The Tide (Tide Series Book 1) by Anthony J Melchiorri Read Free Book Online Page B

of the unrelenting pack.
    Jay jumped down the last set of stairs, agony shooting up through his leg. He had rolled his ankle but pushed through the hot pain. He leapt onto the Zodiac, slipped out his knife, and cut the ties mooring the craft to the oil platform. He yanked on the cord to start the Zodiac’s off-board motor. The low gurgle of burning fuel sounded—beautiful music to his ears.
    A piercing cry caught his ears, and he glanced up to see the silhouettes of creatures tumbling down the stairs of the platform, still on his trail. Lightning flashed above, illuminating the frenzied beasts as they ran and pushed each other toward their fleeing prey. They wouldn’t give up even though he was already in his boat and seconds from escape. He turned the boat against the storm tides that were curling around the gigantic posts of the oil platform. Desperate, the creatures began to leap. Their bodies splashed into the dark water around him. Most flailed wildly or sank as black waves swallowed them whole.
    Then one falling creature cut through the air toward him. He caught its eyes on its descent just before the beast crashed into the side of the Zodiac, scrambling for purchase as the tide sucked it overboard. Another wave washed over them.
    For a moment, it appeared as though the beast would be pulled into the storm currents, yanked from the small craft. But luck was not so kind.
    The creature’s bone-plated limbs pushed its body upwards, out from the unforgiving Atlantic, and it rolled onto the bow of the Zodiac. Its red eyes met Jay’s once more. There was no humanity there, no mercy.
    He tightened his grip around the knife in his hand, the blade glinting in the burst of white electricity coursing through the sky. Images of his home, his friends and parents back in Washington, DC, flashed across his mind. He prayed Meredith Webb would keep her word that someone in his family got the money he earned through his sacrifice.
    The beast howled. Its skeletal fingers clicked against each other. It leapt toward him, and he jumped to meet the creature, blade flashing before him.

-6-
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    M eredith watched the video feed of her apartment hall. Two agents were approaching her door. She had prepared for this moment, but she hadn’t expected it so soon. It had been mere days since she’d uncovered the cryptic memo regarding the IBSL oil platform. Lawson must have found out that she’d already sent a team to explore the laboratory and she’d continued her investigations after he’d told her to drop the subject. He was undoubtedly making good on his threats, and she might soon feel the full wrath of the agency when he used his power within the organization to bring her down.
    One woman against the CIA. She didn’t stand a chance. The best she could hope for was eluding them long enough for Dom and his crew to find out what happened to Jay Perry’s team and, more importantly, what the hell was going on at the IBSL facility.
    She hoisted her rucksack onto the card table. The pack was already half loaded with the gear she’d need to survive on her own. She stuffed the encrypted radio unit and a satellite phone into the side. Once she was far enough from this compromised safe house, she would reestablish communications with Dom.
    Meredith could hear the men’s footsteps outside her door now. The mics she’d planted outside let her eavesdrop somewhat on their muffled words. It sounded as if they were conferring about breaking down the door or having agents sweep in from the balcony, she thought, given the few words she could make out.
    She focused on the task at hand. The card table still held a couple computers and a radio set up for encrypted communication. Meredith couldn’t take all the equipment with her. Instead, she set a small timed explosive and placed it between the devices. She’d wiped the devices clean, but she was no computer wizard. While the agency might have some idea of what she’d