Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“You’re quitting?”
Bones sounded genuinely shocked by Rafe’s unexpected announcement.
Rafe looked across the large conference table at the men he had spent years training and trusting with his life. For a moment, he simply let the question hang in the air.
Digger sat to Rafe’s right with his arms folded across his chest. Falcon was beside him with Apollo and Bones on the opposite side.
Coulter, the newest member of the elite hostage rescue team, sat near the end of the table. He watched Rafe with an expression that said he wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly.
Rafe shifted his stance. “Officially.” He nodded. “Yes.”
Bones stared back. “As in . . . retiring?”
A few of the men smiled, but their visible humor didn’t last. Rafe understood why. He had spent most of his adult life in this world. Even after leaving British intelligence, he had never really stopped being an operative.
Tac-Ops had become more than a company. The men in this room were more than a team. It had become home, and for a long while, it was enough.
But things changed. He certainly had. And it had everything to do with a particularly sexy spy.
He wanted a future. A real one. A life with Lena by his side.
“It’s time.” The decision was steady and certain. “Time to hand the reins over to someone else.”
Apollo shook his head slowly. “Who?”
Rafe turned his attention to the man at his right. Slade didn’t move. He didn’t need to. Rafe had already talked to him and Alice that morning.
They’d had a long conversation in Rafe’s office before Alice left to meet up with the girls. His daughter and son-in-law had both agreed to his offer.
“The team will be led by Shadow and Digger,” Rafe announced, purposely using his daughter’s call sign.
The room went silent. Slade’s expression remained unchanged. But Rafe caught the flicker of emotion in the stoic man’s gaze.
“I still own Tac-Ops,” he continued. “That isn’t changing. But Shadow and Digger will be in charge of the team.”
Bones glanced at Slade and then back to Rafe. “How exactly is that going to work?”
“Shadow will continue to handle the technical side and work overwatch, as usual. And Digger will continue leading you in the field.”
“So nothing’s really changing much, other than you won’t be in the office on the regular?” Coulter looked to him for confirmation.
Rafe nodded. “Pretty much. Shadow and Digger will also have equal say in which jobs you take on as a team.”
“What if they can’t agree?” Apollo spoke next.
“Then they’ll bring me in to break the tie. But I don’t foresee that being a regular occurrence.” He turned to Slade. “I trust my daughter and you to know what’s best for the company, yourselves, and your men."
The stoic man dipped his chin in a solemn, silent vow.
“You sure about this, Boss?” Bones seemed to be the one taking the news the hardest.
Rafe’s gaze met the medic’s stare once again. “I’m sure, Beckett.” He smiled, repeating, “It’s time.”
The other man nodded with a look of genuine understanding, but there was no mistaking the disappointment also filling his eyes.
Apollo glanced down for a moment before bringing his attention back to the front of the room. “We’re happy for you, Boss.” He looked at the others, who immediately joined in his support.
“Absolutely,” Falcon added. “You’ve more than earned it.”
Rafe felt something tighten in his chest. He hadn’t expected this to be so difficult. He’d somehow convinced himself walking away from the company he’d built from the ground-up would be easy.
It wasn’t.
These men had stood beside him, more than once, when things had gone to hell. They’d followed his orders, willingly going head-first into places most sane people would never enter.
He’d seen them laugh. Cry. Bleed and nearly die. They weren’t his employees. They were his friends.
My family.
“Don’t worry.” Rafe grinned. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. You know where I live, and my door is always open to you all. And I’m only a phone call away.” He slid his hands into his front pockets, pulling in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. “I’m not great at relaying my feelings—”
“You don’t say?” Bones smirked.
He chuckled. “Surprising, I know. But seriously, I want you to know how much each of you means to me. You’re the best I’ve ever worked with, and it’s been my honor to work with such a talented team.”
The words were simple, but the look that passed between him and his men was anything but.
Reflected back from their eyes was respect. Appreciation. Years of trust packed into the earnest moment.
He looked around the table and felt the weight of his decision settling over him. And still, there was no regret or second-guessing.
His cell phone rang, and he glanced down to see Alice’s number on the screen. A faint smile touched his mouth.
“It’s Shadow.”
“It’s okay, Boss.” Bones motioned toward the phone on the table. “Go ahead. We can wait.”
With a nod, Rafe picked up the device and answered the call.
“Hey, honey. We’re just about finished here.”
“Dad!”
The panic in her voice erased the smile on his lips instantly.
Rafe’s spine straightened. “Alice?”
“Dad, it’s Lena.”
His heart stopped. “What happened?”
“Two guys just forced her into an SUV, and then they took off.”
For one horrifying second, the entire room disappeared. The windows. The table. The men around it. Everything. The only things left were fear and thoughts of Lena.
His mind immediately went to earlier that morning.
Rafe had woken up as the sun began to rise. Lena had been beside him, fast asleep. He probably should have let her be, but she’d looked so damn irresistible.
So pretty. Peaceful. Like an angel resting at his side.
They’d started the morning much like they’d ended the night before. And now—
“Where are you?” he demanded of his daughter.
“I’m two blocks from the office.” A car horn blared as Alice shouted at someone to get out of her way. “I need a computer to access CCTV so I can figure out where they went.”
His heart pounded out a succession of terrified beats. It was hard to breathe, let alone think, but Lena needed him to be in control.
Rafe tapped the screen and placed the phone onto the table. “You’re on speaker with the team. Start from the beginning.”
The men around him were already on high alert. Spines stiffened. Shoulders pushed back. Chins were lifted, and all eyes were on him.
Together, they listened as Alice recounted the horrific events.
“I was with the girls,” she began. “We were leaving the coffee shop, and Lena was about to get into her car when a black SUV with full tint came racing around the corner. It stopped right behind her and two men jumped out. Both had masks and were dressed in all black. They went straight for her. She tried fighting them off, but—” Alice’s voice broke.
“I ran toward her, but I was too far away to do anything. She kept shouting at me to get back. I’m so sorry. ”
Rafe’s hands curled into fists as the men surrounding him wore matching expressions. Their jaws were clenched, and their eyes became engulfed in flames of fury.
“Did they have weapons?”
“I couldn’t see well enough to tell, but with guys like that, I think we have to assume.”
He closed his eyes for half a second. He could see her fighting tooth and nail to get free. Lena wasn’t the type to willingly surrender.
“Did you get a plate?” Falcon spoke a bit louder than before so Alice could hear.
“No.” The woman’s frustration was obvious. “Everything happened too fast. I pulled my gun and ran toward them, but they forced her into the SUV and took off.”
The men at the table muttered curses under their breath. Rafe didn’t hear them. He was too consumed by fear and rage . . . and something darker. But he pushed the fear and rage aside, knowing they were no good to the woman he loved.
“Alice, listen to me.” He forced his voice to remain steady. “I know you’re worried about Lena, but I need you to make sure you didn’t pick up a tail.”
There was a slight pause and then—
“I’m clean.”
“Good.” There was little relief. “Be careful and get here as fast as you can.”
“I’m pulling into the parking garage now.”
Rafe nodded. “I’ll see you soon.”
He ended the call, looking around the table.
The men were already moving. Falcon had his phone out. Apollo was heading toward the door. Bones’ head was down, and he was texting someone from his cell.
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—