Prologue #2
Two horrible humans who needed to be stopped.
Both men stood and shook hands with matching smiles, signaling the meeting had come to an end.
“They’re on the move.” Lena’s gaze slid to the large window nearby. She took a sip of her tea as their targets walked by.
“Coming out now.”
She counted down from five in her head before rising to her feet to follow. Haddad held the door for Kozlova before his dark brown stare landed on hers.
Lena smiled, tilting her head while adding a spark of interest into her deceptive gaze. A slight arch of a brow accompanied the man’s responsive grin as he motioned for her to pass. With a dip of her chin, she purposely kept her body close to his when she stepped outside.
She stopped near a large planter, setting her cup down on its wide ledge and bending over as if needing to tie her shoe. Lena waited a beat to look to her right, in her teammates’ direction. She met Sabrina’s gaze as the sound of tires squealing filled the tense air.
Here we go.
But when she stood tall and looked to the van screaming toward them at a high rate of speed, it wasn’t their van she saw.
“We’ve got trouble.” Damien’s voice filled her ear. “There’s a Black SUV with tinted windows headed straight for you. Jerk cut me off at the last second.”
“They’re here,” Lena responded.
“I’m literally right behind them.”
The SUV skidded to a stop next to Kozlova’s and Haddad’s cars. The back door opened, and a man in black chucked something into the air.
“Get down!” Lena shouted over to her team.
She dropped to the ground as the world around her exploded into a ball of fire. A deafening boom stole her ability to hear, and a massive wave of heat rolled over her covered head. Breathing became impossible as all traces of oxygen were sucked from the air.
Lena kept her eyes squeezed shut and her head tucked to protect them from the rain shower of smoke and flying debris. Small pieces of concrete and God only knows what else pelted her hovered body, as well as everything else around her.
When the sky ceased its falling, Lena reached under her loose blouse for the pistol she’d kept hidden there. Doing her best to remain grounded while fighting the incessant ringing in her ears, she risked a glance in the explosion’s direction.
Her eyes burned from the gritty smoke taking its sweet time to dissipate from the immediate area. Muffled gunshots pierced through the chaos as the innocents on site screamed and ran.
She looked to where her team had been sitting, beyond relieved when she found Sabrina and Caleb alive and in position. They began firing their weapons at the SUV as it attempted to speed away from the scene.
As they did, another shot came from the opposite direction. In a sudden move, the bombers’ vehicle swerved to the right, immediately slamming into a parked truck.
“Nice shot, Alpha Two,” Lena praised Rafe’s skills as she shot to her feet.
At the same time, Caleb shouted back at her as he and Sabrina took off toward the wreckage. “We’ve got the other one!”
“Go!” She gave her blessing, motioning for them to ensure all threats had been eliminated.
“Making my way to you now,” Rafe informed her. “I don’t see any other tangos but stay on alert.”
“Copy, Alpha Two.” Lena started for the spot where she’d last seen Kozlova and Haddad. She froze mid-stride when it became painfully clear that Haddad was already dead.
A few feet of sidewalk separated her from his motionless form. His suit was torn. Portions of the expensive material had been singed, and the skin that was visible had become black from the blast.
Blood from countless wounds seeped from his body onto the sidewalk below. Some had been caused by his proximity to the explosion, but Lena suspected the multitude of bullet holes was what actually caused the man’s death.
Whoever those men in the van were, they’d come here with one goal in mind. To kill at least one of the CIA’s targets.
Where’s Kozlova?
She spun in a full three-sixty, using her comms to communicate with everyone and anyone on her team. “Anyone have eyes on Kozlova?” When every response she received was the opposite of what she wanted to hear, Lena directed the question specifically to Rafe. “Alpha Two, what about you?”
“Negative.” He sounded slightly out of breath. “Asshole must’ve taken off during all the commotion.”
Son of a—
“Alpha Five?”
As if she’d spoken him into existence, Damien’s tires squealed as he came to a hard stop next to their target’s burning cars.
Gather evidence and get the hell out.
Pushing her future’s uncertainty aside, Lena used her free hand to grab her phone and start snapping pictures.
“You okay?” Damien hollered out to her from behind the wheel.
“I’m good.” A bit of an exaggeration, but she was alive and upright, so it was a start. “You see Kozlova on your way in?”
“Sorry, Boss.” Regret filled Damien’s dark eyes. “I was trying to get a clear path to you and the rest of the team.”
“Dammit.” Lena raked a frustrated hand through her hair. “We had him. We freaking had him.”
“We found him once, we’ll find him again,” Sabrina offered as she and Caleb made their way over to where she stood.
“Both bombers are dead,” Caleb informed her.
“So is Haddad.” Lena pointed to the deceased man’s remains. “Come on. Owens will be here any second. As soon as he arrives, we’ll head back to the safe house and gather our things.”
“What about Kozlova?”
“That attack just burned us,” she explained. “We need to get back to the States and do a full debrief with the director. He’ll decide our next steps, and we’ll go from there.”
The three agents started for the van.
“Damn, Price. I can’t leave you alone for two minutes.”
She smiled with a shrug as Rafe appeared to her left. “What can I say? Guess I’m a magnet for trouble.”
“At least Haddad will no longer be an issue.”
Lena followed his gaze to catch a final glimpse of their fallen target. “Can’t say I agree with the methods, and I’m sure this will open up an entirely new investigation, but I’m not sorry he’s gone.”
“No one is.” Rafe’s dark stare slid back to hers as he motioned for her to climb into the van first.
Twenty minutes later, Damien was pulling the van onto the private airstrip’s tarmac. The same jet that had brought them here weeks earlier was the only one in sight. As promised, it appeared ready to go. The only thing missing was Lena and her team.
“I don’t know about any of you”—Damien put the van into park before cutting the engine— “but I’d be perfectly happy to never have to step foot in this country again.”
“I second that.” Sabrina opened the passenger door and got out.
Caleb opened the slider to Lena’s left and hopped out. “I third.”
“Don’t think that’s how you say it, brother.” Damien smirked as he shifted his body out from behind the wheel.
“I don’t know.” She snuck a glance in Rafe’s direction. “It hasn’t been all bad. And who knows? Maybe we’ll get the band back together again someday.”
The intuitive man swung his attention back her way. Their gazes locked, and for a moment, everything around them seemed to vanish.
“You’ll have to take the stage without me, I’m afraid.”
Lena frowned at the tantalizing Brit’s words. “What do you mean?”
“This was my last mission. I’m officially no longer with MI6.”
The unexpected announcement dropped with the same force as the earlier bomb. “You’re leaving the agency? Why? You’re not even thirty years old.”
“It’s not about my age.” His brows dipped. “Or . . . maybe it is.”
“Then what’s this about? You’re one of the best in the biz, and you’ve barely gotten started. Hell, you’ve got at least ten, fifteen more years to work the field while in your prime. Think of all the good we could do in that time, Rafe.”
“We?”
Shit. She had said we, hadn’t she?
“I meant you. Think of the profound difference you could make in this world. The lives you’d save, and the—”
“I am thinking of the good I can do.” Rafe sighed, glancing through the window toward the team making their way to the jet. “Just not here. Not like this.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
He turned his breathtaking smile her way. “I know. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to explain it to you in a way you can understand. Until then, there’s something I need you to do.”
“You’re asking me for a favor?”
“I am.”
She could get lost in his gaze so easily. “What do you need?”
“A promise.” Rafe shifted his body to face hers more directly. “I want you to give me your word that you’ll keep yourself safe.”
Lena chuckled. “That’s sweet, but you and I both know there’s no such thing as truly being safe.”
“Fine. Promise me you’ll be careful, then. No unnecessary risks, yeah?”
“Define unnecessary.”
His lips curved into a slow-growing smile. “I’m going to miss you, Angelina Price.” Rafe reached out and covered her hand with his. “It’s been a pleasure and an honor.”
Her heart kicked hard against her ribs from the electric warmth of his palm. “I’ve enjoyed working with you, too, Rafe. And I hope whatever happens after this, life brings you everything you want.”
A haunted look flashed across his guarded gaze before giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “We should go. Don’t want them taking off without us.”
They kept their eyes on one another a moment longer before he released his hold. Lena held back, giving Rafe a small head start before sliding out of the van and following in his path.
As she did, she couldn’t help but feel his goodbye was final. She really hoped that wasn’t the case. Though they’d only known one another a few months, Lena couldn’t imagine never seeing him again.
Someday, Rafe.
It was her sincerest hope that fate would ensure their paths crossed again someday. Until then, she had a plane to catch . . . and an ever-growing list of criminals to bring to justice.