Page 65 of Rafe’s Future

But now⁠—

I wish I’d pulled her closer, instead.

Moving carefully, he reached into his pocket for his keys. Once they were in his hand, Rafe gave Lena a silent warning before tossing them toward her.

Rafe watched the keys disappear into Lena’s hand.

“Take them.” His order was low but calm. “Go straight to Alice and Slade’s.”

Her fingers curled around the keys, but she didn’t move.

“Rafe—”

“Listen to me.” He kept his voice firm but steady, despite the panic clawing at his insides. “You get to their house, and you stay there. Don’t stop anywhere on the way.”

The tank was full before they left the plantation, so she wouldn’t even need to refuel.

Her gaze searched his. “And once I’m there? Just so I’m clear on exactly what it is you’re asking me to do.”

A swell of emotion rushed into his throat, but Rafe hurriedly cleared it away. “I need you to deliver a message from me to my daughter.”

The color drained from Lena’s beautiful face as full understanding finally sank in. “No.”

“She needs to hear it from you.”

“Rafe, no.”

“Tell Alice I’m sorry.” His throat tightened, but he forced the words out. “Tell her it’s going to be okay and remind her she has Slade, the team, and their women. People who love her and will make sure she won’t have to face any of this alone.”

Lena’s eyes filled with glistening tears. “Rafe, stop.”

He’d love nothing more, but⁠—

“Tell Alice the Tac-ops team is hers to do with however she sees fit. The paperwork is all in order and filed with my attorney. And tell her I love her more than anything in this world.” His voice broke then, but he refused to look away as he finished the rest of what his daughter needed to hear. “She’s always been my greatest source of pride. Being her father was the greatest honor of my life, and I’m taking all the love I feel for her with me when I go.” Rafe worked quickly to blink away a fresh onslaught of tears. “Can you do that for me, sweetheart? Can you remember to tell Alice everything I just said?”

“Tell her yourself.”

His gut tightened. “I can’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Dammit, Rafe.” Her voice shook. “No, you don’t. You don’t get to just decide that this is the end.”

“You know what will happen if you stay.”

“I know what happens if I leave you.”

“So do I.” The smile he wore was bittersweet. “You’ll live.”

The brutal finality of his words hovered in the tense air between them. Lena’s expression tightened, and for one terrible second, Rafe thought she might do something stupid like cross the room to join him. Instead, the woman he wished could be his took a step back.

Good. Keep going.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Go ahead. Get out of the cabin and as far away from this area as fast as you can.”

She stared back at him through a set of daggered eyes. “You really think I’m going to leave you standing there? That I’m the type of person who could just turn my back on you and walk away? You know I can’t do that. I won’t.”