Page 64 of Rafe’s Future

He wanted his only child to move on with her life. To enjoy every moment she had with Slade. To understand that it was okay to laugh and live.

I’m so sorry my precious girl.

A tear slipped from the corner of one eye. Rafe carefully wiped it away with his shoulder. If he was truly about to die, he refused to waste the few minutes he had left crying.

You need to let Lena know and then get her the hell out of this cabin.

Regret surged through him at the thought of her. Even after all these years, Lena was still the only woman who had ever made him wonder⁠—

What if?

The years between them didn’t matter. Neither did the mistakes, secrets, or the lives they’d lived apart until now. Standing and waiting to die, Rafe’s only thoughts were of the future.

The one he’d secretly dreamed of but was likely lost to him forever. If second chances were real, he wouldn’t hesitate to chase one that included Lena with everything that he had.

Your future may be lost, but hers can still be saved.

With a mental shake, Rafe’s attention returned to the final mission of his life—getting Lena out of the cabin before the bomb beneath his foot detonated. Moving oh-so-cautiously, he spun in a torturously slow circle so he was facing the kitchen, rather than the back door.

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he called out in his most authoritative voice.

“Lena? I need you to come here.”

A few hard heartbeats later, he heard her moving down the hall.

“Where are you?” she hollered back.

“In the kitchen.”

Her footsteps quickened as she hurried from the bedroom. When she appeared in the doorway, it was almost as if he was seeing her for the very first time.

Rafe stood motionless, his gaze taking in the moonlit goddess before him. Her eyes were swollen from crying over the loss of her friend, and it tore at him to know he was about to make an already unbearable night even worse.

She’d lost three colleagues and friends, and now he had to tell her she was minutes from losing him, too.

Get her the hell out!

Lena started toward him, but he threw up a hand and stopped her mid-stride.

“Don’t,” he ordered. “Don’t come any closer.’

Her brows drew together as she took a cautious step back. “Why?” Her gaze dropped to the floor. “What’s wrong?”

Rafe looked down at his feet. “It’s rigged to blow. There’s a pressure plate beneath the rug.”

She followed his line of sight. “How sure are you?”

“I could lift my foot and prove it to you, and prove it to you, if you’d like.”

Her gaze met his once more. “So what’s the plan?”

Despite the danger surrounding them, Rafe allowed himself seconds they didn’t have to become lost in her hazel eyes. There was no panic in them. Not even a flicker of fear as she stared death in the face.

I wish I had more time with her. I wish we had more time together.

Time was a strange thing, especially when yours was running out. Only seconds passed, but in that moment, it felt to him as if the world had suddenly stopped turning.

Rafe’s thoughts returned to that night in his den and the kiss that had left a permanent mark on his soul. At the time, he’d truly believed pushing Lena away was the right thing to do. His way of protecting her from a man whose heart had been locked away for far too many years.