Betrayal

THE FOOTSTEPS came closer, almost shuffling with a slow deliberation.

Even in the darkness, Evan felt a shadow fall over him. Nolan had the gun in his hand.

Then the whispered words. "You stupid son of a bitch."

Evan did not move or respond in any way. Did not feel that he could.

Nolan stood over him. Whatever damage Nolan had done to him, and Evan realized that possibly it was severe enough to be life-threatening, the fight had not been without its own consequences for the commando. From the way Nolan was moving, he was clearly hurt, physically compromised. With one arm so badly injured, it took him a couple of tries to rack a round into the chamber.

Evan had no option but to attack again, and he twisted and kicked, hitting Nolan below his knees, knocking him down. Evan scrambled, grabbing for Nolan's gun hand with both of his. Getting ahold of it. With his one free hand, Nolan swung in tight again and again, hard jabs to the side of Evan's head.

But even to protect his head, Evan didn't dare release his grip on Nolan's gun hand. To let go of the gun was to die.

Grabbing the barrel with all of his strength, grunting with the exertion, he finally lifted enough to get the gun and the hand that held it off the ground. And then he twisted it, and twisted again.

And at last the gun was free and in his hand, the barrel now tight against Nolan's forehead.

It was over.

Nolan went limp, the fight suddenly all out of him. He held his arms out against the floor in an I-give-up gesture. For a full second that felt like a minute, neither man moved.

And then in a lightning strike, Nolan screamed and threw a last jab in the direction of Evan's head.

And the gun went off.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In preparation for this book, I spoke to many veterans of the fighting in Iraq and read a lot of books about that country and the war that, as this book goes to press, is still claiming American and Iraqi lives every day. I'd particularly like to acknowledge and thank Mike Dufresne for his early insights into the role of the National Guard in Iraq; Don Currier for his general overview of the war and his terrific photographs; T. Christian Miller, author of Blood Money: Wasted Billions, Lost Lives, and Corporate Greed in Iraq; Aaron Moore, First Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps; Craig Denton, and Rick Tippens.

Other books that contributed in one way or another to Betrayal include Blood Stripes: The Grunt's View of the War in Iraq, by David J. Danelo; Ambush Alley: The Most Extraordinary Battle of the Iraq War, by Tim Pritchard; and Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror, by Robert Young Pelton. In spite of all of this research, it is of course possible that there may be inaccuracies and/or errors of one kind or another in this book, and any of these are the fault of the author.

As with all of my other Dismas Hardy books, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my great pal Al Gia

At Dutton, I am blessed with a wonderful sales, marketing, publicity, and editorial staff. My deepest thanks for their commitment, enthusiasm, taste, and intelligence goes out to my publisher, Brian Tart; my new and excellent editor, Ben Sevier; Lisa Johnson, Trena Keating, Beth Parker, Erika Imranyi, Kara Welsh, Claire Zion, Rick Pascocello, Susan Schwartz, and Rich Hasselberger for another superb book jacket design. Though he has moved on to another publishing house, I would also like to tip my hat one last time to Mitch Hoffman, who was my editor at Dutton for many years, and who was instrumental in getting this book off the ground.

My assistant, Anita Boone, continues to perform her yeoman's work on a daily basis, creating a sense of calm and efficiency in my writing environment that makes it all possible. She is a great person, and I'm blessed to have her with me. Peter S. Dietrich, M.D., M.P.H., contributes not only his medical expertise, but his knowledge of clear libations. Karen Hlavacek and Peggy Nauts are both world-class proofreaders. I'm also lucky to have several other friends to keep books and other things in perspective in my day-to-day life. These include the very talented writer Max Byrd, my pere

Several characters in this book owe their names (although no physical or personality traits, which are all fictional) to individuals whose contributions to various charities have been especially generous. These people, and their charities, include Ryan Loy, the Borders Group Foundation; Marcia Riggio, the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of Brandeis University National Women's Committee (Science for Life Campaign); Felice Brinkley, the First Amendment Project; Mary Patricia Whelan-Miille, Yolo County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA); and Arlene and David Ray (for the respective character Stephan Ray), Stop Cancer.

My agent, Barney Karpfinger, embraced the idea for this book at the very earliest stage and guided me through many moments of its inception and structure. I consider him a great friend and true collaborator in my work and my career, which would be significantly diminished without him.

I very much love hearing from my readers, and invite all of you please to visit me with any comments, questions, or interests on my Web site, www.johnlescroart.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JOHN LESCROART is the author of eighteen previous novels, including The Suspect, The Hunt Club, The Motive, The Second Chair, The First Law, The Oath, The Hearing, and Nothing But the Truth. He lives with his wife and two children in northern California.