Page 18 of Rafe’s Future

Even if he hadn’t already known this first-hand, the pain reflected in her hazel stare was clear to see. He watched as she walked back over to the framed image of her fallen comrades.

“We’re supposed to remain detached,” she whispered. “‘Don’t let anyone get too close, and you’ll barely even notice when they’re gone.’ That’s what they taught us day one at The Farm,” Lena referenced the well-known CIA training facility. “Personal connections with our fellow officers and agents were highly discouraged.”

It was the same speech he’d received during those first days training for MI6, so Rafe understood well what she was saying.

“What they don’t tell you is that working with those same agents for two-and-a-half decades makes it a nearly impossible task to achieve.”

“Right?” She huffed out a scoff of a breath. Clearing her throat, Lena slowly turned back toward him. “Back to the reason I’m here.”

“You mean the reason you broke into my home?”

The corners of her lips twitched. “Technically, I didn’t break anything. I simply bypassed your security, disabled your alarms and cameras, and then picked the lock on your front door without leaving so much as a scratch.” When he didn’t laugh, she cleared her throat once more before returning to why she was here. “You’re in danger, Rafe.” Lena’s swallow was audible. “Actually, according to recent chatter . . . we both are.”

“Kozlova.”

“Yes.” She nodded with a confident stare. “And like I already said, I have no idea why he’s chosen to wait until now to crawl out of whatever hole he’s been hiding in. Nor do I understand why, out of all the enemies he’s surely collected over the years, he chose to target the five of us. But each of our names has been mentioned in recent chatter, as well as Kozlova’s. Apparently, he’s been in contact with an unknown hitman based here in the States.”

Adrenaline raced through his veins as he put together what she was saying with what had happened earlier that day.

“Where is this coming from?”

“Roger called me earlier today. Pulled me out of a training exercise at The Point to tell me about Caleb and Sabrina.”

“And he’s certain Kozlova is behind their deaths?”

“As certain as he can be with the intel he’s been given. But come on, Rafe. This is Roger Wilcox we’re talking about. The guy ran the most elite, deep-cover unit in the agency for over twenty years. He wouldn’t have made the call if he wasn’t sure.”

By all accounts, Roger Wilcox was a solid agent at the time, as well as a man of his word. Of course, it had been years since Rafe had spoken with the guy. More than enough time had passed for him to have become corrupt.

I’ll have Shadow look into him, as well as that image on Lena’s phone.

The thought stole the air from his lungs. It had been automatic and without conscious thought. An immediate response that left the blood in his veins turning cold.

His daughter was the one he and his team turned to when it came to uncovering intel no one else was able to find. But now⁠—

You need to tell her what happened.

And that meant sharing his daughter with even more of the world.

Deep down, Rafe had always known this day would eventually come. He’d collected far too many enemies over the years to ever truly believe he could keep Alice’s existence a secret from them all forever.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” He motioned to the small couch positioned on the other side of the room. Without waiting, he started that way. Nerves danced in his belly as Lena followed.

As suggested, she lowered herself onto the couch. Rafe chose to sit in the closest of a pair of high-backed chairs. He pulled in a deep breath before he began.

“I’m not sure how much you know about me or my personal life.” He paused. “I’m assuming you’ve looked into me well before now.”

Her dark brows dipped inward with a hint of confusion. “I was given an official dossier on you shortly before we met.”

“Which included?”

“The usual.” Lena settled herself back. With one elbow resting on the arm of the couch, she used her free hand to take a quick sip of her beer. “From what I can remember, there was a copy of your service record from MI6. A criminal background check, which of course, was clean. And . . .” Her features intensified as she presumably worked to fully recall. “I think there may have been a copy of your medical clearance record, too? Why?”

Are you sure you can trust her?

Rafe thought back to the recent events that had unexpectedly brought Lena back into his world. She and a team of CIA spies had been working to bring down an international sex trafficking ring.

Officially, the CIA didn’t operate on U.S. soil. But unofficially⁠—