Page 19 of Hidden Tide
Ben slowly lifted his head.
“Ignore him,” I whispered.
“I usually do.”
“I heard that,” Ward said.
Ben looked over my shoulder.
“You were meant to.”
A man in a Coast Guard uniform stepped out of the passenger side of the vehicle. He appeared to be in his early fifties, with close-cropped gray hair and the kind of expression that made everyone around him stand straighter.
A woman in a dark suit climbed out after him.
Ben kept one arm around me as they approached.
“Commander Keating,” he said. “This is Calle Sinclair.”
The commander held out his hand.
“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”
“So do I.”
The woman beside him showed me her identification.
“Special Agent Lena Morales. Homeland Security Investigations.”
That explained the federal involvement.
HSI investigated human trafficking, weapons smuggling, and criminal organizations operating across international borders.
Everything August Ross had been involved in.
“Does this mean Ross’s organization is still operating?” I asked.
“It means we aren’t assuming it ended with his disappearance,” Agent Morales said.
I appreciated the direct answer.
Commander Keating looked toward Thomas.
“Mr. Bell?”
Thomas struggled to stand.
Nathan stepped forward, but Thomas waved him away.
“I can manage.”
He couldn’t.
His cane slipped in the sand, and Nathan caught his arm before he fell.
Thomas glared at him.
Nathan didn’t react.
