Page 48 of Secrets Along the Shore (Beach Read Thrillers #1)

CHAPTER

TWELVE

Elara’s heart slowed to a more normal rate for the first time since they’d made that daring and deadly escape from the Crna Ruka fortress.

The sound of gunfire still rang in her ears, more the memory of it than the actual sound.

She leaned against the wall by the door.

With the exhaustion in her limbs, she relished the support at her back.

She took a deep breath. Her body hurt from the exertion.

The warmth of blood on her head made her wince.

It had stopped bleeding hours ago. Why did it have to start again?

There was less blood this time than before, but the feeling of it made her nauseous.

Head injuries were nothing to joke about. But hers had seemed minor.

Folding her hands, she bowed her head. “Thank you, Jesus.” He’d saved them a dozen times since they left the room Viktor locked them in. The most noticeable was the plane part landing on the SUV and not crushing them. It’d been terrifyingly close. But He had saved them.

“Are you okay, Momma?” Rian slid closer to her.

She kissed the top of his head, adjusting her bulky vest to reach him.

His vest was almost too tight. He was big for his age.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. Though she’d be better when they arrived in Australia.

Doubt that they’d get there crept through her, but Tyler’s determination helped push it away.

God had sent a man determined not to fail. He could have quit when his team died, but he hadn’t. He worked harder to protect them and keep them safe. The pain on his face from watching Adam die had faded and hadn’t returned. Maybe he’d pushed it aside to focus, or had already gotten over it.

Part of Elara wanted to ask God why He’d let those good people die. But who was she to demand God’s reasons? He reigned over everything. Besides, it was fear controlling her. That same fear that almost made her go back inside that building.

She’d come so close to doing it. In her mind, she’d thought it was the best way to save Rian. How could they have been safer when Tyler kept exchanging gunfire with Viktor’s men? She or Rian could have gotten shot. But that had been the way out. They were out .

She breathed a sigh of relief. Tyler had gotten them farther from Viktor’s place than she’d managed in Dubrovnik. And they were only a plane flight away from Australia. Tears blurred her vision. It’d been twelve years since she’d been in her home country and just as long away from Dad.

“I never should have left,” she whispered.

If she hadn’t, her life would have been better, but then Rian wouldn’t exist. Her hold on him tightened.

She wouldn’t let her sweet boy go now. God made a way out.

He could make a way home. She just had to have faith.

The thought brought her enough comfort to doze off for a little while.

She jerked awake when Rian shook her shoulder. “Momma! Momma!”

“What’s wrong?” She spoke a little louder than she should have. Tyler said to be quiet. In the dark, she struggled to make out Rian’s small form beside her. “What is it?”

Something knocked against the door.

“Someone’s trying to get in!”

“Shh. It’s just Tyler.” Elara quieted him as she pushed to her feet. Tyler had said he’d knock in a certain pattern so they’d know to open the door. She listened closely. Had she missed part of it?

Knock .

Thud!

She gasped at the sound of a shoulder colliding with the door. Her heart pounded in her chest. That wasn’t Tyler. He’d have knocked again, not tried to break the door down. She spun to Rian. “Go. Hide in the bathroom!” She scrambled for her backpack.

Rian ran into the small room and flicked on the light.

No. No. They had to keep the lights off! She hurried to the bathroom and stepped inside. Wait. Where was the knife Tyler had given her? She must have dropped it when she’d fallen asleep. Oh, why did she have to fall asleep?

She shut the door and flipped the lock. Her palm smacked the light switch off.

“Momma,” Rian whimpered.

She grabbed his shoulder and led him to the wall opposite the door.

Sitting down on the dirty floor, she tucked herself into the corner.

Her arms slid around Rian. No matter what happened, she had to protect him.

Even if that meant going back to Viktor.

But that was a last resort. Only if Tyler didn’t return soon.

A wave of panic built in her chest, and she prayed it’d go away. She’d panicked earlier and almost made a terrible mistake. Right now, she had to keep her head and remember that God was in control.

The back door cracked and groaned as someone shoved it open.

More tears fell down Elara’s face. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, but couldn’t steady the erratic beat of her heart.

“ Znam da si ovdje. ” A masculine voice warned that he knew they were in the building. The light in the storage room turned on, casting light under the bathroom door.

Of course, she and Rian hadn’t been all that quiet. She slid her hand to the back of her son’s head and pulled him closer to hide him from whatever might happen. Whatever happened, she had to protect him.

“ Idem po tebe .”

The threat made her choke out a sob. She should have asked Tyler to show her how to shoot that rifle. Never had she taken anyone’s life, and she didn’t want to, but for Rian, she’d do anything.

“ Na?ao sam te. ”

The bathroom door knob jiggled as the man outside tried to twist it. The door shifted as he yanked on it. It wouldn’t hold for long. He wouldn’t let the little lock stop him. Something thudded against the door.

Rian’s tears dampened the sleeve of her shirt. He shook against her, struggling to contain his sobs of fear.

“ Pusti me unutra !” The man slammed into the door.

Light peaked out from the doorframe. He’d broken part of it!

God, please, save us!

Thud! Crack!

The door swung open, and the man took a step into the bathroom. Then he crumbled and landed at Elara’s feet with a thud. Dark spots stained the gray tile floor by his head. Her stomach twisted, and she would have thrown up if she’d already eaten. She jerked toward the door.

The yellow light in the other room revealed the irritation on Tyler’s face as he lowered his pistol and shoved it into his holster.

After a brief glance at the man he killed, he entered the bathroom and grabbed her arm.

“I told you to get rid of the bag.” He grabbed the backpack from her hand and tossed it to the side. It knocked against the sink cabinet.

Elara nodded once. Unsure what to say. He was right.

He’d warned her. But she refused because it held valuables, and more importantly, her Bible.

She should have tucked the Bible between her and the bulletproof vest and left the rest. “I’m sorry.

” She couldn’t meet his gaze. It’d been stupid.

And it almost cost hers and Rian’s lives.

Tyler eyed her for a moment, before nodding. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. Pain shot through her skull from the injury. She grabbed for the spot.

He caught her hand. “Don’t touch it.”

Right. That’d make it worse. She hadn’t cleaned it or washed her hands lately.

“We need to move.” He stepped out of the bathroom.

She reached for her backpack.

“Leave it,” he snapped.

“Give me a sec.” She spoke firmly. That Bible wasn’t getting left behind. Sure, she could replace it, but hers was special. Mum gave it to her when she turned eight. She yanked the zipper down the side and grabbed the leather-bound Bible. “I’m not leaving this.”

He turned away. “We need to go.”

Tyler grabbed his vest off a box and lifted it over his head.

Once it was situated over his chest and torso, he buckled the side.

He shouldn’t have left them. At all. The backpack definitely had a tracker in it.

Which was why they needed to leave immediately.

He adjusted the earpiece in his ear and ensured that the wire to the radio on his vest wasn’t caught.

“I’m sorry for not getting rid of the backpack sooner,” Elara whispered behind him.

He lifted the rifle sling over his head and adjusted his grip.

The knife he’d given her lay on the floor next to the door.

He retrieved it and slid it back into his vest. Finally, he faced her.

“We’re in a life-or-death situation. Next time, do as I say.

” Her stubbornness could have killed them.

Granted, he should have fought her harder on the matter, but he’d chosen to let it go.

That mistake he wasn’t going to make again.

If his instincts told him to do something, he’d do it.

Elara nodded. “I will.”

Tyler held her gaze for a second longer.

“Good.” He moved over to the door and flicked it open.

With the rifle pressed against his shoulder, he eased outside.

After clearing both sides of the alley at the doorway, he signaled for Elara and Rian to follow him.

“Stay close,” he called over his shoulder.

As he led the way out of the dark alley, he stepped over the six bodies of the Rukas he’d killed when he returned.

At the curb on the other side of the road, a black car remained where they’d kindly left it for Tyler.

Elara gasped behind him as she spotted the dead men.

Even though she’d already seen him kill, she still seemed surprised. Or maybe upset.