Page 91 of Secrets Along the Shore

He blinked, the memory fading away. His hand still gripped Adam’s limp hand. It was over. Nothing he could do. The sobs beside him reminded him that the mission hadn’t ended. In fact, it’d been extended. Their way home was gone. Von and the team waited in Dubrovnik, eight hours away. A dozen Croatians were nearby. And now Tyler had to complete this mission alone. So be it.

Tyler pushed back to his feet with a grunt and turned to Elara. He caught her arm and nudged her toward the SUV parked behind the plane. Letting her go around the passenger side, he pulled open the driver’s door and climbed in. Flipping down the sun visor, he caught the keys in his hand. After putting the M4 into the backseat, he started the engine. Rian sat in the back, while Elara climbed into the passenger seat. “What are we going to do?” she asked.

He put the vehicle into drive and tore out of the rear of the hangar. A narrow road led back to the main road out of the airport. “I’m still gonna get you home. I’m not done yet.” His gaze hit the rearview mirror. Bright white lights shone behind them.

Yeah, this was far from over.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

June 9

12:19 a.m., Dubrovnik, Croatia

Yvonne tappedher finger against the dining room table. She crossed her restless legs, and glanced at Patrick. The look he gave her warned that her fear came true. For twenty minutes, Tyler and Adam had given consistent situation reports. She’d known exactly where they were and what they dealt with.

But they’d been radio silent for over fifteen minutes. They should have given an update or told her they wouldn’t report in for a while. They hadn’t. Their last update was Adam saying they’d made it to the airport. She’d have heard something if they’d made it onto the plane.

In the living room, Adele paced. She twisted her ponytail around her fingers. Concern lined her eyes. “Something’s wrong.” Her voice broke. “I know there is.” She grabbed the wedding band on her finger and held it between her finger and thumb. After a shaky breath, she wiped her palms on her jeans as if terrified that Adam was hurt or killed.

A real possibility. This life was rough. A lot of people didn’t survive. Yvonne didn’t have an army. She had thirty employees for gun deals, and twenty others who worked black-ops missions like this. And she never sent them all together. Her team had to get in and outwithout causing much damage to the buildings and civilians around them.

This time she should have sent more than six guys. But they weren’t fighting a war, they were extracting a target in a location they had to sneak in and out of. According to what she’d heard on the radio, that hadn’t worked. Their exfil wasn’t clean, and Viktor’s people chased them to the airport. But they had made it to the airport.

Amir shifted behind her chair and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Maybe something happened to the plane.”

Yvonne nodded. That’s what she figured, though refused to voice. The plane might have been destroyed, but what about the targets? Adam? Tyler? Had any of them survived? She hoped that they had. The odds were slim, though. Adele seemed to think Adam was gone. As his wife, did she have that deep of a bond with him to know that?

Maybe. But that didn’t mean that Tyler and their targets were dead, too.

With a huff, Patrick sat back in his chair, his fingers never leaving his computer. “I’ve got nothing from my satellite search. I can’t find them.” He scratched his head. “I thought maybe they headed to Vukovar, but their vehicles didn’t enter the city.”

“They’re gone then.” Adele’s voice held a tremble.

Gage shifted against the living room wall, meeting Yvonne’s gaze. “I told you that you shouldn’t have trusted Reid.” He still held the same opinion of the Australian, despite their talk. Maybe if he could see that Tyler fought as hard, if not harder, than the rest of them, he’d change his mind. Doubt had kept Yvonne from sending Gage instead of Adam.

Amir pulled out the chair beside Yvonne. “We should radio them.”

She shook her head. “If they’re in a tight spot, that might get them caught.”

“Tyler had his radio connected to an earpiece. No one will hear us except him,” Paul shifted on the couch. “But if he speaks, someone might.”

Right. She’d forgotten. But Adam didn’t because he was half-deaf in one ear. If he was alive, it might be a mistake.

“I…can’t.” Yvonne rested her hand over the radio on the table. The people out in the field had to make contact first. Doing something different from that might get them killed. She had to have more confidence in her men. Adam did this stuff before. Tyler’s records showed he had too.

“Just do it.” Adele folded her arms.

“Are you sure?” Yvonne asked. The Israeli woman had to know that it could put her husband in more danger.

Adele nodded. “Yes, if Adam is alive, he’ll have found a safe location. It’ll be fine.” She swallowed hard. Tears glistened in her eyes.

With a nod, Yvonne held the radio up. “Team, I need a sitrep.” Silence greeted her words. She fisted her hand on her lap and waited. Even after a minute, no response came. “Tyler, Adam, I need a sitrep.”

Static cracked through the line.

Patrick sat straighter in his seat, his eyes on the radio.