Fight the Tide Read Online Free PDF Page A

collection system that fed into filtered storage tanks, but they could never have too much. He passed Adam the collection of canvas tote bags they’d found stashed in the kitchen.
    “Will do. I’ll be back soon. You have the gun?”
    He nodded to the bench of the little seating area beyond the boat’s wheel. “Locked and loaded. I can’t believe I just said that.”
    With a smile, Adam kissed him quickly. “I’ll be back soon, Dirty Harry.”
    Parker watched Adam pilot the dinghy to shore, the small motor sounding incredibly loud. They’d anchored in the curve of a natural harbor, and Parker looked left and right, peering into the trees once Adam had disappeared. He could only see branches and thinning leaves, yellow amongst the green.
    After retying the sails, he waited and watched, shivering in the wind and stubbornly refusing to go below deck for the scuffed Topsiders he’d found under the bed, or at least a pair of socks. He waited.
    And waited.
    And waited.
    Pacing again, he scanned the trees restlessly, shivering in the blustery morning. “Come back, come back, come back,” he muttered, wishing he had a watch so he’d know how long Adam had been gone. It’d been at least an hour now, and Parker’s stomach knotted into another clove hitch. A slide show of horrible things that could have happened to Adam tumbled through his mind.
    Adam was immune to the virus, but what if there were too many creepers and he couldn’t fight them off? Sure, he had super werewolf strength, but what if there were hundreds and he got trapped—and they overwhelmed him and tore him apart? What if he was hurt?
    “I have to go find him,” Parker muttered as he squinted into the distant trees. “But I need the bike. Have to wait for low tide. If he’s not back in another hour, I’ll…” What? What the fuck am I going to do?
    The wind whipped, flapping the sails, and Parker frowned. He’d tied them down, but—
    Turning, his heart just about exploded right out of his chest at the sight of another sailboat—even bigger than the Bella Luna, probably sixty feet—closing in. It approached without the telltale hum of a motor, sails still up. Parker had only heard the luffing sails over the wind and choppy sea when the boat was practically on top of him. He’d been so focused on the shore he hadn’t looked behind.
    Stupid, stupid, stupid!
    Two men pulled the sheets off their winches, and the boat jolted nearly to a stop. A younger woman around thirty stood on the bow, casually holding a shotgun, its muzzle pointed down. Parker’s gaze darted to his pistol on the bench. It was a good three steps out of reach. He raised a hand in greeting, his frozen smile threatening to crack, pulse galloping. “Morning.”
    The other boat drifted right into Bella ’s hull, rubbing up with a horrible screech. Parker spread his legs and kept his footing as the boat rocked and settled again. A short balding man smiled broadly, showing crooked teeth.
    “Mornin’. You all alone out here, son?” A handgun stuck out from his waistband. He was small, but all coiled muscle.
    Parker wanted to say no, but perhaps it was better for Adam to come as a surprise. As he nodded, he considered the odds again on going for his gun. There was no way. These people looked rough and tumble, as his mom would have said. A grizzled woman leaned against the wheel, chomping on gum and cracking it like gunfire.
    Shorty smiled again. “Well, it’s a good thing we came along and spotted ya. No one should be alone out here.”
    The younger woman of about thirty tucked a long lock of reddish hair behind her ear. She smiled, and Parker’s knotted stomach flipped. “It’s not safe,” she said.
    They seemed to be waiting for a response, so Parker scraped out, “I’m good,” his throat suddenly full of gravel. “Don’t need any help, but thanks. It’s really nice of you guys to stop and check.”
    Shorty waved a hand magnanimously. “No bother at all. We’ve got