of the new Alex Cross novel, I, Alex Cross.
Cheers,
LB
I, ALEX CROSS
CHAPTER 1
FIRE AND WATER
One
Hannah Willis was a second year law student at Virginia, and everything that lay ahead of her seemed bright and promising—except of course that she was about to die in these dark, gloomy, dismal woods.
Go, Hannah, she told herself. Just go. Stop thinking. Whining and crying won’t help you now. Running just might.
Hannah stumbled and staggered forward until her hands found another tree trunk to hold onto. She leaned her aching body into it, waiting for the strength to take another breath. And then to move another burst of steps forward.
Keep going, or you’ll die right here in these woods. It’s that simple, college girl.
The bullet lodged somewhere in her lower back made every movement, every breath an agony, more pain than Hannah had ever known was possible. It was only the threat of a second bullet, or maybe worse, that kept her on her feet and going at all.
God, the woods were almost pitch black back in here. A quarter moon drooping over the thick forest canopy did little to light the ground below. Trees were shadows. Thorns and brambles were invisible in the underbrush; they pierced and raked her legs bloody as she pushed through. What little she’d been wearing to begin with—just an expensive black lace teddy—now hung in shreds off her shoulders.
None of that mattered though, or even registered with Hannah anymore. The only clear thought that cut through the pain, and the panic, was Go, girl. The rest was a wordless, directionless nightmare.
Finally, and very suddenly—had it been an hour? more?—the low canopy of trees opened up around her. “What the….” Dirt turned to gravel underfoot, and Hannah stumbled to her knees with nothing to hang onto.
In the hazy moonlight, she could make out the ghost of a double white line, showing the curve of a country road. It was like a miracle to her. Half of one, anyway, she knew she wasn’t out of this mess yet.
When a car motor sounded in the distance, Hannah leaned on her hands and pushed up off the ground. Summoning strength she didn’t know she had, she stood again, then staggered out, into the middle of the road. Her world blurred through sweat and fresh tears.
Please, dear God, don’t let this be them. This can’t be those two bastards.
You can’t be so cruel, can you?
A red truck careened around the bend then, coming at her fast. Too fast! Suddenly, she was just as blind as she’d been before, in the woods, but from the truck’s headlights this time.
“Stop! Please stop! Pleee-ase!” she screamed. “Stop, you sonofabitch!”
At the last possible second, the tires squealed on the pavement. The red pickup skidded into full view and stopped just short of flattening her right there into road kill. She could feel heat coming off the engine through the grill.
“Hey sweetheart, nice outfit! All you had to do was stick out your thumb.”
The voice was unfamiliar -- which was good, really good. Loud country music was blasting from the cab, too—Charlie Daniels Band, her mind vaguely registered, just before Hannah collapsed onto the pavement.
The driver was down there on the road a second later as she regained consciousness. “Oh my God, I didn’t… What happened to you? Are you -- what happened to you?”
“Please,” she barely mustered the words. “If they find me here, they’ll kill us both.”
The man’s strong hands wrapped around her and grazed the dime-sized hole in her back as he picked her up. She only exhaled, too weak to scream now. A cluster of gray and indistinct moments later, they were inside the truck and moving really fast down the two-lane blacktop highway.
“Hang in there, darlin’.” The driver’s voice was shaky now. “Tell me who did this to you.”
Hannah could feel her consciousness slipping away again. “The men…”
“The men? What men, sweetheart? Who are you talking about?”
An answer floated vaguely through Hannah’s mind, and she wasn’t sure if she said it out loud or maybe just thought it before everything went away.
The men from the White House.
Comment
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Comment by Linda Armstrong on December 13, 2009 at 12:27pm - HOOKED, HOOKED, HOOKED!! I am completely hooked on the AC books. James Patterson is the best author out there and I can never get enough of Alex Cross. I purchased I, Alex yesterday and finished it today and I have to admit that I am soooo excited that Kyle Craig....The Mastermind of mindgame thrillers, Is BACK!!! You can count on a mind-bending ride when Kyle is around!! I have to agree....Mr. Patterson you ARE THE MAN!!!
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Comment by RUTH T. on November 23, 2009 at 1:19pm - Im going to amazon.com right now.....
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Comment by Nakisha on November 15, 2009 at 10:21am - Oh this was a tease. I guess I have to purchase it.
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Comment by Barbara Jensen on November 13, 2009 at 8:46pm - when does this hit the bookstores
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Comment by Becky Ciardelli on November 3, 2009 at 7:45am
- I want more!! Can not wait too read it!!
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Comment by Jonelle Hills on November 3, 2009 at 7:10am - I have been an Alex Cross fan since I saw my guy Morgan Freeman play him in "Kiss the Girls". I immediately contacted my close friend, the Cleveland PUblic Library, Homebound Division, and had them give me a listing, in chronological order of tghe Alex Cross books they had available. TGhere were 26 qat the time, and I've read them all. I have read other James Patterson books. There are other authors out there with similar names, i.e., Richard North Patterson, but THERE IS ONLY ONE JAMES PATTERSON, YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!
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Comment by Jonelle Hills on November 3, 2009 at 7:10am
- I have been an Alex Cross fan since I saw my guy Morgan Freeman play him in "Kiss the Girls". I immediately contacted my close friend, the Cleveland PUblic Library, Homebound Division, and had them give me a listing, in chronological order of tghe Alex Cross books they had available. TGhere were 26 qat the time, and I've read them all. I have read other James Patterson books. There are other authors out there with similar names, i.e., Richard North Patterson, but THERE IS ONLY ONE JAMES PATTERSON, YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!
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Comment by Ruth A Salas on October 30, 2009 at 6:35pm - This is going to be sooo good. I kinda hate to read the chapters posted. But, I bet I do!! I am one of the groupies that wishes JP could write sooo mush faster! Good going JP.. keep up the great writing. Ruth Ann
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Comment by Betty Brass on October 30, 2009 at 4:53pm - Oh, and I really enjoyed Alex Cross' Trial. A great book. Much better than Cross Country.
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Comment by Betty Brass on October 30, 2009 at 4:52pm
- Starts off like another winner!
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I, ALEX CROSS
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