Page 70 of Rafe’s Future

When Rafe finally pulled back, he leaned down and rested his forehead against hers.

“Thank you,” he whispered sincerely, their breaths becoming mingled with the steady breeze.

Adrenaline began to fade, but he didn’t fully relax. He could still feel the phantom click of the pressure plate in his bones. The killer had been well-prepared, continuing his cruel game of attrition.

One by one, he was taking the lives of those who’d worked the op in Syria. He and Lena were the only ones left.

And Roger.

Lena’s mentor and friend had put himself in the hitman’s crosshairs the minute he decided to come here in hopes of protecting Damien. Now he was missing, but hopefully the well-meaning man was still alive.

Kozlova won’t stop until his man has killed us all.

Rafe’s grip on the woman in his arms tightened as he kissed her again. The tenderness of the moment shifted to something sharper and far more lethal. The predator hunting them was still out there. Stalking. Waiting. Ready to tear their world apart.

Let him wait.

He pulled back, pressed a final, lingering kiss to her forehead as he scanned the darkened landscape with an operator’s eye. Lena wouldn’t risk herself again. Not for him or anyone else. And as long as there was breath in his lungs, she was done being a target.

Whoever the killer was, they had no idea of the deadly wrath they’d just unleashed. But they would see for themselves, soon enough.

Rafe pushed himself from Lena’s sprawled form with a groan before helping her to her feet. “We should get out of here,” he told her. “Find some place to lay low for the night.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” She adjusted her vest. “But first . . .” She turned back to the cabin. “I think we both need to die.”

The unexpected comment took him completely off guard. “I’m sorry, we need to what?”

Lena motioned toward the still-standing cabin. “If we let that bomb go off, whoever set it will think he accomplished his mission.”

He glanced that way before his attention moved to the surrounding sea of trees. “Unless they’re watching us right now.”

“I don’t think so.” She followed his gaze through the dark. “Damien’s been dead at least a day, maybe more.”

And Roger was nowhere to be found. With any luck, the retired agent found a safe place to hunker down, and he’d reach out to Lena soon.

Rafe looked back at the blocks that had kept him from being blown into pieces. “If we position ourselves back there a few yards”—he pointed to the wooded area behind them—“we could take simultaneous shots at the blocks.”

“That’s smart.” Her hazel stare found his. “Throw off the weight, the explosive ignites, and then . . . boom. If the killer comes back to the scene, he’ll see the destruction and assume we came here for Damien and died in the blast.”

“It could buy us another day . . . maybe two.”

After that, Rafe planned to take this thing to a whole new level. The U.S. government may no longer see Kozlova as a threat worth acting on, but the bastard was at the very top of Rafe’s most-wanted list.

“Hopefully it’s enough time to locate Roger.” Lena pulled her personal gun from the holster at her hip before grabbing the smaller one she’d borrowed from his safe. “Okay, let’s do this. It’s been a long day, and I could really use a shower.”

“You and me both.”

When they were a safe distance away under the protective cover of the trees, he and his partner dropped to their bellies on the damp ground below. Rafe counted down this time, starting at three. He and Lena began pulling their triggers when he got to one.

On his third shot, the cabin exploded into a massive cloud of flames, smoke, and debris. Rafe dropped his head, covering Lena’s hunched form with his.

A blast of heat rolled heavily through the trees, but thankfully, they were sheltered from the barrage of splintered wood. Moments later, the world grew quiet again.

“Now, we can go.” Lena slid herself out from beneath him before rising to her feet. “Any idea where we’re staying tonight?”

He pushed himself up with a sigh. “We’ll figure it out on the road.”

One thing he did know—government safe houses were far from safe. At least for them, so that option was out.