Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Rami Najjar’s desert compound
Somewhere outside Harran, Turkey
The following night . . .
The air was warm in Harran. Too warm. Lena’s nostrils were already filled with the smell of dust and dry grass.
Like the team of operators she’d traveled with, she was crouched behind a low stone wall. She checked her weapon in preparation for the premeditated assault.
There was no unnecessary conversation. Everyone there knew the objective. For them, it was crystal clear.
Rami Najjar and Alexei Kozlova were enemies of the State, but they were to be taken alive if possible. But capture wasn’t a possibility—
Dead was a much better option.
The compound sat ahead, surrounded by high walls and a sea of darkness. A few lights burned near the main building. Beyond those, the night stretched toward the Syrian border.
Lena felt confident knowing air support awaited their call from somewhere overhead.
She touched the tiny mic in her ear. “Status.”
“We’re ready.” A man’s voice came through loud and clear.
Her assessing gaze scanned the length of the compound once more. “Let’s move.”
The team slipped forward from their assigned positions. Their movements were silent and quick. The first guard they came to never knew what hit him. Lena took care of the second one before he could raise his weapon.
She fired once. He dropped to the ground where he stood. That was all it took for the entire compound to erupt.
Gunfire cracked through the night as Lena pressed herself against the wall for cover. Bullets tore into the stone above her. Several small chunks flew into the air like shrapnel.
She waited a few seconds. Three, maybe four. When she was ready, she moved again.
Lena kept herself low as she crossed the courtyard. She fired twice, dropping behind another concrete barrier. A man appeared in a nearby doorway. His gaze immediately locked on her. He started to swing his rifle in her direction.
Luckily, she was faster.
She raised her weapon and pulled the trigger. One shot was all it took. The man fell backward before slumping against the doorway behind him.
“Price, east side!”
Lena turned that way as another man came around the corner. He fired, his bullet striking the wall inches from Lena’s head. A low curse left her lips half a beat before she fired back.
Two shots later, the man was dead.
Her heart hammered inside her chest, but she kept her mind on the objective and nothing else as she made her way deeper into the compound.
Chaos surrounded the main building. Doors slammed. Boots pounded. Men shouted warnings to one another in their native tongue. Lena moved through the darkness, clearing rooms as she went.
A moment later, she heard the sound of a vehicle’s engine coming alive.
She turned that way. The lights from one of the building’s entrances shined down on the man behind the wheel.
It’s him!
With a hand to her ear, Lena relayed what she was seeing to the black ops team. “Kozlova is on the move.”
She started running toward Kozlova’s black SUV.
The vehicle tore across the compound’s expansive courtyard. Lena raised her weapon and fired. The windshield shattered. The vehicle swerved before slamming into a stone wall.
Kozlova’s shadowy figure climbed from the driver’s side door. He staggered across the dirt in an attempt to escape.
Not this time.
Lena took off after her target.
Older than the last time she’d seen him, Alexei’s face was still unmistakable as he turned and looked her way. Recognition struck, and his eyes grew wide.
“Surprise, asshole. I’m still alive. Something you won’t be much longer if you don’t cancel the hits you put on me and my team.”
His lips slowly began to form a sinister grin. “Go ahead. Kill me. You and your friends will still die.”
Lena laughed. “I’ve been in this game a long time, Alexei. I know how your world works.”
His smile faltered slightly.
That’s what I thought.
She proved what she’d just said was true. “You die, the contracts end.”
“Does it?”
Nice try.
“Yes.” She nodded. “It does.”
The corners of his lips rose again, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Something about the way he looked at her sent Lena’s gut swirling. But she pushed the feeling aside and reminded herself of the kind of man he really was.
Narcissistic. Arrogant. A man who’d spent decades believing he was smarter than everyone else.
Kozlova lunged suddenly. Lena fired, but he managed to knock her weapon aside. The gun flew from her hand as they hit the unforgiving ground with a hard thud. She fought back, unable to reach the backup pistol still holstered at her hip.
Lena drove an elbow into his ribs. Her target grunted as his meaty hand reached up and closed around her neck.
The pressure was instant and painful.
She clawed at his wrist, doing her best not to let flashbacks of Timothy Miller’s attack during his interrogation take over. But Kozlova was admittedly stronger than Lena expected. For one terrifying second, it became impossible to breathe.
Her vision blurred as he leaned in closer.
“The CIA should have stayed out of my affairs.”
Lena drove her knee upward, causing his grip on her throat to loosen. She twisted and rolled, coming up on one knee.
Kozlova reached for her holstered weapon. She grabbed his wrist. Another struggle ensued, and he slammed her back against the nearest wall. She cried out when her head struck stone.
Stars exploded behind her eyes, but by the grace of God, she spotted the gun she’d lost. It was on the ground, a few inches away. Bringing her hands between them, Lena growled as she shoved them up toward his chin.
The heels of both hands hit their target, and Kozlova’s head snapped back. The unexpected blow knocked his body off balance.
Get the gun!
Lena dove toward the pistol on the ground. She was inches from reaching it when the man trying to kill her grabbed her ankle and jerked her back.
She kicked out with a yell, sending him stumbling back. Lena wasted no time going for the gun.
Her fingers curled around the familiar weapon. She rolled onto her back and aimed. Kozlova came at her a final time, despite the deadly barrel pointed straight at his head.
Lena fired once. Kozlova stopped. A look of surprise crossed his face. And then . . .
He collapsed.
She didn’t move. The sounds of her heaving breaths were silent beneath the incessant pounding of her frantic heart. Unable to believe it was finally over, Lena watched the dead man, half expecting him to get back up.
He didn’t. He couldn’t.
She lowered her weapon and let herself fall back onto the dirt.
It was over. Finally.
Alexei Kozlova was dead.
Twenty-four hours later . . .
Rafe stood on the suite’s private deck, his forearms resting against the railing. Lights from the occasional boat appeared, reflecting off the bay’s dark waters. He’d been standing there for several minutes, waiting for Lena to return.
She’d called shortly after she and the spec-ops team had completed their mission. Kozlova was dead, the news bringing him an overwhelming sense of relief.
The threat hanging over them was finally gone, and Lena was the one who had pulled the trigger. His brave woman had flown halfway across the world to end a madman’s reign of terror.
That’s my girl.
They were free now. They could return to the lives they’d been living before this nightmare had started. Go their separate ways and pretend the last few weeks hadn’t changed everything. Or they could do something neither of them had ever expected and build a new life together.
That was what Rafe wanted. More than he’d wanted anything in a very long time.
The quiet click of the suite door opening behind him traveled with the night’s cool breeze. He turned to see Lena standing just inside the suite’s main door.
His heart kicked as he slowly started her way. A soft thud sounded as her duffle bag hit the floor.
Rafe could see the woman’s exhaustion in her eyes despite the space between them. Her clothes were rumpled and dirty, one side of her shirt was torn, and there was a dark bruise forming along her jaw.
To anyone else, she probably looked like hell. To Rafe, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Lena looked back at him, and something inside his chest tightened. She’d promised she would come back to him—and she had.
Neither said a word as she crossed the room toward him. Rafe met her halfway. She melted against him the moment his arms were around her. Her face became buried against his chest as he tightened his gentle hold.
He closed his eyes, letting his cheek come to a rest on the top of her head. She was alive. She was here. For the moment, nothing else mattered.
Lena’s arms wrapped around his waist, and for several long seconds, neither of them moved another inch.
They simply held each other, savoring the fact that the danger was over, and they had both made it through.
Rafe pressed his lips to the top of her head, letting one of his hands slowly rub her back.
“It’s over,” she whispered.
“I know.”
She lifted her head, and their eyes met again. Rafe brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. His fingers lingered there before she leaned into his touch. He brought his mouth to hers as she rose to kiss him.
It wasn’t rushed, nor was it desperate. It was simply the kiss of two people who’d spent the last forty-eight hours wondering if they would ever get another chance to be together. Rafe wrapped one arm around her waist and drew her closer as her hands slid up his chest.
The kiss deepened. The dance their mouths followed was warm and sensual. But beneath it was something far more important. At its core, what Rafe felt was—
Love.
When they finally broke apart, Lena rested her head against his chest again. “I’m in desperate need of a shower,” she murmured.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I noticed.”
She gave him a tired glare. “Are you saying I smell?”
“I’m saying you look like you just fought in a war.”
“Probably because I did.”
“Well, there you have it.”
Lena’s soft laughter stole his heart. He reached down, took her hand, and laced his fingers through hers.
“Come on.” He led her toward the other room.
When they got to the bathroom, Rafe went straight to the shower, turning it on so it was hot but comfortable. As the steam built and billowed, he went back to her. He took his time as he eased her shirt up over her head.
Neither of them spoke. They didn’t need to. Her eyes followed his every movement as he watched hers. Every time he touched her, he looked for a reaction, making sure nothing he did would cause her pain.
“I’m okay,” Lena whispered, bringing a palm to his cheek. “I promise.”
“I believe you.”
He let the shirt fall to the floor, his gaze taking in the evidence of what Kozlova had done. A cold, familiar anger stirred beneath his ribs as he took in the bruises and scrapes.
The bruises will heal. She’s alive. Keep your focus on that.
He carefully helped her out of the rest of her clothes, honored by her trust. She was showing him so much more than her body. She was giving him her full and total trust.
Not just to watch her six or help catch a killer.
She’s letting down her walls.
For him, and he’d done the same for her.
Rafe stripped off his jeans, T-shirt, and boxer briefs before leading them both into the shower. The water streamed over them, washing away the last few days.
Lena closed her eyes and tipped her face toward the spray. He watched her for a moment, his jaw tightening as he remembered the phone call she’d made after the mission.
It’s over. I’m coming home.
He’d heard plenty of promises in his life. Some were well-intended at the time they’d been made. Others had been nothing but lies. But she’d kept hers.
Rafe stepped behind her, pulling her body snug with his. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Lena turned. She kissed him. It was soft at first. But then it became so much more.
Later, when they were in bed, wrapped in each other’s arms, she looked up at him with a soft sigh.
“So what happens now?”
“What do you mean?”
Her gaze filled with a knowing look. “You know what I mean, Rafe.” Lena swallowed. “What happens now . . . with us?”
Oh. That.
He’d planned to discuss this with her tomorrow. But since they were both still awake, and she’d brought it up—
“I want to give this a real shot.” Rafe paused. “I want to see what happens when we’re not running for our lives.”
She was quiet for a moment before her mouth lifted. “I’d like that, too.”
A blanket of relief fell over him. “Yeah?”
Lena’s hair swished against the pillow with her nod. “Yes.”
Rafe pressed a kiss to the center of her forehead. “Good.”
A quiet laugh escaped her. “Good? That’s the best you’ve got?”
“Pretty sure I gave you that a few minutes ago.”
She threw her head back and laughed, full-bellied this time. He joined in, pulling her closer to him.
When the laughter died down, and they’d shared a final goodnight kiss, Rafe closed his eyes. There were still some questions to answer. What things would look like for them moving forward, for one. But they could all wait until morning.
He felt Lena relax completely against him, and a few moments later, her breathing deepened as sleep finally claimed her. Rafe leaned in, pressing one last kiss to her temple. When his lids fell shut again, he didn’t think about the past, men he’d lost, or enemies still lying in wait.
Instead, he began making plans for the future.