Page 38 of Secrets Along the Shore (Beach Read Thrillers #1)

Right. Adam could pick locks. That’d get them in.

Unless…Tyler let his rifle fall against his hip, the sling hanging around his neck.

He pulled the Glock from his holster and turned on the flashlight on the bottom.

The light illuminated the area. He cupped his hand over it to block part of the beam.

He shone it on the glass door. Something dark—plywood maybe—blocked the door. Someone had boarded it up.

“Well, that’s not good,” Paul muttered.

“Yvonne, the door is blocked,” Adam said into his coms.

Tyler stepped away from the door and holstered his Glock.

He lifted his M4 again and pressed it against his shoulder.

They weren’t going to find a way to open it quietly.

But they had another way in. “We’ll go in the rear.

” The front remained too obvious, but if they could get into the back, then they’d be less likely to be seen.

“There’s movement in the backyard. One of Viktor’s security,” Von warned.

Tyler glanced behind him at the open yard. “What about the front?”

“A man just came out the front door. He’s armed,” Adele replied.

Neither option was easy. But the backyard had more cover.

Tyler sighed. Fine. “We’ll go around back.

” He led the way down the sunroom to the back of the house.

A few tall trees stood at different areas in the yard.

Pausing at the corner of the house, Tyler pressed his spine against the cold stone exterior wall and leaned around to check.

One man paced near the covered patio. He held a rifle close, but didn’t seem alert. He didn’t expect a threat. Tyler and his team had the advantage. But the guy needed to be taken out. Just not with Tyler’s M4. He eased back from the corner and signaled for Adam to take his spot.

After the former CIA operative checked, he held up the dart gun. “It’s a little far.”

“Can you make it?” Tyler asked.

“I need to get closer.”

Tyler nodded once. “Just don’t let him see you.”

“He’ll be down before then.” Adam stepped away from the house and ran as fast as he could while maintaining a crouched position, taking cover by a tree.

Tyler returned to the corner and kept watch.

The Croatian showed no alarm as he paced the patio.

No screen covered the seating area, so Adam had an easy shot from his new position by the tree.

The operative aimed the dart gun and fired.

The Croatian jerked hard as the dart stuck him in the shoulder.

He pulled it out. His weight leaned forward, and he collapsed in a heap.

A thumbs-up from Adam let Tyler know that the guy would be down for a while.

After a brief nod, Tyler slipped away from cover and headed to the patio.

He stepped over the unconscious man, and settled beside the door.

Adam slid his weapon into his holster before withdrawing his lockpicks from the pocket on his sturdy vest. He went to work with the door. After pulling the Croatian out of sight, Paul took up position on Adam’s other side. “So far, so good,” Paul whispered.

Yeah, right. They had to have already been out here for ten minutes.

Tyler took a deep breath and let it out.

It was doubtful that they’d locate Elara and her son and get them out in five minutes.

He clenched his jaw. Why did he expect that he could move as quickly and efficiently with a team that he didn’t know?

It’d taken longer than he hoped already.

Nothing he could do about that. At least, they still had ten minutes.

“Reid, the guard from the front is heading around.” Adele paused. “He’s moving quicker.”

Tyler glanced at the body of the Croatian hidden in the shadows of a bush by the patio. He had a radio. But it hadn’t gone off. So what was the man doing?

“C’mon. I’ve almost got it,” Adam muttered.

And Tyler didn’t want him to stop. They only had so much time.

The power had gone out in this part of the neighborhood, but that didn’t mean that Viktor or his men wouldn’t get suspicious.

He glanced at the side of the house. The corner wasn’t too far away.

If he could make that shot, it’d buy them more time.

“Adam, give me the dart gun.”

The operative slipped the weapon clear of his holster and held it out. As soon as Tyler took it, Adam resumed picking the locks .

“He’s almost there,” Adele warned.

Tyler checked to ensure a new dart was loaded before aiming it at that corner. If the man was far away from that wall, he might not be able to make the shot. He took a deep breath. Let it out. He rested his finger on the trigger. The soft sound of footsteps met his ears.

“Stupid lock,” Adam’s words were almost inaudible.

A dark form stepped into view, a rifle in hand. Tyler pulled the trigger. A dart slammed into the man’s upper arm. The man stumbled to the right and collapsed.

“Nice shot. You had a small target, too,” Paul whispered.

Yeah. And he’d never shot a dart gun before. Tyler handed the weapon back to Adam after he opened the door.

“That lock was about broken,” Adam explained.

“Too bad we couldn’t kick it open.”

Tyler pressed his M4 against his shoulder.

“Keep it down,” he whispered before entering first. The house was dead quiet.

He took slow steps. Each time he eased his foot onto the hardwood floor, listening for creaking.

That sound would be a dead giveaway. He swept left, clearing the dining room.

A long table stretched across most of the room.

A space that had been the kitchen on the blueprints had been removed, and floor-to-ceiling cabinets stood in its place. So where was the kitchen now?

He continued deeper into the room, heading out of the dining room into a long hallway with the main entrance on the other end.

Adam shifted beside him, holding the dart gun ready.

He’d have to take the first shot if they found someone.

Tyler’s and Paul’s M4s were for if and when someone alerted the rest of the home.

“This doesn’t look like what was on the blueprints.” Paul shifted behind them.

No. It didn’t. At all. But then, those blueprints were over ten years old. The home must have been renovated.

Tyler paused by a thick door and nudged it open.

Inside, the enormous room was a kitchen with matching white cabinets lining the walls.

An island stood in the middle. It didn’t have the same feel as the outside.

It felt more like an American home, although most didn’t have a kitchen this size.

He cleared the room, ensuring no one had hidden behind the door or the island.

Beside the fridge, a closed door hid something. Maybe a pantry.

“Do you think that’s the pantry, or this is?” Paul pointed at the door in front of Tyler and then to the one on the opposite side of the wall.

“No idea.” Tyler had no idea what to expect.

Someone might get lost in this house. Who even needed this much space?

He stepped back from the door in front of him.

“Check them one at a time.” He gestured to the one in front of Paul.

That one had to be the pantry. The door had a fancier design.

The one by Tyler looked more like a door to another room.

But what did it lead to? The cellar, maybe.

Paul yanked open the pantry door, then stepped out of the way as Adam checked the space. The operative didn’t step all the way in. “Yep. It’s a pantry,” the Army Ranger confirmed.

Click.

Tyler snapped his M4 up and trained it on the door in front of him. Someone was on the other side. That sound had to be shoes. The knob twisted. Adam’s quick steps brought him to Tyler’s side. He held his dart gun up. If he didn’t shoot fast enough, Tyler would have to.

The door swung open.

The man jerked and stumbled. A long object stuck in his neck. He grabbed for the door to catch himself, but landed flat on his back. The thud of his landing echoed through the room since there wasn’t time to ease his descent.

“You shot him in the throat!” Paul chuckled.

“Shh.” Tyler stepped over the man, probably Viktor’s chef, based on his apron.

The chef hadn’t brought anything from the cellar, so maybe he’d brought food or something down to Elara and her son.

He signaled for Adam to follow and for Paul to stay.

One of them needed to stay up here and watch the door.

The last thing they needed was to get trapped downstairs.

At the end of a short hall, stairs spiraled down to the cellar.

Tyler kept his rifle ready as he took cautious steps into the cold room.

Long shelves with liquor bottles lined the far wall.

Not surprising, but it wasn’t what Tyler hoped to find.

He checked around the wall, shifting away from the steps.

A few barrels sat against the wall. But no sign of Elara and her son.

“They’re not here,” Adam radioed in.

Tyler worked his jaw. This spot had been the most likely to hide the mother and son. But they weren’t here. So they better be upstairs like Amir said. He headed back up the stairs.

Paul waited silently for them. “Not there?”

“No.” Tyler headed for the door.

“Tyler, there is more activity out front,” Adele warned.

“Copy.” He exited the kitchen and continued down the hall. There was no time to waste. The moment someone found the guys out back, they’d be in trouble. He passed a couple of doors and headed for the stairs.

“Wait. What about the other rooms?” Paul asked.

“They won’t be kept down here.” Viktor would keep them somewhere that no one would accidentally walk into. Like the cellar, only they weren’t there. Tyler grabbed the staircase banister and started up. The soft thuds behind him said his team followed.

At the top, a long hallway stretched out left and right.

One led toward the back of the house. Tyler headed that way.

Having Elara and Rian at the front of the house might draw someone’s attention if they beat against the upstairs windows.

He passed by a door. His weight on the floor sent a loud creak through the space.

No. Not him. He had heard it most clearly in his left ear. The sound hadn’t come from under him. He spun around and aimed his M4, just as a door swung open.

A man stepped out. “He—” He stopped abruptly. After a second, he stiffened and fell forward.

Tyler grabbed the back of the man’s shirt before his head could collide with the wall.

With a grunt, he pulled the Croatian back and eased him to the floor.

He gave Adam a nod. That could have been unfortunate.

Tyler resumed his way down the hall. After signaling for Adam to check the room on the right, he flicked open the door on the left.

No light entered the room. There should have been a window there, but it must have been covered by something thicker than curtains.

Treading carefully, Tyler moved into the room.

His foot bumped into something. It rolled away and the sound of it made him pause.

A toy. This had to be their room. Or at least, Rian’s.

He stepped deeper into the room. In the dim lighting, he made out a bed against the wall under a covered window. Pillows had been randomly placed on the thin mattress. The stained, wrinkled sheets showed that someone was there. Once. Not now.

They were gone.