Page 16 of Turn the Tide
Shit.They needed to get off the damn rig. Now. But he couldn’t see where else to put the fucker. He was tempted to just throw him overboard.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed the bastard by his feet and dragged him over the rough floors, through the door, down another hall, and to the only open bedroom, relishing every bump along the way. Fucker deserved it.
The second Eric shoved the man into the room, déjà vu hit him like a tsunami. He’d slept in quarters like these fourteen days out of every month for years. It was a terrible place to live, and just standing here sent him back to a time rife with claustrophobia, boredom, and constant repetition. A part of him would never stop missing it.
He shoved the man down on the floor, crouched above him, and said over his shoulder, “Wait for me in the hall.”
She didn’t move.
“Zoe. Nasal Voice and I need to talk.”
“Won’t they come back? I don’t—”
“We’ve got a few more minutes till reinforcements arrive.” Hopefully. “Go. Keep watch.”
He didn’t wait for her to comply before turning to the asshole. “What the hell operation are you guys running here?”
“Drilling for oil.”
“Bullshit.” He grabbed the man’s bound hands and shoved them up, hard. Nasal Voice squealed. “No time to play around. How many people are on this thing?”
“Fuck. Jesus, man, my shoulder. My shoulder!”
“Yeah? That hurt?” Eric put on the pressure and leaned into the man’s face, picturing how Zoe had looked curled up in a ball at their feet. Rage flooded through him like it hadn’t in ages. For one hot second, he imagined how it would feel to punish this man for hours. He’d toy with him like a lion with its prey. Of course, he’d never last that long with this rage running through his veins. Besides, he felt more like a rabid wolf than anything feline.
Something popped in the man’s arm, ramping up his screams, and Eric let up. “I will tear your limbs out at the socket,” he said straight into his ear. “Don’t doubt for one second that I’ll do it unless you open your mouth right now and tell me what the hell is going on here.”
The man’s eye met Eric’s, frantic. He was trapped like a small animal. “Research, man,” he wheezed.
That sounded at once more and less likely than drilling for oil in a tapped-out well. “What kind of research?”
“The kind that pays a security company millions to keep things rolling.”
Millions? What on earth was this operation? “You got researchers on board? Right now?”
“Couple.”
“How many others?”
Something changed in the man’s expression, turning it calculating. His next words would be a lie. “Just me and that one other guy.”
“Bullshit.” Another shove up, hard, pushed a feral cry from the man. “How many?”
The man’s words tumbled over one another in his rush to reply. “Two researchers, three security. We call in twelve times in twenty-four hours.”
“What happens if you don’t call?”
“They send in the big guns.”
“Big guns?” The light flickered, and Eric straightened.
“Told you it’s a well-funded operation.”
Right. Millions in security alone. What research would warrant that kind of investment? Something dangerous, clearly. Maybe something the general public wouldn’t be happy with. “Who’s funding it?” Eric didn’t have to hurt the man to get an answer this time.
“Not high enough up the food chain to know for sure, but I’ve heard there’s backing from Chronos.”
Eric threw a glance at the door. They needed to get out of here. Now. “Chronos. Aren’t they a pharmaceutical company?”
“Look, man, I’m not—” A hard twist, and he yelled, “Yes!”
What the hell was a pharmaceutical company doing plumbing the depths of the seabed? None of this was right—from the way they’d taken over the rig and run this operation to the fact that they’d held a woman prisoner. Rage welled up hard, and it was all Eric could do not to break the man’s arm. “Why so hush-hush?”
“Why do you think?” Even facedown on the floor, Nasal Voice managed a sneer. “The company’sfoundsomething. And they don’t want anyone to know about it.”
