Read Against the Tide for Free Online

over the equipment, but the minute he had stepped on deck, he’d known the boat hadn’t been boarded since he had left it yesterday afternoon.
    Scotty Ferris never made it onto the Scorpion last night. What Rafe couldn’t figure was why the hell the kid was even on the dock.

    Olivia worked through lunch, grateful the restaurant was crowded and noisy. Being busy helped keep her mind off Scotty, Cassie, and particularly Rafe Brodie.
    Scotty, a sweet boy who would never hurt a soul, had been brutally murdered. The young woman who loved him wanted his killer arrested and thrown in jail—or worse. Olivia had her own personal reasons for wanting justice for Scott.
    It was hard to believe only three years had passed since she’d witnessed a brutal murder in an apartment in New York City. Just a case of wrong place, wrong time. She’d been in the bathroom that night when the first shot rang out. Heart pounding, certain it was a robbery, she had opened the door a crack, enough to see a pistol being emptied into her ex-husband’s already lifeless body.
    Terrified she would also be killed, she had stayed hidden until the murderer was gone, finally had come out and called the police.
    She’d told them exactly who had murdered Stephen Rothman and why, but instead of arresting the killer, the entire incident had been covered up. High-powered people were involved, people willing to silence a witness who knew too much—no matter what it took.
    Instead of being the accuser, Olivia had become the main suspect. Instead of arresting the murderer, the authorities had come after her.
    Once she was out on bail, she’d escaped. With the help of an expensive attorney, time, and careful planning, she’d gotten out of Manhattan. It had taken three long years to erase her trail completely, three years of moving from place to place, changing her looks and her identity, three years to immerse herself in a new life as Olivia Chandler in a remote part of the world that she was coming to love.
    She hadn’t been able to find justice for Stephen, whose murder had officially never been solved.
    She was Olivia Chandler now, and there was no way to go back, no way to set things right. But if she could help the police catch Scotty’s killer, maybe it would erase some of the guilt she’d felt since the day she had packed her most essential belongings, boarded a train out of Grand Central Station, and left Manhattan for good.
    The crash of shattering glass and Katie’s muffled curse ended Liv’s unwanted musings. The lunch crowd was thinning. The meaty aroma of burgers on the grill had been eclipsed by the scent of fresh-brewed coffee. Liv was refilling a patron’s mug when Rafe walked back through the door.
    For an instant, she lost her concentration and almost overfilled the cup. Dear God, with his thick, dark hair and strong jaw, the man was handsome. She gave the customer an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
    Big and rugged. Strong and capable. When it came to virile males, there wasn’t a man in New York who could compare to Rafe Brodie.
    Though she had often admired his height and the solid build beneath his heavy winter coat, Liv had never allowed herself to imagine him naked. But since she’d arrived last fall, she had come to believe that whatever was underneath those warm clothes was just as attractive as the rest of him.
    â€œYou ready?” he asked as he walked toward her, the perfect picture of tall masculinity and temptation.
    She swallowed, set the coffeepot back on the burner, managed to force out the word “Almost,” and hoped it didn’t sound as breathless as she suddenly felt.
    It was ridiculous. She was one of the most grounded women she knew. Had learned to be in order to survive. She was strong and capable, not the type of woman who went giddy in the presence of a hot guy.
    Dammit, her reaction to Rafe was way out of proportion and the very reason she