Against the Tide Read Free Page A

territory. He may think he can go it alone.”
    â€œMaybe he can,” Liv said, but she didn’t really trust the police. Hadn’t since she’d been forced to run for her life and couldn’t count on the police to help her.
    â€œMaybe,” Rafe said. “I guess we’ll see.”
    Liv watched his jaw settle into a determined line and thought of the vow he had made. Clearly it was a promise he meant to keep.
    As she slid out of the booth, she realized her legs still felt shaky. “Would you like something to eat? You look like you could use it.”
    Rafe rubbed a hand over the bristles along his jaw. “Lost my appetite. I just need some coffee. That’s what I came in for.”
    She noticed the china mug in front of him had never gotten filled. “I’ll take care of it.” She headed across the café, grabbed the pot off the burner, and returned, poured his mug to the brim. “It’s on the house today.”
    â€œThanks . . . Liv.” Rafe’s gaze fixed on her face. It was the first time he had used the more familiar version of her name.
    Olivia didn’t like the way her stomach lifted at the way he said that single, softly spoken word.
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    Rafe leaned back in the booth as Olivia walked away. Beneath her light blue apron, she wore black leggings under a black skirt, and a black turtleneck sweater. She wore black a lot, he’d noticed, and with her heavy, dark hair, pale complexion, and striking features, it suited her.
    The café was beginning to fill with customers, both locals and the first of the tourist crowd. Besides deep-sea fishing, the area offered helicopter sightseeing, wildlife cruises, glacier cruises, kayaking, hiking, camping, and a jillion other things visitors thought up to entertain themselves in a place so rich in natural beauty.
    By the first of May, as winter slid into spring, the local hotel and restaurant businesses jump-started into high gear. So did Rafe’s company, Great Alaska Charters.
    His fleet was composed of a thirty-two-foot Armstrong; a Glacier Craft thirty-five; and his thirty-eight-foot Mac, all of which worked from April through October, depending on the weather. Scotty had made a place for himself in the company, had become an important part of the business, and it was going to be damned hard to replace him.
    Scott Ferris had become Rafe’s right-hand man, and more than that, a very good friend. There was no easy way to lessen the personal loss Rafe felt at Scott’s death. He needed to go see Cassie, find out if there was anything he could do to help her get through her grief.
    Rafe knew from experience it was going to take a helluva long time for her to heal.
    He looked over at the tall, slender woman moving around the café. She was the real reason he had come to the Pelican this morning. Just watching her eased some of the tightness in his chest. Trim and lithe, she moved like a dancer, in more of a glide than a pattern of steps, so light on her feet she was there one moment, then she wasn’t.
    With her high cheekbones, wide forehead, and unusual gray eyes, Olivia was a beautiful woman. Her chestnut hair, twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck, glinted with vibrant highlights. By midmorning, a few strands escaped around her face, softening the severe appearance she seemed determined to maintain.
    And there was that mouth. Lipstick was the only real makeup she wore, a glossy dark red on lips so plump and perfectly curved they could have been in a magazine ad. That mouth made him think of dirty sex and taking her to bed, or anywhere else he could have her.
    Maybe she could read his mind; maybe she knew what he was thinking and that was the reason she never waited on him. And though she was always polite, she spoke to him only if she had to and rarely by name.
    For the first couple of months after she’d taken over the business, he’d figured she was just too busy to notice