Page 26 of Turn the Tide
“Yeah.” He spoke the word kind of into her hair. The move was intimate. Close.Good.
Her next breath was shaky, and it had nothing to do with the cold. She cleared her throat. “So, what’s your last name, Eric?”
“Cooper. Yours?”
“Garcia.”
He nodded behind her, the movement grazing her hair.
When he didn’t carry on the conversation, she asked another question. “So, who was it you called earlier, Eric?”
“My brother, Ford. He’s a scientist. Thought he might be able to tell me what the hell they’re doing out there. Second call was to a buddy. He can call in the gang.”
“The gang?”
“Group of friends who… We help each other out when things get rough.”
“Hmm. Who’s in this gang?”
He hunched forward, bringing his face close beside hers. “You really wanna know?”
Somewhere out of sight, a rogue wave crashed against the rocks, loud in the silent night. And as if that sound marked the start of a new weather cycle, a cloud skittered over the moon, blocking its light for a long moment. A breeze stirred the grasses on the slope below, sending the smell of sage to mingle with the salt-heavy air.
She shivered. “Why not?”
He leaned back and, for a while, she didn’t think he’d tell her. When he spoke, his voice was low and slow. “Ford’s been in the Antarctic for a while now. Winter’s just starting down there. That means he’s stuck until much later in the year, so he couldn’t come here if shit went down, but he could make calls.”
“What’s he doing in Antarctica?”
“Research. Ice piles up, trapping stuff from millions of years ago. He studies it.” Eric tensed before speaking again, his voice crisper than before. “You catch what the guy told me on the rig?”
Confused, Zoe shook her head.
“Whatever they’re doing out there, a company called Chronos is behind it.”
“Isn’t that a pharmaceutical company?”
“Yeah. You heard of them?”
“I mean, yeah. They’re huge.”
“I’m pretty sure they’re one of my brother’s backers. For his current research.”
“In Antarctica? So, they’re funding ice research?Andthey’re digging for oil.” None of this made sense. What could a pharma giant want in either of those places?
“Not oil.”
She pulled forward, turned, and looked at him. “What else did you find out?”
“Whatever they’re pumping out of the ground out there, they don’t want anybody to know about it. Spending millions, he said, on security.” Eric smirked. “Not that you can tell from the way they handled today.”
“Yeah, well. Not every day someone like you comes around.” She leaned back and snuggled into him again. “You think they’ll come after us?”
“Eventually.”
“Didn’t see a boat there, and you said they cut mine loose.”
Eric lifted one thick shoulder. “Don’t need a boat to find us.”
