Page 24 of Rafe’s Future

“The short of it is,” she continued, “we were set up at a small café in Damascus. The plan was to surveil a meeting between Kozlova and another man named Omar Haddad as they discussed a contemptuous merging of their respective smuggling organizations.”

Picking up where she left off, Rafe shared the next part of their past.

“I was positioned as overwatch on the roof of the building across the street,” his accented voice rumbled low. “Lena was inside the café watching our targets. Two other agents were at a table out front, and the final member of our team was in a van down the block. The plan was to grab the targets as they were leaving the café, force them into the van, and take off.”

“So what happened?” Apollo looked to Rafe.

But Lena was the one to answer.

“A small group of Haddad’s men showed up before we could make our move. Apparently, not everyone in Omar’s crew approved of the would-be merger, so they decided to take him and Kozlova out in an effort to keep the status quo.”

“You said Kozlova got away?” Coulter posed it more as a question than a statement of fact.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Rafe quickly confirmed. “The crew that did the hit blew up both his and Haddad’s cars and then opened fire on the café’s exterior.”

“Damn.” Bones sat back in his chair. To his boss, he asked, “Were you able to at least take them out?”

“The two agents posted outside did.” Rafe nodded, pushing another button on the small remote in his hand. “Caleb Calhoun and Sabrina Sanchez were the CIA agents who eventually stopped the attack.”

Lena’s chest grew tight when both Caleb’s and Sabrina’s official agency photos appeared side-by-side in a split screen. “Both shooters were eliminated as they attempted to escape. Unfortunately, Kozlova managed to get away in the chaos.”

“What about Haddad?” Bones’ tired gaze landed on hers.

“He was killed in the blast, and Kozlova immediately went dark.”

Rafe spoke up again. “Lena came to me last night after learning Kozlova has recently resurfaced.”

“How recently?” Coulter’s eyes slid to her.

“Within the last few weeks,” she answered without hesitation before filling them in on the rest.

Lena told the three Tac-Ops members about Kozlova having been spotted in Turkey, as well as her and Rafe’s names being mentioned in recent chatter. She also shared the news of Caleb’s and Sabrina’s untimely deaths.

“Two operatives die less than a week apart, and days later, someone just happens to pull off a drive-by minutes after you step outside?” Apollo’s comment was directed at Rafe. “No way that’s a coincidence.”

Lena couldn’t agree more.

Coulter spoke up next. “If you know this guy’s in Turkey, why not just send a team over there and take him out?”

“Because the powers that be don’t care about a has-been terrorist they already thought was dead. They're too worried about the arms dealer he’s with, Rami Najjar, and they don’t want to risk spooking him before they can take him down.”

“Why now?” Coulter frowned. “Thirty years is a long time for Kozlova to hold a grudge. Especially when he got away. I mean, something had to have pulled him out of his hole. And why come after you? It’s not as if you two and your team cut off his balls or something.”

“In a manner of speaking”—Rafe jumped back in—“that’s exactly what we did. Or rather, someone with inside knowledge of our operation did.” He went on to explain. “Not only was our presence in Syria leaked, but our names and faces were passed on, as well.”

Bones released a low, under-the-breath curse. “Wait, so were the shooters there to stop the meeting, or to take out you and your team?”

“That part was unclear.” Lena shrugged. “Maybe both. Luckily, we all survived, but the attack destroyed all chances of the merger taking place. Not to mention the spotlight it put on both operations. It’s why Kozlova went underground, which in turn caused his multi-million-dollar organization to crumble.”

After a beat of silence, Apollo voiced his thoughts on the matter. “He blames you and your team for the fall of his rising empire.” His dark stare found hers. “Don’t understand why he’d let so much time pass before acting out, but I’d say that’s the man’s motive.

“Careful.” Rafe lifted his palm a few inches into the air. “Until we’re sure this was him, we can’t risk becoming locked in on one suspect to the point we miss something vital. And to answer your earlier question, Colt”—he turned to the other man—“we have no idea why he’d wait nearly three decades before exacting his revenge.”

With a hand to his mouth, Bones covered a gaping yawn before asking, “What do you need from us?”

Taking the lead, Lena told him, “If Alexei is our guy, he won’t stop until the entire team is dead. And anyone standing in his way will also become a target, which means you all need to be on high alert.”

“I want you to continue the rotating shifts outside my daughter’s room until she’s been cleared for discharge,” Rafe commanded. “Digger and Falcon were already brought up to speed while we were at the hospital earlier this morning. Once the surgeon gives the okay for Shadow to be discharged, Digger is going to take her to a secure location a few hours from here.”