Page 4 of Rafe’s Future

“Nice shot, Alpha Two,” Lena praised Rafe’s skills as she shot to her feet.

At the same time, Caleb shouted back at her as he and Sabrina took off toward the wreckage. “We’ve got the other one!”

“Go!” She gave her blessing, motioning for them to ensure all threats had been eliminated.

“Making my way to you now,” Rafe informed her. “I don’t see any other tangos but stay on alert.”

“Copy, Alpha Two.” Lena started for the spot where she’d last seen Kozlova and Haddad. She froze mid-stride when it became painfully clear that Haddad was already dead.

A few feet of sidewalk separated her from his motionless form. His suit was torn. Portions of the expensive material had been singed, and the skin that was visible had become black from the blast.

Blood from countless wounds seeped from his body onto the sidewalk below. Some had been caused by his proximity to the explosion, but Lena suspected the multitude of bullet holes was what actually caused the man’s death.

Whoever those men in the van were, they’d come here with one goal in mind. To kill at least one of the CIA’s targets.

Where’s Kozlova?

She spun in a full three-sixty, using her comms to communicate with everyone and anyone on her team. “Anyone have eyes on Kozlova?” When every response she received was the opposite of what she wanted to hear, Lena directed the question specifically to Rafe. “Alpha Two, what about you?”

“Negative.” He sounded slightly out of breath. “Asshole must’ve taken off during all the commotion.”

Son of a⁠—

“Alpha Five?”

As if she’d spoken him into existence, Damien’s tires squealed as he came to a hard stop next to their target’s burning cars.

Gather evidence and get the hell out.

Pushing her future’s uncertainty aside, Lena used her free hand to grab her phone and start snapping pictures.

“You okay?” Damien hollered out to her from behind the wheel.

“I’m good.” A bit of an exaggeration, but she was alive and upright, so it was a start. “You see Kozlova on your way in?”

“Sorry, Boss.” Regret filled Damien’s dark eyes. “I was trying to get a clear path to you and the rest of the team.”

“Dammit.” Lena raked a frustrated hand through her hair. “We had him. We freaking had him.”

“We found him once, we’ll find him again,” Sabrina offered as she and Caleb made their way over to where she stood.

“Both bombers are dead,” Caleb informed her.

“So is Haddad.” Lena pointed to the deceased man’s remains. “Come on. Owens will be here any second. As soon as he arrives, we’ll head back to the safe house and gather our things.”

“What about Kozlova?”

“That attack just burned us,” she explained. “We need to get back to the States and do a full debrief with the director. He’ll decide our next steps, and we’ll go from there.”

The three agents started for the van.

“Damn, Price. I can’t leave you alone for two minutes.”

She smiled with a shrug as Rafe appeared to her left. “What can I say? Guess I’m a magnet for trouble.”

“At least Haddad will no longer be an issue.”

Lena followed his gaze to catch a final glimpse of their fallen target. “Can’t say I agree with the methods, and I’m sure this will open up an entirely new investigation, but I’m not sorry he’s gone.”