Page 88 of Secrets Along the Shore

She shook her head slowly. Her eyes started to clear.

Parked in front of the van, Adam exited his SUV and aimed his M4 behind the van. He fired quick bursts. Three of the men from their other vehicle got out and helped cover them.

“Get out. Hurry,” Tyler exited the van and aimed his rifle at the vehicles rushing toward them. His bullet hit the front tire of an SUV and slowed it down. “Adam, get them in the vehicle.”

Adam shifted around to the side of the van with Elara and Rian and covered them as they got into the back of the SUV. He shut the door once they were inside. “Alright. We’re good.”

Tyler lowered his rifle and ran to the SUV. He climbed into the driver’s seat while Adam took the passenger side. The engine rumbled as Tyler threw it into drive and sped down the dirt road. His gaze shifted to the rearview mirror. Their secondary vehicle followed behind. The passengers fired at their pursuers.

He grabbed his radio. “Stay close. Don’t let them near us.” With all the weapons he’d seen in Viktor’s building, he had no doubt the Rukas had RPGs and other explosives. If they got hit with that, they’d be as good as dead. The SUV was armored, but it’d be too hard of a hit for them to get the vehicle going again.

“Copy,” the other driver replied.

Adam checked his rifle. “Let’s get them home.” He leaned over his window to fire at the men behind them.

Tyler nodded once. His gaze drifted to the mirror to check on their targets. Elara and Rian huddled in the middle of the backseat, wearing the bulletproof vests that Adam had brought. She bent over her son to protect him from gunfire. The fear in her eyes never wavered. She’d have returned to Viktor if she thought it’d save her son. She’d have made that sacrifice. But she was too blind to realize it’d have killed them both.

He slowed the SUV to go around a curve before speeding up again. The angle gave him a better view of their pursuers. Three SUVs. Twocars. The Rukas outnumbered them. An SUV edged closer to Tyler’s other teammates.

“Oh…crap!” Adam pulled back into the vehicle.

A quick glance at the opposite mirror made Tyler take a hard left on the road, clearing the vehicle of the path of an RPG. The explosion tilted the vehicle slightly, but not enough to tip them over. He kept up the speed.

“They’re trying to kill us,” Elara cried.

Yeah. They were. Tyler tightened his grip on the steering wheel as another RPG hit a tree on their left. The tall tree swayed dangerously, its trunk cracked and bent, then fell into their path.

CHAPTER

TEN

June 8

11:58 p.m., Outside Vukovar, Croatia

The ground rumbledand shook as the tree landed behind Tyler’s SUV. The thick trunk narrowly missed the back of the vehicle. Now it lay in the path of the other team member’s vehicle, blocking their exit. The pursuers spread out behind them. Rukas got out of their vehicles, ready to destroy Tyler’s team.

One explosion would wipe them out.Didwipe them out. He’d lost his team.

No. Not Von’s men. Not yet. Tyler slowed the SUV. He’d losthismen. He couldn’t leave hers behind.

“Hey, Tyler, what are you doing?” Adam’s voice shook him from his thoughts.

“I’m not leaving men behind.” Tyler would never do that. It wasn’t in his blood. He’d been trained to stand by his team no matter what. He’d do that now for these strangers.

Adam glanced back. “You have to. They’re already dead.”

No. Von’s men weren’t dead yet. Tyler could still save them. “I’ve never left a man behind in my life. I’m not starting now.” He slowed the vehicle to ten miles an hour. His hand rested on the gear shifter.

“It’s too late.” Adam gripped his shoulder, which sent burning pain through his nerves. It took everything in Tyler not to pull away.

“No, they’re still alive.” Some of Von’s team maybe. If he went back now, he could save some of them. He could save them, unlike his men. The guilt from that loss weighed on his shoulders.

“Our priority is the package in the backseat. Yvonne’s team knows what they’re risking. It’s all for the job, for the people, and the money. We look out for each other, but the job comes first.” Adam checked behind them. “We all know the risks. We chose this. Gotta let them go. People don’t last long in this life.”

Tyler clenched his jaw. His men were gone. He couldn’t fix that. He couldn’t save the other men either. But the mission—his mission—sat in the backseat, waiting to go home to his mate. The mission came first. He stepped on the accelerator and headed down the road. The uneven dirt road tossed the vehicle hard at the fast speed.

“They got past that tree.”