Page 28 of Secrets Along the Shore (Beach Read Thrillers #1)

She named a convenience store where he would take them.

It’d still be open. Once she grabbed some food and water, she and Rian would continue to the airport.

She pressed her fingertips to her head. It’d be quicker if the driver took them straight to the airport.

They might have a better chance of fleeing Croatia.

Rian leaned his head on her shoulder. “We’ll be okay, Momma.”

“I know.” She pressed a kiss on his short black hair. “I know, my sweet boy. ”

Her gaze drifted back to their driver. If she paid him to take them to the airport, he’d do it…as long as he didn’t know the danger they were in. Could she risk his life? She’d risked hers for Rian. But this man’s too?

God, please, show me what to do.

He stopped the car by the convenience store. “ Evo nas.”

“Thank you so much.” Elara opened the door and let Rian out first. She grabbed the backpack and paused. “ Mo?ete li pri?ekati? Mo?da ?u vas morati odvesti negdje drugdje. ” She hoped that he’d be willing to wait. She needed to give God time to show her what to do.

“ Zasigurno, par minuta .”

Elara smiled at his response. “Thank you.” She shut the door and headed into the store, Rian opening the door for her. Even in the rough home they’d lived in, she’d managed to teach him manners and God’s Word. Viktor hated her for it. But she’d never regret it.

After a quick trip to the restroom, she searched for some decent food to eat. Rian held up a granola bar. “This looks good.” He kept his voice low, as if he feared that Viktor’s men stood somewhere in the store.

“We can get it.” She retrieved a couple of bottles of water. It’d take a while to get to Australia. She didn’t have much money since Viktor gave her nothing.

How was she supposed to get that money?

Her valuables wouldn’t sell for much. She’d hidden those that Viktor hadn’t claimed, but it’d hardly pay for one flight to Australia.

The phone pressed against her leg made her pause. No! She hadn’t spoken to him in years. And what now? She was supposed to ask him for money? She let out a breath. The plan had been to go home. Still was. But the last thing she wanted to do was ask him for money.

“You want one too, Momma?” Rian held up another bar.

“Sure, that sounds?—”

Glass shattered. A sound she was all too familiar with rang out.

She ducked instinctively to avoid the bullet and covered Rian. Viktor must have ordered his men to kill them. Her heart pounded in her ears, blocking out most of the noises around her. It began to slow as no shot followed .

Then the front door opened.

With her back to it, she glanced over her shoulder to see who’d entered.

Five men entered the store. Behind them, on the ground lay the taxi driver.

No. No. No. Viktor’s men! They’d killed the driver.

And would soon kill her and her son too.

She straightened and shoved Rian toward the back exit. “Run!”

Her son sprinted for the door. He flipped the lock faster than she’d have been able to with her shaking hands. Rian slipped outside first. She caught the door and slammed it hard behind her.

Her son paused.

Where were they supposed to go? An open road spread out to the left and right. Ahead, another alley led somewhere else. “The alley. Go, Rian!” She pushed him ahead of her, then sprinted behind him. They needed a way out. But where?

That stupid phone beat against her leg with every movement.

No. She was not?—

“I see them!” a man shouted. Close. Why did he sound so close?

Elara didn’t look back as they broke out of the alley. Another road waited for them. This time, a sidewalk provided a safer place to run.

“Momma?”

“Go right.”

Rian took off again.

“Please, Lord,” She prayed. “Get us out of here.” God Almighty could put anyone in their path. Anyone necessary to save them. He could do it right now. But He didn’t have to. His timing was always perfect. Tears slid down her cheeks as she focused on the Scriptures she took to heart.

The sound of men running after them warned that they didn’t have much time.

A staircase up ahead caught her attention. Maybe if they hid in the building, it’d buy a few precious seconds. Then she’d make that dreaded phone call. She’d do it for Rian. She grabbed his shoulder as he passed it and pulled him back. “The stairs.”

Rian scrambled up the steps two at a time. All that practice he’d gotten at home had him on the second floor of the structure way before her .

She pulled herself up the last few steps, then searched for another route. An open door led into a long hallway. What was this place? An abandoned office building of some sort? Or an old apartment complex?

Elara nudged Rian ahead of her. He jogged down the hall and took a left around a corner.

Her heart skipped a beat as he vanished from her sight. She rounded the corner and found him testing doors. Every one locked. “We need to hide.” He opened a door three rooms down on the right of the hall. She almost let out a sigh of relief. “Go. Go. Go, baby.”

Once in the room, she flipped the lock on the door and searched for furniture. There was none. Nothing she could use to block the door. The men would kick it down. Which she meant they had even less time.

Rian raced to a door that stood on the wall adjacent to the entrance. He tugged it open. “There’s a closet.”

“Hide in there.” Elara tucked herself into the tiny space after him. She pulled the phone out of her pants pocket and dialed his number. Would he answer? So many possibilities why he wouldn’t. He could be dead for all she knew.

She held the device to her ear and forced herself to take a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

“Who are you calling?” Rian whispered.

“Shh.” She waited as the phone rang. Then it connected.

“Hey? What’d you do this time?” a groggy voice said.

A lump formed in her throat at the sound of her dad’s voice. Sleep made his Australian accent thicker. But it hadn’t changed otherwise.

“Dad,” she croaked. The words wouldn’t come out. Not like she wanted. Twelve years. Twelve years she’d hidden from him, living in her own world in Croatia. A dark place she’d wanted to escape for the last ten.

“Wait? Who’s this?” Something creaked on his end of the line. He sounded gruffer. Maybe he thought some random person woke him from his sleep. If so, he’d hang up any second.

After swallowing hard, she found her voice. “Dad, it’s me. Elara.”

“El…Elara? I-I thought?— ”

Thud!

Elara jumped. That was a door, wasn’t it? Viktor’s men were searching the building. So she had maybe sixty seconds. She tugged Rian against her. The fear clawing up her throat made it harder to breathe.

“Dad, listen, I’m in trouble. I’m sorry, I don’t have time to explain. But I need you to help me.” Her bottom lip trembled.

“I will. I will. Just tell me where you are.”

Thud!

Another door.

Rian hugged her waist. He shook against her.

She fought the tears. “Dubrovnik, Croatia.”

THUD!

Footsteps brought someone to the closet. They were out of time. It was over.

“What’s happening? Who’s after you?” Worry filled her dad’s voice.

Bright light filled the space. She gasped and pulled away, her free arm coiling around Rian. She had to protect him. A rough hand grabbed her arm and yanked her from the closet. Her grip on the phone faltered.

“Viktor Kova?!” she shouted into the device before something smacked against her temple.