Page 70 of Secrets Along the Shore

So quickly? That didn’t make sense. The call lasted all of a minute. Tyler nodded once. “Let me see.” He doubted it’d be real evidence. People like Viktor wanted to cause pain for profit. And he’d try hard to get Von’s money without handing over Elara and her son.

The Croatian showed him the video.

Elara stood in front of the camera with Rian’s head barely visible by her hip. “Hey.” She gave a smile, but her eyes showed the pain of what she’d been dealing with. “I’m okay. I can’t wait to see you.” She nodded once. Fear made every movement shaky. Beside her, someone held up a phone with the date from yesterday evening on it.

Everything Tyler would expect.

The man lowered the phone as the video cut off.

“We good, Reid?” Gage asked.

Stop rushing me.Tyler couldn’t actually speak the thought. And he didn’t know the answer to that question. Were they good? Viktor’s man gave him the evidence he wanted. He saw Elara and her son. She showed obvious signs of fear which made sense given the situation. But that last part. “I can’t wait to see you.” Who was she talking to? Maybe she thought that Koen would see the video.

“Are you satisfied?” The Croatian asked.

Tyler hesitated. When Viktor’s men grabbed her, Koen said she’d been hurt.“They hit my daughter,”Koen’s words made him reach for the phone. “Let me see it again.”

The Croatian spat out a word that was likely an insult, but handed the device over.

Tyler played the video. Elara’s reaction to almost everything made sense. The fear, the shakiness, but there was no hope in her eyes. If she knew about the rescue, she would have some. He visually traced her face, searching for an injury. Sure, Viktor’s men could have hit her elsewhere, but they’d hit her in the head to knock her out. No injuries marked her face. No blood. No cuts. No bruises.

“I have things to do, I can’t wait all day,” the man grumbled.

“Then why are you wasting my time with this?” Tyler smacked the phone onto the table and leaned forward.

The criminal snatched up his phone and sneered at him. “I got your evidence.”

“Bull. That’s not evidence.”

“You see the woman. You see the date.”

Tyler clenched his right hand. The urge to deck the guy was almost overwhelming. The Croatian was playing games with innocent lives. “You had the video altered to put it there. Elara is hurt. She wasn’t in that video.” He took a deep breath to calm the rising anger in his chest. The last thing he needed was attention from the locals. “I want a call. Let me speak to her.” The chances were Elara was still alive, at least, until Viktor got his money. The Croatian mobster wanted to maintain control and make Von and her team feel like they had to go along with everything he said.

“I want a call,” Tyler repeated.

“Reid, what’s wrong with the video?” Adele asked.

He clenched his jaw. Why did they keep asking him questions? He couldn’t respond. Unlike this guy who was willing to reveal that he wasn’t alone here, Tyler wanted to keep that information secret. But Von didn’t seem to have her team working that way.

“If the video’s proof, you don’t need to talk to her. Viktor will get suspicious and think we’re planning on breaking her out and need to tell her the plan,” Gage interjected.

“Quiet,” Von ordered.

The criminal shouted and shoved back from the table. “No. No. No, call! You have proof. Now give us the money.”

Tyler shook his head. “No.”

The Croatian lost control of the situation. His movements grew more frantic. “You came to us for the girl. You wanted to give ransom for her. Now you have walked away.”

Pushing back from the table, Tyler stood. “Your boss wants that two million. He won’t get it without real proof of life. We’re done here.”

“Wait. Tyler.” Von’s sharp voice cut through the coms. “Give him a day to get it to us.”

Tyler glanced away from the criminal for a second. “He won’t do it.” He shifted back to the man. No. This guy knew that Viktor wanted that money, but Tyler was certain that Viktor would rather have control. Maybe even ask for another two mil if they coughed up the first payment. If the money was that important to him, he’d have done the phone call to get the cash.

“Tyler, I’m not done negotiating. Tell him, he has one day.”

With a nod, Tyler met the criminal’s gaze. “Viktor has twenty-four hours to give us real proof of life. Or the money’s gone.”And I’ll come for Elara.