Page 1 of Hidden Tide

1

CALLE

“The truth doesn’t stay buried. Eventually, the tide brings it home.”

—James Sinclair

Three weeks after my mother’s rescue, Blackwater still haunted the horizon.

I couldn’t see the mountain from the beach behind the rented house, but I knew it was there. Less than twenty miles up the Hawaiian coast, its cliffs rose straight out of the ocean, hiding the abandoned harbor where August Ross had held Mom captive.

The Coast Guard had sealed every entrance after we escaped.

No one was permitted inside without authorization.

That included us.

Especially us.

Storm stood at the edge of the water with Ward while the last of the evening light stretched across the ocean. His hand rested against the small of her back, as though he still needed to reassure himself that she was beside him.

I understood the feeling.

Our family had nearly lost her.

Then we nearly lost Mom.

None of us were ready to separate yet, which was why we were still crammed into the beach house Nathan had rented after the Coast Guard released Sea Whisper.

Not that anyone complained.

After Blackwater, crowded felt safe.

Mom sat beneath the covered patio with Nathan. She laughed at something he said, and the sound loosened one of the knots that had been lodged beneath my ribs for weeks.

Willow and Hazel were arguing over dinner.

Ivy stood near the firepit, taking pictures of the sunset.

Thomas slept in a chair near the open patio doors with a blanket across his legs. The doctors had released him from the hospital five days ago, but Nathan watched him like a guard dog whenever he tried to stand without his cane.

For the first time since we arrived in Hawaii, the evening felt almost normal.

Then my phone rang.

Ben’s name appeared on the screen.

My heart reacted before the rest of me did.

It always did that when he called.

I carried my phone farther down the beach before answering.

“You’re late.”

His quiet laugh came through the phone.

“By four minutes.”