Page 27 of Rafe’s Future

She shook her head with a grin as Rafe addressed a few more questions from his team. As he spoke, she watched him with silent acknowledgment that the voice in her head was right.

Lena had missed Rafe. More than she’d ever admit. Their reunion a few weeks back had been unexpected and far too short. She’d missed his rare smile. His sinful voice. The same ruggedly handsome face that had haunted so many of her dreams.

And as she stood beside him with appreciation for the man he’d become, she refused to think about how bad it was going to suck having to walk away from him again.

CHAPTER FIVE

Rafe’s eyes remained on the road ahead as they made the scenic drive back to his place. Traffic was light. The sun hung brightly in the cloudless sky. By all accounts, it was a beautiful day.

The perfect day for planning a hunt.

Being on the defensive wasn’t his style. He was more the proactive type. That’s why, once they got back to his secluded home in the country, Rafe intended to go straight to work.

Planning. Preparing. Gathering all the intel they could. And then, when they were ready, if it turned out that Kozlova really was their guy, he’d be the one running scared.

For Rafe, the name of the person who’d hurt his little girl didn’t matter. All he cared about was making sure whoever it was never got the chance to do it again.

“You need to get ahold of Roger.” His voice came out rough as he mentioned Lena’s former boss. “Confirm he was able to reach Damien with the warning.”

From the passenger seat, Lena sent him a sideways glance. “I already texted him as we were leaving. He hasn’t read it yet, but I’m sure he will soon. Figured I’d give him a little more time to see it, and then I’ll call.” After a momentary pause, she asked, “Think McQueen’s guy will come through?”

“West?” Rafe shrugged, his eyes sliding back to the empty stretch of road in front of him. “He’d better. It’s not like we can trust anyone within the agency to run point on tech.”

“Not if the intel is correct,” she agreed. “If our names really were leaked by someone on the inside—and given the circumstances, I’d say they were—there’s no way for us to know who’s dirty and who isn’t.”

I couldn’t agree more.

“Well, from what I know of Jake McQueen, the guy only hires the best.”

“Kind of like you, huh?”

“Exactly.” He dipped his chin. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to give Colt enough solid intel to lead us in the right direction. We find our shooters, we find whoever hired them.”

“And then we take them down for good.”

“Just like the old days.” A moment later, Rafe changed the subject. “I should probably apologize to you.”

Lena frowned. “For what?”

“My presumptuous decision to have you stay at the plantation with me while we figure all this out.”

“Don’t be sorry.” She shrugged. “It makes sense for us to stick together.”

“Strength in numbers?”

Her lips curved upward. “Something like that. I mean, on the one hand, if we’re both targets, putting us in the same place does give them the advantage of taking out two birds with one bullet.”

“But?”

“This way, we can watch each other’s backs, rather than being left to our own defenses. Not that you’d be on your own.” Her shoulders shook with a light huff. “I have no doubt that, if you hadn’t ordered them to hunker down, they’d be staying with you, instead.”

“What about you?” He adjusted his grip on the wheel, using the door she’d opened to dig a little deeper into Lena’s personal life.

“What about me?”

“You don’t have someone who’d be willing to do the same?”

Lena scoffed. “Other than you? No.”