That half scream was a very bad sign. It pushed Eric from a jog into a full-on sprint, images of Zoe beaten, or worse, making his feet pound faster than he'd run in years.

He turned down a narrow hall bisecting the rig's quarters module, turned right, and saw her up ahead, writhing on the floor, with two guys—presumably Tweedledee and Tweedledum from before—standing over her.

His first instinct was to run at them, to tear them limb from limb. But the corridor was too long for that. Best not warn them of his intentions before he had to. He slowed, forced his pace into something like an amble, loosened his limbs, and pasted a smirk on his face. They turned to him, and Zoe curled in tighter on herself.

He'd kill them.

"Hey. Sampson's wondering why you guys haven't checked in." He shook his head and forced an approximation of a chuckle, ignoring the almost comically puzzled expressions on the guys' faces. "Looks like you've got your hands full."

"Uh..." One man hesitated, glanced from him to the other, then down at Zoe. She'd gone still. To protect her- self, he hoped, like an animal playing dead, rather than for a more sinister reason. "Yeah."

"Come on, man," Eric went on. "Get her up so we can bring her in."

"You—" While the first guy tried to make sense of things, the taller one stepped forward, eyes narrowed, and drew a weapon. Nasal Voice wasn't as dumb as he looked.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Don't ever hesitate, Eric's training told him. Be cocky. Be an asshole. "I'm your backup, dickwad."

The confidence in those words was enough to make the gun waver, lowering slightly. Nasal Voice went on. "Where'd..." He looked over Eric's shoulder as if seeking confirmation, then down at his body. "Why are you—"

Eric had no idea what the guy was about to say. Sopping wet, maybe? Alone? Unarmed, barefoot, and shirtless when these douches were kitted out in full-on tactical gear? Didn't matter what he'd been thinking, because Eric didn't give him a chance to get it out. He bent one knee, slid forward, and swept the man's legs out from under him before he had time to get off a shot. A second later, Eric disarmed him.

Whoa. Adrenaline flooded his body as he flipped back up to his feet, weapon in hand. Fuck, it felt good. Like crack, he imagined. And like a junkie, he'd given up his drug long ago, but had never gotten enough.

As Eric delivered Nasal Voice a quick, debilitating kick to the solar plexus, the second guy—perhaps the smarter of the two, after all—turned tail and ran.

Ignore him for now, that tactical voice whispered. Deal with the current threat, then reevaluate.

"You okay?" he asked Zoe, keeping the gun—and his eyes—trained on the asshole.

"I..." Slowly, she turned onto all fours, then made her way to sitting. For a long beat, she watched him, a puzzled crease between her eyes. "I don't know."

"Where's it hurt?"

She put a hand to the side of her head. "All over." "Can you get up?"

She crawled a few feet farther from where her attacker lay and, using the wall, made it to her feet.

Eric saw red. He turned his ire on the asshole just now getting his breath back. "I will fucking kill you."

No. No. No more killing. No killing.

"Just doin'"—the guy gasped—"my job."

"Take off your shirt."

"What are—"

"Take it off." Eric straightened, every muscle lining up, ready for more. As the guy drew his shirt over his head, Eric glanced back to Zoe. She watched him closely and, in a moment of clarity, he saw how little she trusted even him right now. What the hell must she think of this situation, with him showing up out of the blue?

A fresh wave of anger hardened his voice into steel—as rusted out and dangerous as the hull of this rig. "Flat on your belly. Now."

The dude knew the drill. In seconds, he was laid out like a fish, hands behind his back.

Eric yanked the man's shoes off and handed them to Zoe. "Pull the laces out of those." Not a question, an order. It was how to get stuff done when shit hit the fan.

She did it and handed the laces over.

Eric put his weight on the other man's back and tied him up, probably tighter than he had to, before taking another look around.

"They lock you up someplace?"

"Way down there." She pointed at a hall door a few yards away.

Shit. They needed to get off the damn rig. Now. But he couldn't see where else to put the fucker. He was tempted to just throw him overboard.

"Let's go." He grabbed the bastard by his feet and dragged him over the rough floors, through the door, down another hall, and to the only open bedroom, relish- ing every bump along the way. Fucker deserved it.

The second Eric shoved the man into the room, déjà vu hit him like a tsunami. He'd slept in quarters like these fourteen days out of every month for years. It was a terrible place to live, and just standing here sent him back to a time rife with claustrophobia, boredom, and constant repetition. A part of him would never stop missing it.

He shoved the man down on the floor, crouched above him, and said over his shoulder, "Wait for me in the hall."

She didn't move.

"Zoe. Nasal Voice and I need to talk." "Won't they come back? I don't—"

"We've got a few more minutes till reinforcements arrive." Hopefully. "Go. Keep watch."

He didn't wait for her to comply before turning to the asshole. "What the hell operation are you guys running here?"

"Drilling for oil."

"Bullshit." He grabbed the man's bound hands and shoved them up, hard. Nasal Voice squealed. "No time to play around. How many people are on this thing?"

"Fuck. Jesus, man, my shoulder. My shoulder!" "Yeah? That hurt?" Eric put on the pressure and leaned into the man's face, picturing how Zoe had looked curled up in a ball at their feet. Rage flooded through him like it hadn't in ages. For one hot second, he imagined how it would feel to punish this man for hours. He'd toy with him like a lion with its prey. Of course, he'd never last that long with this rage running through his veins. Besides, he felt more like a rabid wolf than anything feline.

Something popped in the man's arm, ramping up his screams, and Eric let up. "I will tear your limbs out at the socket," he said straight into his ear. "Don't doubt for one second that I'll do it unless you open your mouth right now and tell me what the hell is going on here."

The man's eye met Eric's, frantic. He was trapped like a small animal. "Research, man," he wheezed.

That sounded at once more and less likely than drilling for oil in a tapped-out well. "What kind of research?"

"The kind that pays a security company millions to keep things rolling."

Millions? What on earth was this operation? "You got researchers on board? Right now?"

"Couple."

"How many others?"

Something changed in the man's expression, turning it calculating. His next words would be a lie. "Just me and that one other guy."

"Bullshit." Another shove up, hard, pushed a feral cry from the man. "How many?"

The man's words tumbled over one another in his rush to reply. "Two researchers, three security. We call in twelve times in twenty-four hours."

"What happens if you don't call?" "They send in the big guns."

"Big guns?" The light flickered, and Eric straightened. "Told you it's a well-funded operation."

Right. Millions in security alone. What research would warrant that kind of investment? Something dangerous, clearly. Maybe something the general public wouldn't be happy with. "Who's funding it?" Eric didn't have to hurt

the man to get an answer this time.

"Not high enough up the food chain to know for sure, but I've heard there's backing from Chronos."

Eric threw a glance at the door. They needed to get out of here. Now. "Chronos. Aren't they a pharmaceutical company?"

"Look, man, I'm not—" A hard twist, and he yelled, "Yes!"

What the hell was a pharmaceutical company doing plumbing the depths of the seabed? None of this was right—from the way they'd taken over the rig and run this operation to the fact that they'd held a woman prisoner. Rage welled up hard, and it was all Eric could do not to break the man's arm. "Why so hush-hush?"

"Why do you think?" Even facedown on the floor, Nasal Voice managed a sneer. "The company's found something. And they don't want anyone to know about it."