Fatal Tide Read Online Free PDF

me.”
    “Do tell.” His voice was suddenly harsh. “I’ve been expecting you to break down for the last two hours. For God’s sake, no one is going to think less of you if you do.”
    “I don’t care what anyone else thinks. And my weeping and wailing wouldn’t do Phil any good. Nothing will help him now.”
    He didn’t speak for a moment, and when she glanced at him she found his eyes narrowed on the horizon.
    “What is it? Do you see something?”
    “No.” His gaze shifted back to her. “What are you going to do now? Do you have any plans?”
    “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t seem to think clearly right now. First I have to go home. I have responsibilities. Then I’ll decide what comes next.”
    “Where’s home?”
    “An island in the Lesser Antilles, not far from Tobago. It belonged to Phil, but he deeded it over to me.” Her lips twisted bitterly. “He left me the Last Home too. It would only take the next decade or so to retrieve the parts floating out there.”
    “He must have cared very much for you.”
    “I cared for him too,” she whispered. “I think he knew. I wish I’d told him. Christ, I wish I’d told him.”
    “I’m sure he felt richly compensated.”
    There was an inflection in his tone. “What do you mean?”
    “Nothing.” He looked away from her. “Sometimes words don’t mean much.”
    “And sometimes they do. Phil told me he couldn’t get you to return his calls. What did he say to you to get you to come here?”
    “He sent me a letter with just one word.” His glance shifted back to her face. “I imagine you know what that word was.”
    She didn’t answer.
    “Marinth.”
    She gazed at him, silent.
    “I don’t suppose you’d care to tell me what you know about Marinth?”
    “I don’t know anything.” She stared him directly in the eye. “And I don’t want to know anything.”
    “I’d be willing to give you a good deal of money for any information you might be willing to share.”
    She shook her head.
    “If you’re not willing to admit Lontana committed suicide, has it occurred to you there might be another explanation?”
    Of course it had occurred to her, but she’d been pushing the thought away all afternoon. She couldn’t cope with analyzing anything right now. And no matter how Phil had died, she wasn’t aligning herself with Kelby.
    “I don’t know anything,” she repeated.
    He studied her. “I don’t think you’re telling me the truth. I believe you may know a good deal.”
    “Believe what you like. I don’t intend to discuss it.”
    “Then I’ll leave you alone.” He turned away. “See how sensitive I’m being? If you change your mind about the sandwiches, come to the cabin.”
    He was joking, but he had been surprisingly sensitive since they’d boarded the Trina. He’d set to the job at hand with brisk efficiency. He’d let her run the show and taken orders without complaint. He’d made this agonizing search bearable.
    “Kelby.”
    He turned to look at her.
    “Thank you. You were kind to me today.”
    “Hey, everyone gets ambushed occasionally by an attack of sentimentality. It doesn’t happen often with me. I got off easy.”
    “And I’m sorry you came to Athens on a wild-goose chase.”
    “I’m not.” He smiled. “Because I have a hunch it wasn’t a wild-goose chase. I want Marinth. I’m going to have it, Melis.”
    “Good luck.”
    “No, luck’s not enough. I’m going to need help. I was going to get it from Lontana, but now I’m left with you.”
    “Then you have nothing.”
    “Until you get off the ship. I made you a promise that I’d make no demands today. All bets are off once you step onto dry land.”
    She felt a surge of panic as she watched him walk away from her. It was difficult to ignore that absolute confidence in her emotional state.
    Difficult, not impossible. All she needed to do was go home and heal her wounds and she’d be as strong as ever. She’d be able to think and