Read Against the Tide for Free Online

week-long fishing trip in Mexico. It was similar to a security blanket. A reminder that this was home. Except with Dad gone, she wasn’t so sure. Would she be able to feel at home anymore?
    â€œI’ll get some lights on.” She stepped into the house. “And I need to give you back your jacket, too.” As she reached for the entryway light switch, she paused to listen. “Did you hear something?” she whispered to Garret.
    He set her bags down in the entryway, holding his forefinger to his lips. They both froze in place, listening intently. But now she heard nothing but the swooshing sound of the waves and the ticking of the clock on the mantel.
    â€œMust’ve been my imagination,” she said quietly as she turned on the entryway light. She looked around the living room, feeling relieved that everything was peacefully in place, from the corny nautical decor that Dad had always loved, to the stone fireplace that probably still smoked on a windy day. She looked wistfully at his worn leather recliner. A new military novel lay on the side table with Dad’s reading glasses next to it. Everything was so much the same that she almost expected Dad to come strolling out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand and a warm grin on his face.
    â€œAll’s well,” she told Garret as she hung her purse on the hall tree next to the still-open front door.
    â€œSeems to be.” He looked around in satisfaction. “So I’ll bid you good—”
    Just then they heard a loud crash from the kitchen.
    â€œLet’s get out of here.” Garret shoved her toward the door and without questioning him, she exploded out of the house and sprinted back toward his SUV. Garret was right beside her. He opened the passenger-side door for her then ran around to the driver’s side. She insisted they get away from here, but Garret didn’t start the truck.
    â€œNot yet.” He reached beneath the seat to pull out a black hard case then pushed some buttons and removed a revolver.
    She felt a jolt of panic. “What’s that for?”
    â€œProtection and defense.” He looked at the house. “Call the cops and stay put. In fact, stay down. Out of sight. And lock the doors.” Before she could respond, he was dashing back into the house.
    Despite her concerns, she did as he said, hunkering down as she reached around on the floor for her purse and her phone. Then she remembered her purse was hanging on the hall tree by the door, with her phone inside it. She glanced around the darkness of the yard, trying to see what was happening and wishing she’d thought to turn on the porch light.
    What if Garret needed help? Despite his instructions to stay put, she quietly opened the door and then, crouching low next to the vehicle, she took in a deep breath. Then she started to sprint toward the house. But halfway there she heard it—the sound of several gunshots in quick sequence.
    Had Garret shot someone? Or...? Please, no, God! Please don’t let that be Garret on the wrong side of the gun!

FIVE
    G arret knew it was legal to shoot an intruder during a burglary, but killing this man—no matter what sort of person he might be—was not Garret’s goal. But when the intruder jumped him from behind, it was hard to think rationally. The two of them wrestled in the kitchen, tumbled out onto the porch and down the back steps, but when the intruder got away, Garret finally got the chance to take a shot. He aimed below the waist, hoping to get the running man in a leg. But judging by the way the guy kept running, Garret missed.
    Garret didn’t waste a moment as he took off after him. But in the darkness of the side yard, he lost him in the shadows. Then, as Garret passed by an overgrown hedge, someone jumped him from behind. Once again, they rolled and fought. Garret just about had the guy pinned when he heard the cling of something metallic. Even in the