Page 93 of Rafe’s Future

Digger hadn’t moved.

His eyes met Rafe’s, but neither man said a word. They both knew. Kozlova was dead, which meant the hit should have been null and void.

Rafe had believed that. They all had, especially after Director Mercer’s call yesterday afternoon. A high-value asset on the ground in Turkey confirmed Kozlova’s order to kill was no more. Which meant⁠—

This was something else. Someone else. And that realization landed like a punch to the gut.

Rafe stared at his phone’s blank screen, willing Lena to call. More than anything, he wanted to hear her voice and know that she was okay. That she’d bested the men who’d abducted her and had somehow gotten away.

But it remained silent, unlike the racing thoughts in his head. Everything from the past few weeks came back to him in a single rush.

Every conversation he’d had with Lena. Every piece of intelligence they’d uncovered together. Every assumption they’d made.

You did the one thing you should never do.

He’d warned the others about the dangers of tunnel vision. Had warned himself. And still, his sole focus had been Kozlova.

A swarm of questions began swirling around in his mind, to which he had no answer. Things like—who had the resources to pull something like this off? Where would they take her? What did they want from Lena?

And the most important question of all⁠—

How am I going to get her back?

His knuckles turned white as he curled his hands into a pair of ironclad fists. Rage didn’t begin to describe what he was feeling.

Rafe didn’t know how, but he wouldn’t stop looking. Not until he found Lena and made sure she was safe. As for those who’d dared to take what didn’t belong to them⁠—

I’ll make sure it’s their last mistake.

The first thing Lena became aware of was the pain in her neck. The second was the pounding in her head.

Her eyes opened slowly, and for several seconds, she couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing. Everything was blurry, and a dull ache throbbed incessantly behind her eyes. She tried to move and immediately discovered . . . she couldn’t.

Lena glanced down to find her wrists were secured behind her to the back of a metal folding chair. Her ankles were bound in place to each of the chair’s legs.

She tested each restraint carefully, not wanting whoever had tied her up to know she was awake. The plastic ties at her wrists bit into her skin, and she took a moment to think.

Her throat worked against the dryness as she forced herself to take in every detail she could. The room was small. Windowless. Concrete walls had long ago been painted a dull gray.

One long, fluorescent overhead light buzzed above her, and there was a metal door directly in front of where she sat. That was it. Just her in the middle of the room, tied to a chair.

Her head throbbed harder when she tried to remember what had happened.

I was at the coffee shop with the girls. Alice, Evie, Nicki, Alex, and Avery had all been there.

Alice.

She’d been calling for Lena. No, she’d been screaming her name. A flash of a memory came back with a painful throb.

The SUV.

Two men had jumped out of it. They’d attacked her, and she’d fought back. But then⁠—

The needle.

Lena remembered being dragged into the SUV. She’d been hit and drugged as Alice had run frantically toward her. And then another memory struck. This one bringing with it a massive, heartbreaking blow.

Roger.