Page 89 of Rafe’s Future

Alice lingered long enough to hug Lena before heading down the sidewalk to her car. They were only a couple of blocks from the Tac-Ops building, so she’d managed to talk Digger into letting her drive herself here.

“See you later.” Alice hugged her tight.

“See ya.”

Lena watched her go, smiling to herself as she turned toward her car. The afternoon sun had dipped behind one of the block’s taller buildings. In its shadow, Lena made her way to her vehicle and opened the driver’s door.

Tires screeched behind her, the piercing sound echoing off the surrounding walls. Her instincts kicked in, sending her spinning around on her heels. A dark, tinted SUV had skidded to a stop behind her.

What happened next felt as though it occurred in slow motion, when really it was all over within seconds.

The passenger door flew open, as did the one behind it. Two men in head to toe black and masks jumped out and headed straight for her.

Lena’s hand moved toward the weapon hidden beneath her jacket, but the man from the front seat was already there. He grabbed her arm, trying for her gun. She twisted away from his reaching grasp and drove an elbow into his ribs.

He grunted, but his grip on her arm held steady. The second man came at her from behind.

Lena kicked backward, catching him in the shin before twisting again. Hard. Pain shot into her arm, but she finally managed to pull herself free.

She heard someone screaming her name.

“Lena!”

It was Alice, and she was running Lena’s way. There was a gun in her right hand, and she was holding the side where she’d previously been shot with her left. Her eyes were wide with terror, not for herself but for Lena.

“Get back!” Lena warned.

The last thing Rafe’s daughter needed was to get herself shot again . . . or worse.

One of the men grabbed her again. She fought like hell, but she was outmuscled and outnumbered. Lena drove another elbow backward as she kicked, twisted, and turned.

Her arms were seized. She was hoisted painfully from her feet, and forcefully dragged toward the SUV.

Alice kept running. Kept shouting. The fear in her voice cut through Lena’s frantic heart. She continued to fight as she caught Alice’s gaze with hers a final time.

Lena grabbed for the doorframe as her attackers shoved her into the back of the SUV. She wouldn’t give up. She couldn’t let herself stop fighting. She had to keep⁠—

“Ah!”

She cried out as one of the men punched her in the ribs. Lena buckled, swinging blindly, but he easily blocked the intended blow.

Something sharp pierced the side of her neck. A needle.

No!

An unnatural cold began spreading throughout her body. Lena slapped at the man’s hand on reflex, but her movements were already slowing.

The dark interior of the SUV blurred, the sounds around her becoming distant and rapidly distorted. She tried like hell to stay conscious. For herself. For Rafe.

His face appeared within her hazed vision.

Lena saw the man she loved standing on the deck by the water in Charleston. She felt him as he held her within the warmth and safety of his arms.

So close.

The thought languidly passed through her mind. They’d been so damn close.

The danger was supposed to be over. Kozlova was dead. She’d watched the life disappear from his evil eyes.