Page 100 of Secrets Along the Shore

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. Hehadlost 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 slidearound 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.Shouldhave 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.”