Changing Tides Read Online Free

sat in his usual seat, answered questions on his holiday as his stomach rolled with disbelief and kept his comments concise and direct. The idea of not even doing a cursory investigation didn’t make sense to him. It might have if Taren hadn’t been murdered, but he had. And the same reasons touted for not trying to find out who had killed him shouldn’t apply to an accusation of this severity.
    After the briefing ended, he headed for the bathroom then returned to his desk. Grateful for a lack of cameras inside the large windowless room, he sat down. He’d need to sort through the latest assignments, shuffling workloads as needed before he started compiling a list of people and groups who might have the ability to hack into government media systems, break into gated institutions patrolled by armed guards and get video images of everything. It was all he could do given the fact that he shouldn’t be looking into it at all.
    Brett blew out a breath and shoved a hand through his hair. He had to do something. If he didn’t, he’d start thinking about things he shouldn’t be. Things like Orion and what if the video was right? What if the government had lied to them about this? What then? More than that, what else are they are lying about?
    Brett picked up a pen and spun it through the fingers of one hand and swore. Orion should be in an institution. Somehow, Brett’s father had learned of his interest in him and checked him out. Orion was the only surviving child of Lieutenant Colonel Janice Hellman, a nationally recognized hero who had given her life to save General Vanessa Landry from an assassin’s bullet. The rest of his family had died in an accident when they swerved to prevent a runaway vehicle from hitting a group of children. It was because of those incidents that Orion, who had already been in a military academy, was kept out of the institution. Doctors claimed trauma had induced idiocy.
    If the video was right, Orion would be dead, too. Brett clenched and unclenched his fists and took another deep breath. Anger would help no one; it would only draw attention to himself.
    Tossing the pen aside, he pulled out a notepad and the file he’d been given earlier. He needed to organize his thoughts and shift internal priorities. The task at hand could help him with both ideas. His focus had been on Orion when he’d originally been handed the file, and he hadn’t paid close enough attention to it. He needed to familiarize himself with the assignment and try to recall what had been said about it. Determined, he forced his thoughts away from the man he’d been dreaming about constantly since they’d first met.
    Kissing Orion last night had been the highlight of his last few months and the perfect way to end his leave. Heck it still consumed his thoughts. He struggled to focus, then a piece of paper tucked under his keyboard caught his attention.
    Carefully pulling it out, he looked up and around the room. No one was nearby or looking in his direction. Heart pounding, he unfolded the small, white sheet. Stomach clenched, he read and reread the neatly printed block letters. Fear threatened to overwhelm him.
    Someone with access to his office and desk had left a simple note thanking him for saving their brother’s life. The message hadn’t been signed and hadn’t said anything threatening, still his unease and fear escalated. What else did they know? Did they want anything? Would they blackmail him? Would they force him to do something illegal or immoral or ask for money? Brett bit the inside of his cheek, forcing his body to calm down. He needed to figure out what his next steps would be.
    He hadn’t told anyone he’d helped the injured stranger. He certainly hadn’t told the injured man where he worked or even his name. Brett hadn’t recognized him. He hadn’t even seemed vaguely familiar. That the man knew Brett’s identity was unsettling enough. That more than one person knew and that someone had gotten in