Page 50 of Secrets Along the Shore (Beach Read Thrillers #1)

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

Vibration on the desk under Tyler’s arm pulled him out of a light sleep.

His eyes flicked open, and he checked the dark hotel room.

Everything remained still and quiet. His attention moved to the dim screen of the borrowed SAT phone that showed Von’s number.

With a grunt, he grabbed it with his right hand and held it to his ear. “Yeah?” About time she called.

“Are you in a secure location?”

He shifted in his chair. “For now.” They couldn’t stay for much longer, but he hated to wake his targets up.

His gaze drifted to where Elara and Rian slept on the queen-size bed.

The hallway light and the lamp beside them had been turned off so they could sleep more peacefully.

They hadn’t moved much since they’d fallen asleep.

Rian still lay tucked against his mom, while her arm wrapped around him.

They deserved to be safe. And hopefully would be before dawn.

“Good. Did they get hurt?” Von’s voice held concern.

“Elara has a mild head injury, but she’s had it for a day or two.” He’d never let them get hurt on his watch.

“Does she need a doctor?”

Tyler let his gaze rest on the closed curtains of the lone window. “ Yeah, she’ll need one when we get out of here, but she’s managing alright for now.” He hoped it stayed that way.

“What about you?”

The question made him hesitate. This mission had gone wrong.

He’d been pushed pretty far. His team was gone.

But the pain started to fade. Deep down, he’d accepted that the team were people he worked with and nothing more.

He hated to see them die, but dwelling on the loss might cost him the mission.

The mission had to come first, and he still had fight left in him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Better than he’d been in a long time. He was out here doing what he’d trained to do. It gave him something good to focus on—something to fight for, like he’d hoped for months.

Von’s sigh came through the phone. “I think I’ve figured out how to get you out.”

Tyler leaned forward in the chair. “Yeah?” That was the news he’d hoped to hear for the last hour.

“There’s another airport on the opposite side of the city. We can meet you there with another jet. More people are on the way to guard it until you arrive.”

That might work. “How long until the plane arrives?”

“Two hours.”

He checked his watch. So they’d arrive at about four. “Okay. I’ll get them to the airport when it lands.” He didn’t want to arrive early in case someone followed them. The plane needed to be on the ground and ready to leave when they arrived.

“I’ll see you then.”

“Right.” He lowered the phone and set it on the desk.

In two hours, he had to ensure Elara and Rian were on that plane safely to Australia.

Easier said than done. He had no doubt that the Rukas were scouring the city for them.

They’d show up at the hotel sooner or later. Tyler had to keep them guessing.

He pushed to his feet and strode over to the bed. “Hey.” This time, when he touched Elara’s shoulder, she didn’t panic.

Keeping her arm around her son, she rolled over halfway. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to move. ”

She sat up abruptly. “They found us?”

“Not yet. But we need to leave before they do.” He grabbed his rifle from the desk and pocketed the SAT phone. He hadn’t taken his vest off, so he was ready.

Elara turned on the bedside lamp and reached for the shoes she’d dropped on the floor. “Where are we going now?” She pulled on her tennis shoes and helped her sleepy son with his.

A car horn honked outside. Tyler tensed and headed over to the window. He stayed out of sight as he parted the curtains.

Rian rubbed his eyes. “Is it morning?”

“No, honey.” She tied his shoes.

Tyler frowned at the line of vehicles pulling into the hotel parking lot below.

They stopped near the front. Light posts in the parking lot and near the hotel entrance illuminated the rifles in the men’s arms as they exited the vehicles.

How’d Viktor’s men find them again? “We gotta go now.” He closed the curtain and headed to the door.

Checked through the peephole. The hallway remained clear. For now.

Elara finished putting on her vest and took Rian’s hand. The boy stumbled a couple of steps as she led him to the door. He’d have a hard time running. But he might have to.

“Stay close.” Tyler opened the door and entered the bright hallway.

He took careful steps to the staircase that led to the back parking lot.

After peering through the window in the door, he opened it and descended the stairs with Elara and Rian behind him.

As he exited the hotel, he swept the parking lot, searching for the Rukas.

The area had a few cars, including the one Tyler had taken, but no people stood outside.

“Alright. Move.” He signaled for Elara and Rian to go in front of him, while he turned and covered them.

She jogged behind her son to cover him as they rushed to the car. After Tyler unlocked the car, she opened the back door and allowed Rian to get in first. “Hurry,” she whispered. Once her son was settled, she climbed in. The door shut just as Tyler backed to the front of the car.

“ Hej! Stop ! ”

The voice drew Tyler’s attention to the corner of the building where a man with a rifle started for them. Crap. So much for a stealthy exit.

Bullets flew, hitting the car. Elara screamed as part of the windshield shattered.

Narrowly avoiding getting hit and without decent cover, Tyler took the guy down with two quick shots.

He stepped back and opened the driver’s side door.

Shoving the M4 into the passenger seat, he started the engine and threw it into drive.

Through the spiderwebbed windshield in front of Tyler, he spotted more Rukas running toward them. Not good.

Tyler spun the vehicle out of the parking lot and stepped harder on the accelerator.

The windshield blocked a majority of his view on the left.

He punched the glass out, not caring about the lacerations it left on his knuckles.

With a clear view, he sped up and took a right.

He had no real idea where he was going. He’d checked the map earlier to find spots to hide, but there weren’t many that could conceal a vehicle.

He checked Elara and Rian in the mirror. “You two alright?”

“Yeah.” Elara let out a deep breath.

“Mmmhmm.” Rian’s response was almost inaudible.

“I don’t understand how they found us,” she whispered.

Tyler half-shrugged. “The spot was a little obvious.” He’d known it when he chose it, which was why he took precautions, but it was the best place for them to stay until he knew where Von needed them to go.

Now they had to head east toward the airport.

But they needed to find a secure spot until the plane arrived.

Which was…who knew where? Maybe an alley somewhere they could hide in.

But they’d have to ditch the vehicle. Too easy for those men to recognize.

Especially since it matched their cars. Maybe the sight of it in the parking lot drew Viktor’s men here.

He made a few more turns to keep the Rukas guessing. What if they had drones? He leaned over the steering wheel to check the clear night sky. He could only hope they didn’t. If they did, he’d have to shoot it down and move his targets immediately.

After another right turn, he almost slammed the brakes. A black car in the middle of the intersection blocked their path. If that was their attempt to stop them, then they had failed. The people inside the car aimed AR-15s out the windows. Great. More trouble.

Ducking to avoid the bullets, Tyler lowered their speed to about fifty kilometers an hour. He aimed for the back of the enemy car with the front right corner of his. The impact turned the enemy car parallel to them. He hit the accelerator hard again and took another left turn.

His gaze flicked to the mirror. Elara held Rian close, the seat belts securing them to the backseat, although Rian leaned against his mother.

That same fear from earlier filled Elara’s eyes, but she tried to be strong.

“Just hang on. We’ll get out of here.” He tried to encourage them.

They needed to know he would not stop until he got them home.

“Do you think they’re still tracking us?”

Tyler turned to look at the backseat. Maybe. This was their vehicle. He sighed. “Crap.” Yeah. They needed to ditch this vehicle, too. But they’d have to find a replacement. And quick.

As they passed an intersection, a blur of gray moved in Tyler’s peripheral vision. The screech of metal against metal met his hearing as he failed to straighten the vehicle. The seatbelt yanked him back, sending a wave of pain through him again. He heaved a breath.

“They have guns!” Elara cried.

Tyler jerked his Glock free of the holster and aimed it at the men exiting the SUV beside them.

His bullet pierced a man in the leg. He stumbled, then collapsed, clutching at his limb.

Another guy ducked behind the far side of the vehicle.

A third fired from inside the backseat. Tyler leaned back in his seat to give the guy a bad angle before shooting the man.

After glancing out the other side of the vehicle at the road, he holstered his Glock and turned to Elara. “Get out the right side of the car.”

Once she nodded, he undid his seatbelt and exited the car, pulling his M4 with him.

He pressed it against his shoulder and aimed at where the one man disappeared.

Movement near the front of the Rukas’ car drew his attention and gunfire.

His bullet slammed into the man’s chest. The man jerked, then fell backward.

“Tyler!” Elara’s shout didn’t sound panicked, but he hurried around the front of their car .

“You alright?” he asked. That crash could have hurt them badly.

She gave a shaky nod. “We’re fine.”

“Good. C’mon.” He led the way down the sidewalk, keeping his guard up. They had to find another vehicle. One that wouldn’t draw attention. Elara’s and Rian’s quiet footsteps followed him as he walked three blocks. No decent vehicle was parked anywhere nearby. Problematic.

“Can we just go inside a building again? A shop?” Elara whispered.

“We need a car so we can get to the airport.” He could ask Von to send guys to get them, but he hated to do that. He had lost five more men tonight, proving he needed to do this alone. He could get them there. It’d just be harder than he hoped.

“God, please, help us find a vehicle,” Elara prayed behind him.

Tyler glanced at her. He’d heard her pray before.

She seemed to share her dad’s faith even though it seemed, based on Koen’s mutters, that she hadn’t when she’d left home.

He wasn’t sure what to make of that. His own parents raised him as a Christian for the short amount of time he had them, but after everything he’d dealt with, he struggled to believe God was out there.

Or at least, that He cared about Tyler. He shook aside the thought.

Didn’t have the time to worry about it. As they came to the edge of a building, he paused and peered around a corner.

A van sat parked in the narrow alley between the two buildings. That was…unexpected. But was it a trap?

“Wait here.” He pointed to the corner of the building.

He didn’t want them exposed, but they couldn’t get too close to the van yet either.

Once certain they’d stay, he stalked toward the vehicle.

He aimed his Glock at the front door, then shifted inside as he threw open the door.

Both the driver and passenger seats were empty.

He headed around to the side and slid back the door. Empty.

After shutting the side door, he signaled Elara to bring her son.

“It’s safe?”

“Yeah.” At least, it looked that way.

She let out a sigh of relief and helped Rian into the passenger side of the van.

Tyler climbed into the driver’s side and shut his door.

He put his M4 at Elara’s feet. If they had to drive, the rifle would slide around the back and be out of reach.

The keys were already in the ignition, but not turned. Odd. And concerning.

“God answered your prayer, Momma.”

“He did.”

Had He really, though?

Tyler twisted the key. The engine remained dead silent. No lights came on. Nothing. He huffed and sat back. “It doesn’t run.” And they had to find another vehicle. But walking the streets was dangerous since they’d be easily spotted.

“So what now?”

He eyed the alley around them. It was heavily shadowed from the streetlights.

The light that filtered around the corner of the buildings didn’t penetrate the area, so the van was almost invisible.

As soon as the sun started to rise though, it’d be easy for Viktor’s men to spot them.

But Von said the plane would land in two hours.

So they should have been fine. Should have been.

“Do we have to find another vehicle?”

Tyler pulled the SAT phone from his pocket. “No. We’ll stay here for now.” He dialed Von’s number and waited a few rings for her to pick up.

“Are you good?” Von sounded surprised.

“Yeah, nah, we don’t have a working vehicle.”

“You’re trapped? Are you safe?”

“For the time being. When you land, you’re gonna have to come get us. We can’t keep walking the streets.”

“Alright. I have a few guys driving that should be there in an hour and a half. They’ll bring you here.”

Tyler nodded. “Alright. We’ll be waiting.”

“Good luck, Tyler.”

He lowered the phone and set it on the console.

Elara watched him. “How much longer?”

“Maybe two hours. Then you’ll be home.”

She smiled slightly. “Thank you, Tyler.”

He didn’t respond. They shouldn’t have thanked him yet. They had a long way to go. The Rukas were scouring the city. With two hours to wait, they’d get found again. Only a matter of time.