Page 90 of Secrets Along the Shore

Tyler lowered his rifle as he slid around the right side of the SUV with his partner and their targets. “We’ve got maybe sixty seconds to get on that plane and get in the air.” He peered around the SUV and hesitated.

The men exited their vehicles. At that distance of about four hundred meters, no way would they accurately hit anything with their ARs.

Adam moved first, his rifle ready.

Moonlight glinted on something a man lifted.

“Come on,” Adam urged, heading for the plane.

“No, wait!” Tyler snapped around, pushing Elara and Rian back. A loud whoosh filled the air, changing to a dangerous whistle. “Adam!” He didn’t have time to grab his partner as he rushed to cover Elara and Rian with his body.

The RPG slammed into the jet with a deafening crack. An explosion filled the air, throwing smoke, fuel, and metal into the sky. The roar of the blast shook the ground. Chunks of metal landed around them, one chunk landed on top of the SUV. With his back to the chaos, Tyler locked his arms around his targets. Rian’s scream of terror reached his ears as the surrounding chaos died down to the steady crackling of the plane’s fuel on fire. Elara sobbed against him.

“Shh. You’re alright.” They had to be. Tyler had covered them. He lowered his arms from them and pushed back to his feet. Yellow hot flames reached into the night sky, illuminating the once dim airport. Chunks of charred twisted metal lay everywhere, but it and the fuel had missed them. He drew in a breath as he spotted Adam lying on his side a few feet from the SUV.

“Adam?” His voice sounded odd in his ears, probably because of the awful ringing. He coughed as he inhaled the smell of smoke and fuel.

The CIA operative shifted, a low groan coming from him. He might have gotten hurt, but he couldn’t have been too bad since he managed to get back to his feet. Adam stood, but hunched over. His hand still gripped his M4. He watched their pursuers. “They’re coming,” he warned.

Tyler spun back to Elara and Rian. He grabbed her. “Get up. We have to go now.” He grabbed the M4 that the sling had kept against him when he’d dropped it. Pressing it against his shoulder, he moved to the front of the totaled SUV. Their pursuers closed in, cautious of the flames and metal littering the area.

A hundred meters away stood a hangar. Overhead lights gleamed on the metal surface of a plane inside. It’d be useless since Tyler wasn’t a pilot. A vehicle sat parked behind it. They’d use that to find another way out. He glanced over his shoulder at Elara. “Run to that hangar while I cover you. We need that vehicle.” He just hoped it worked.

She gave him a shaky nod.

Tyler stepped out of the cover of the ruined SUV. Their enemies played dodge, giving him the chance to shoot them. His bullets bounced off their hoods. One penetrated the windshield. That vehicle veered off to the left and avoided a collision with the other. He glanced back to ensure that Elara and Rian made it to the hangar. Halfway there, Adam stumbled. The explosion must have hurt him. How bad though?

Lowering his rifle, Tyler ran to Adam and hooked an arm under his arms, helping him the rest of the way. Maybe he was supposed to focus on the mission, but he couldn’t leave a man behind if he had the ability to help. They made it into the lighted hangar. Adam’s weight pulled at Tyler’s bad shoulder. With a grunt, Tyler helped Adam sit down against the curved wall.

Elara gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. She paled to a sickly green that wasn’t far from Adam’s skin color. Tyler’s stomach knotted at the sight of metal penetrating Adam’s vest and embedded in his abdomen.

Adam coughed. “It’s not that bad.”

Yes. Yes, it was. Tyler swallowed and knelt beside his partner. Elara hid Rian from the sight, not that the kid hadn’t already seen. She made a choking sound like she was about to lose the contents of her stomach.

Tyler grasped Adam’s hand. Pain shot through his hand and up his arm as Adam squeezed. He pushed past that pain since Adam was in real agony. And he couldn’t help him. “I’m sorry.” He pulled his gaze away from the metal and met Adam’s blue gaze. If he’d seen it coming sooner, he might have saved Adam. But then, he didn’t know how he hadn’t gotten killed, too. A ten-foot chunk of metal had dropped on top of the SUV.

Adam almost shrugged. “The job’s rough. People die all the time.” His other hand slapped Tyler’s clasped hand.

“This was not…” Tyler stopped. It wasn’t supposed to happen. But he didn’t have control over things like this. “If I’d seen it?—”

“You saw it coming.” Adam nodded.

Not soon enough.

“You saved them.” Adam nodded to Elara and her son. His breathing grew more labored. Blood seeped into his clothes from the fatal wound. His grip weakened on Tyler’s hand.

“C’mon. Fight. Your wife?—”

“My wife, tell her I love her.” All the color drained from his face, and his eyes were glazed over.

No. Adam couldn’t give up so easily. “Mate, you’ve got to fight.”

“I’m already gone.” Adam’s eyes closed.

Dead men filled Tyler’s vision. Dead soldiers lying on the sandy ground of Afghanistan. Some were missing. None were half the men they used to be. All gone, because Tyler hadn’t fought for them like he should have. His brothers-in-arms were dead. He should have died with them. That way, he’d still be standing by them.

“Tyler,” a panicked voice broke through the flashback. “Tyler!” a woman cried.