Page 36 of Secrets Along the Shore (Beach Read Thrillers #1)
And that brotherly relationship had meant a lot to Tyler. Those three men were some of the only ones he could rely on, no matter the situation. Maybe that’s why it hit him so hard.
“You can’t really tell me you trust me with your team, with your wife, knowing that I killed seven men.” The guilt kept eating at him. It needed to stop…so why couldn’t he make it?
“You don’t get the medals you did for slacking off, and from what I’ve heard, you did everything you could.”
Yeah, right.
“You should know that things are different here.”
Oh, great. Another conversation like he’d had with Gage earlier. That was the last thing he needed.
Adam turned to face him. “We are a team. We work together, but don’t completely rely on each other…
because at any moment, one of us could get taken out.
The mission has to come first. If there’s money waiting at the end of it, it’s got to get finished.
One of us dies, the rest keep going. Sure, it may be a hard hit, but we all chose this. ”
Tyler met his gaze. “None of you hold grudges when one of your friends gets wiped out?” He was indirectly asking what Gage’s problem was. If he knew how the team worked, why did he dislike Tyler so much ?
With a sigh, Adam shook his head. He glanced in Gage’s direction in the other room for a second. “Like I said, military teams are like brothers. He’s still got that ingrained in him. His best friend was killed in action. There was no way to save him. But the objective had to be completed.”
So maybe Gage blamed himself for his friend’s death?
“Gage is a good man. I don’t think he hates you. He’s just…irritated, to say the least, that you’ve joined the team at an odd time. Look at it this way, this is his first mission since his best friend died. You’re sorta taking his best friend’s place.”
Tyler frowned. “I’m not trying to replace anyone.” And he was leaving after this.
“You’re doing the same job Carter did. Taking point during extractions.”
Crap.
Adam patted his shoulder and then turned and headed over to his wife. He took a seat beside her at the table after pecking her on the lips.
Tyler folded his arms over his chest. What should he be more worried about?
The fact that Gage did have a problem with him?
Or the fact that their last guy died doing this job?
Gage had mentioned some new guy on the team was responsible.
That new guy didn’t seem to be here, judging by how everyone got along and respected each other.
But what about the others? Did they really have each other’s backs, if one of their own died?
“Well, that’s fun stuff.” Paul strode from behind Tyler. Had he been there the whole time? No way Tyler had slipped up that bad and not noticed. “Good luck, maybe you’ll live longer than the last guy.”
Great. Tyler roughed a hand over his face. Okay. Now he had more than his own abilities to worry about. What did Koen get him into?
“Got it. It’s just a ditch,” Patrick announced.
Von frowned. “A ditch?”
“What’s he burying?” Amir leaned over Patrick’s shoulder, although the wall monitor should have displayed the same footage.
“You think maybe he killed them?” Adele rested her folded hands on the table next to Patrick.
“No. Not without first getting the money,” Von replied .
Tyler shifted to get a better look at the screen with an aerial view of Viktor’s yard. Tree limbs overshadowed the dark indent of the ditch. It made it look somewhat deep. But…there was green. Wasn’t that grass growing in it?
“It’s not a burial spot, guys. It’s just a ditch. There’s a lot of grass in it,” Patrick confirmed.
“Maybe he dug it months ago.”
Von swatted her brother’s arm for that remark. “So now that we know it’s not a trap, at least as far as we can see, we need to get a better look at the mansion and figure out the security system.”
Tyler adjusted the placement of his right shoulder against the doorframe. “Just take out the power.” That’d save them a lot of trouble. Even if the security system was turned off, someone who liked late hours could flip the lights and the element of surprise would be gone.
“Right. Easy.” Amir nodded. “Cut the power.”
“Where do we need to infil?” Tyler turned to Von. Going in the front would be too obvious, but they also didn’t have time to waste wandering through the huge mansion.
“Right side of the mansion. There’s a sunroom that should be easily broken into.” Von pointed at Adam. “Your lock-picking skills should come in handy for a quiet entrance.”
“The most likely spots for Viktor to keep our targets are in rooms with no windows or no easy escapes through them.” Amir shifted beside the hacker.
“So basement,” Tyler said.
“Or perhaps an upper floor at the back of the house, one without a balcony,” Von added.
Tyler nodded. Yeah. Maybe. But what if Elara tried to escape through the windows? Viktor would have to block her and her kid from exiting those.
“Are there any windows barred?” Adam inquired.
Amir shrugged. “There’s no way to know. Gotta be careful flying a drone above the property.”
Von stepped over to the table. “Alright. I think that’s all the intel we need. Ten men inside and around the mansion, and our two targets. Viktor may or may not be there. His vehicle left this afternoon, so he may be heading somewhere else.”
“Who’s going in?”
“Tyler will take point. Adam and Paul will infiltrate with him. Adele, you need to be nearby with your sniper rifle so they can have an easy escape. Gage, you’ll drive the escape vehicle.”
“And I’ll be…” Patrick paused as his eyes narrowed on his computer screen. After a second, he relaxed. “I’ll be here keeping an eye on things.”
Von leaned on the edge of the table. “Amir and I will let you know if anything changes or if there’s trouble heading your way.” The team’s handler checked her watch. “You need to be inside at one and out by one twenty. Any longer than that and we’ll have a giant mess on our hands.”
“Sounds good,” Adam replied.
Paul smacked his hands together. “Fun stuff.”
Tyler straightened and nodded. He was doing this again. With total strangers…who let their last guy get killed. Man, he hoped that Koen was praying for him, because things kept getting more complicated.