Free Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden

for his life. For the past five years, he had been doggedly pursuing a new great, unquenchable thirst. And he needed Eric’s cooperation to make that happen. It wasn’t as if Eric would emerge empty-handed from the plan. If Bane played his cards right, this time next year Ericwould be a United States senator, with more power than any Navy Yard could ever provide, but getting Eric’s cooperation was proving surprisingly difficult. Still, Bane never flinched from a challenge.
    His gaze narrowed on the steam-powered Protector as it cruised into view. It was one of three ships used by the harbor police to patrol the waters, and Bane had invested a considerable amount of time garnering the harbor police’s support. He nodded toward the ship. “The harbor police would be naturally inclined to support your candidacy for the senate. And where they go, the firemen go. You would do well to start cultivating your ties there.”
    Eric kept his eyes on the ship as he picked up Lucy, bouncing her casually against his hip. He wasn’t quite as disinterested as he pretended. “What about the Boston police? Do they share the same political interests as the harbor police?”
    Bane shrugged. “Generally, but they don’t move in lockstep, so you’ll need to work on them both. I’ve been trying to meet with the chief of police, but he had a burning need to go to Cape Ann with his wife to celebrate their twelfth anniversary. Apparently, there is a lighthouse on the cape that holds fond memories for them. Idiots.”
    A hint of humor lurked in Eric’s face. “I see you are still the romantic.”
    Bane rolled his eyes. “Why does the fool need to leave town for a twelfth anniversary? He’s already had eleven other occasions to celebrate with his wife.”
    Eric let a rare laugh slip out as he watched the Protector cruise past the wharf. “Someday a woman is going to thaw that block of ice you store your heart in, and then you’ll jump to do silly things like rushing off to Cape Ann to please her.”
    Bane flashed him a patient smile. “I anticipate floodwaters rising in the Sahara desert before that happy event.”
    Eric bounced his daughter as his gaze scanned the horizon.“Rachel and I were married sixteen years ago. Each year on our anniversary I remember our wedding day. She wanted the ceremony in her father’s garden and spent months making sure all the flowers would be blooming and perfectly groomed. On the day of the wedding it poured sheets of rain, and I thought she would be heartsick, but when I saw her standing in the parlor, she was radiant, and laughing so hard. That is what I’ll always remember about Rachel. That wonderful, endless laugh of hers.”
    Bane knew the appalling circumstances of Rachel’s death. Indeed, it was one of the reasons Eric had been so supportive of Bane’s cause over the years. The only political candidates Bane groomed for office were those whose commitment to battling opium would not falter amidst the firestorm of pressure in Washington, and that made Eric Fontaine an ideal candidate. It was maddening that Eric still wrestled with loyalty to the navy. The man was dispirited about the pathetic condition of the navy and had been hoping to save it from inside. After more than a year of aggressive lobbying, Bane had finally convinced the admiral he would have more power to salvage the decaying navy with a seat in the U.S. Senate. That meant Eric would need to resign from the navy, which was tearing his loyalties in half.
    Bane was not going to give up. Getting Eric elected to the senate meant Bane would have another weapon to use against the hydra-headed beast that killed Rachel.

    Lydia usually loved walking home from work, but today she was too consumed with the numbers in her head to enjoy the view of the Charles River slowly flowing beneath the bridge.
    She still needed two hundred dollars if she was going to save her home. Even if she kept up a steady stream of translations for Bane, she