Chloe and I walk down one of the mountain compound’s long, dim central hallways toward the daycare center. Eli now spends most of his waking hours there, learning and playing with kids his own age—instead of being alone with his frazzled parents or running away from animal attacks or witnessing his mother turn feral. We’ve only been at Raven Rock a few weeks, but already the kid is thriving. Which warms my heart. And gives me hope.
But as we near the daycare center, I can tell that there’s something on Chloe’s mind. I stop walking and take her hand. I stare deep into her gorgeous eyes.
“What is it, Chloe?” I ask tenderly.
She avoids my gaze and gently runs a finger along one of the deep scars on the side of my neck—a mark from when, just a few months ago inside that Jeep in Vegas, she tried to kill me. She’s still upset about the whole episode, even though I’ve tried to convince her it wasn’t her fault. And that I still love her more than anything.
“I don’t know,” she answers softly. “I am just…afraid. HPR is under control. All three of us are together again. We’re living in the safest place on Earth. And yet…I don’t know how to describe it. It’s just a feeling. An uneasy one.”
I pull my sweet, beautiful wife into a warm embrace. “I know,” I say. “I’m afraid, too. But there’s nothing to be…”
I stop talking—because I hear something.
A faint, distant scratching sound. Almost a burrowing. But it’s not coming from one particular spot. It’s emanating, almost echoing, all around us.
Chloe and I share a look. We both hear it. We’re both concerned.
And then, we’re both shocked—as a swarm of cockroaches emerges from the cinder-block walls all around us, pushing through every nook and cranny, thousands of them, black and shiny, squirming and wiggling…
And coming right at us.
About the Authors
James Patterson has written more bestsellers and created more enduring fictional characters than any other novelist writing today. He lives in Florida with his family.
Max DiLallo is a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He lives in Los Angeles.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
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 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
Epilogue
About the Authors
Newsletters
Copyright
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2016 by James Patterson
Cover design by Kapo Ng; photograph by miljko / Getty Images
Cover copyright © 2016 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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ISBN 978-0-316-36057-9
E3-20160425-DA-NF