Page 29 of Turn the Tide
He racked his brain for an idea of what the pirates could be looking for. With a dad who’d worked in the petroleum industry—not to mention his own stint—he should know this, right? Was there anything out there that a pharma company could want? Not a by-product. Those were all used already. Did some bottom-dwelling fish out there contain the cure for cancer? Maybe algae or some crap like that? Pretty unlikely, given that they were on a platform instead of in a boat or a submersible.
Not his problem, he decided in that instant.
Except that some part of him couldn’t let it lie. Probably the same thing that had sent him to the armed forces to begin with—a desire to do good or some bullshit like that. And whatever those guys were doing out there, it was bad. Illegal. Possibly dangerous.
Millions in security alone.
That sentence stuck in his throat.
This was big. Big money, at the very least. And big money plus questionable research practices didn’t bode well. For him or for Zoe, the woman who’d walked right into the midst of it. Probably didn’t bode well for the damn world, given the way corporate assholes treated it. Like their own little playground. What if this hornet’s nest Zoe’d kicked had repercussions that went wide?
Like, what if he woke up in the morning and the whole world was on fire from it?
He turned to look at Zoe’s slumbering form, just inside the cave, and felt something odd in his chest.
Responsibility, he decided. For her. For her beloved fish. For the outcome of this entire goat rodeo.
Shit.
Standing here was making him crazy.
He spent the next half hour scouring the water around the island for signs of approach. No movement. Good.
After that, he obliterated their tracks from earlier. When he was finally satisfied that they’d be left alone for the night, he headed back to their hidden cave. For now, there was nothing to do but sit, watch, and wait.
Which he hated.
It was probably only about eleven when he returned, but it felt later. He stuck his head into the shallow cave and blinked a few times before realizing that Zoe’s eyes were open.
“You’re back.” Her whisper was tight, but he thought he heard an edge of relief in there. “You weren’t here, and I…” She let out an audible breath and shook her head.
“Sorry. Wanted to keep an eye on things.”
“I know.” The slick fabric of the sleeping bag rustled, and she pushed herself to standing, then joined him at the cave entrance. “How’s it look?”
“Same. No movement.”
“You have to stay out here? To watch?”
He couldn’t explain this…thing keeping him from risking even an hour of sleep. “Need to keep you safe.”
“What about you? Not worried about keeping yourself safe?”
“That’s…second nature.”
“Ah, right. Once a SEAL…” She inhaled, leaned her head back, and stared at the stars. “Need to use the loo. Or…the rock, I guess.”
“Of course.” Without another word, he headed into the cave, giving her privacy.
She returned, blocking out the night sky at the entrance, and asked, “You’re going to spend the night out here, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” He didn’t dare picture himself in here, with her.
Brushing by him, she tromped back in without a word and emerged with the sleeping bag. “Right here?”
“Hmm?”
“If I put us against this rock wall, will you be able to see enough?”
