The Tide (Tide Series Book 1) Read Online Free

with you. Sounded urgent.”
    Their feet clanged against the metal stairwell as they descended. Hector and Jenna split off while Miguel followed behind Thomas.
    “Didn’t even want to talk to me,” Thomas said with mock disappointment. “Whatever she’s got cooking, you know it’s got to be good.”
    Chao led them through the narrow corridor in the ship’s lower deck. They passed the armory and medical bay. He opened the door to the electronics workshop, where the crackle of radios and humming computers greeted Dom. The chorus of electronic chirps often sounded like a noisy mess more grating to the ear than drunks singing off-key pub songs to him. But Chao had often described it as a melodic chorus, each sound speaking to him and the rest of the techies hunching over their stations.
    Dom followed Chao to one of the workstations, where four computer monitors glowed before them. The techie made an encrypted video call to the private access line Dom had with Meredith. The line rang only once before she accepted the call.
    “Dom,” she said. Her long red hair and stern face came into focus. She wasted no time with perfunctory greetings. “How soon can you be in Bermuda?”

-2-
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    CIA Headquarters
    Langley, Virginia
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    M eredith watched Dom’s face on her computer monitor. The chisel-jawed covert operator gave no indication of the curiosity or questions that must be roiling in his mind. She had always respected that stoicism in their long combined partnership—and friendship—working in the field of intelligence.
    “We’re still in the Gulf of Guinea,” Dom answered. “It’s not going to be soon. What’s up?”
    “I’ve got...a strange request,” Meredith said. “But it’s urgent. Like, I wish I had a team on this yesterday, urgent.”
    Dom nodded. “Understood. Wish I could change the laws of physics to be there today. Can you give me a couple days at least?”
    Meredith wanted Dom on this case. He ran the best covert group she knew, but she feared time was already running out. “It can’t wait.” She ran a hand through her hair. “But I still want you to head that way. I’m going to send another team for now, but I’d appreciate it if you were on standby.”
    “Standby? Damn, Meredith. I hate being your next-in-line.” Dom smiled. “I thought what we had was better than that.”
    “Sometimes a woman can’t wait around, Dom,” Meredith said, “and now is definitely one of those times.”
    “Can you at least tease me with something? Give me some idea of what the hell you want me to wait around for.”
    She always gave her contracting groups as much intel as possible. Files, maps, briefings...enough to fill textbooks. Whole libraries of textbooks. But this time what she’d discovered was far from ordinary. “I don’t have much.” She lowered her voice and added, “But I’m worried I found something potentially polluting .”
    Dom’s eyes widened for a brief second. She saw he recognized their code word. What she’d found might be tied to the United States—potentially even the CIA. It was why she’d blocked his early transmission aboard the MT Elizabeth. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she needed to limit communication with him and ensure everything was airtight. Hell, for all she knew, she might already be under surveillance.
    “I hear you,” he said. “Can you at least give me a more precise heading so I know where you need me?”
    “Will do. Chao should receive it as soon as we’re done here. I’ll keep you up to date on what I find. Stay safe out there.”
    “You, too.” Dom grinned and ended the transmission.
    She drummed her fingers across her desk before picking up her phone. The strange memo that had started her frantic search lay across the polished wood. She glanced at it once more and dialed the number for another, smaller covert group run by a man named Jay Perry. A silent prayer ran through her head as she hoped