Page 72 of Rafe’s Future

She turned the car around and took off down the long drive. “You should also give Alice a call to let her know her father’s okay. I’m sure she’s worried.”

“I will,” Rafe agreed. “As soon as we’re in for the night.”

He laced their fingers together as the cabin’s flames dwindled in the rearview mirror. Lena glanced down at their joined hands and back up to him.

“Just so we’re clear, this doesn’t mean you get to start bossing me around.”

A slow smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He wasn’t in charge of her any more than she oversaw him. They were partners, and she was his equal. But something Lena didn’t know, what she couldn’t possibly realize before tonight⁠—

She’s mine.

And Rafe wouldn’t hesitate to burn the entire world down to keep her safe.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Cooper Hotel

Charleston, South Carolina

Five hours later . . .

Lena stood at the railing of the presidential suite’s private deck overlooking Charleston Bay. Wrapped in the soft white robe the hotel had provided, she felt soothed by the gentle laps of the shimmering water.

The sun was still an hour from rising. A thin layer of mist hovered over the bay. The city was quiet, its lights dancing across the water’s soft ripples. A boat horn sounded from somewhere far away.

She breathed in the salty air and tried to convince herself she was finally safe. It didn’t work. Her mind kept dragging her back to the cabin. The bathroom. Damien’s body and the pressure plate beneath Rafe’s boot.

Lena closed her eyes and pulled in the deepest of breaths. For a few terrible seconds, she’d been certain she was going to watch the man she loved die.

The realization came to her so clearly she almost laughed.

Loved.

There it was. No excuses. No carefully constructed walls. No more pretending what existed between them was merely history or nothing more than physical attraction.

She loved him.

I almost lost him.

The deck door was opened behind her.

Lena didn’t turn.

“I thought I might find you out here.” Rafe’s voice was rough with his usual rumble and exhaustion.

She glanced over her shoulder. He stood in the doorway wearing jeans and a dark T-shirt. His hair was still damp from a recent shower, and there was obvious fatigue on his handsome face.

So handsome.

Concern also shone in his dark eyes.

“You should be sleeping,” he murmured.

“I wasn’t tired.”