Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Charlotte, NC
Two days later . . .
“I’m telling you he meant well.” Alice fought to keep a straight face. “He just apparently decided that since I’d been shot, I was no longer capable of handling the dishes.”
Lena and the other women sitting around the table laughed and groaned at Digger’s good intentions. The little coffee shop where they’d chosen to meet smelled like freshly ground beans, a touch of cocoa, and hints of pumpkin spice.
The invitation to join Alice and the team’s significant others was a pleasant but unexpected surprise. It had also come at the perfect time, since Rafe was holding a mandatory meeting with his team.
He hadn’t divulged the reason for the impromptu conference with his men, and Lena hadn’t pried. If he wanted her to know, he’d tell her. Until then, she was going to enjoy an afternoon being one of the girls.
“And by ‘dishes’”—Coulter’s fiancée, Alex Webb, intervened with a set of air quotes—“Shadow means Digger reorganized the entire kitchen.”
There was a collective gasp as all eyes at the table swung Alice’s way.
“Seriously?” Avery Morgan’s eyes grew wide.
Lena sent the sweet accountant a sideways smirk. “I’m with you. Organizing bowls and coffee mugs doesn’t exactly strike me as Digger’s usual M.O.”
“Uh, because it’s not.” Alice laughed.
Nicki McAllister took a sip of her coffee and swallowed. “I’m not going to lie, that totally sounds like something Ethan would do.”
“Beckett, too,” Evie Stone laughed softly.
“Oh, it gets better.” Alice held up a hand, letting them know she hadn’t finished the whole story.
“But wait, there’s more!” Alex announced in her best infomercial impression.
Another round of laughter ensued. Lena settled back in her chair with a smile, her to-go mug still steaming from the tiny opening in the lid. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so relaxed.
Oh, I don’t know . . . you seemed pretty relaxed this morning.
The memories of how Rafe had woken her up a few short hours before made it difficult not to blush.
Put a pin in it, Price. The man’s daughter is right there, for crying out loud.
Another sip of her hot brew helped conceal the grin she couldn’t seem to fully contain.
“And then”—Alice continued—“he also insisted on doing all the cooking while I was recovering, so he took it upon himself to stock the fridge.”
“That’s actually pretty sweet.” Evie shrugged.
“It would have been if he’d bought food that I actually eat.”
Rafe’s daughter earned another round of laughter with that comment, Lena’s included. It was oddly comforting, sitting with these women and listening to them talk about their everyday lives.
Husbands. Fiancés. Their respective jobs. All the little things that happened when none of them were busy trying to save the world.
She had spent most of her life surrounded by people who knew how to keep secrets, while these women seemed to have made an art out of sharing.
And despite her being a decade older—or more—than the other women, they’d each been accepting of her presence.
Almost instantly, they’d made Lena feel as though she was a part of the close-knit circle.
Avery shifted in her chair, one hand instinctively settling over her adorable baby bump. “At least Garrett hasn’t reorganized anything yet.”
“Give him time.” Alex gave her sister a look.
Avery laughed. “He’s actually been pretty good about the whole pregnancy thing. He’s excited. And nervous.” Her smile softened. “I think he’s still trying to wrap his head around the fact that we’re going to be responsible for an actual tiny human.”
Lena watched the expression on Avery’s face as she spoke of her husband. There was genuine happiness there, and it did something to Lena’s heart to know that “happily married” was still a thing.
“How have you been feeling?” Evie asked the mother-to-be.
“Good, mostly.” Avery shrugged. “Tired. Hungry. Like . . . all the freaking time.” A roll of her pretty eyes. “I swear, I eat breakfast, and I’m starving again an hour later.”
“That’s because you’re feeding two people,” Evie reminded her.
Avery grinned. “That’s what I keep telling Garrett.”
“If he’s a smart man, he won’t come between a pregnant woman and her food.” Alex sent her sister a pointed stare.
“He doesn’t,” the other woman assured them. “At least, not anymore.”
Lena and the others broke out into laughter once more. She took another sip of coffee, savoring its bold taste along with the heartwarming moment.
“I can’t wait until you have one of your own.” Avery turned to her sister.
Alex, who had just taken a drink nearly choked trying not to spit it back out.
The conversation stopped. Lena watched Alex lower her cup slowly.
Avery frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Me?” Alex coughed, using a small paper napkin to wipe her mouth and chin. “I’m fine, why?”
“No, something’s up. What is it?” Avery pressed. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
She’s lying.
Lena could see the chic artist’s deception plain as day. She and the others remained silent as the two sisters continued their back-and-forth conversation.
“You made a face,” Avery charged.
“I choked on my coffee.” Alex shot her sibling an incredulous stare. “Of course, I made a face.”
“Before that. The second I mentioned you having a baby, you made a face, and then you choked.”
“I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
Alice leaned forward, her eyes narrowing playfully. “Sorry, Alex. But there was definitely a face.”
The woman being interrogated looked around at the group. When her gaze landed on Lena’s, Lena couldn’t help but smile. With a slight dip of her chin, she silently showed her support.
Alex fell back in her chair and sighed. “Okay, fine. There may have been a face.” A second later, Alex shared the incredible news. “Colt and I are having a baby.”
For a brief moment, nobody said a word. Then Avery let out a squeal and threw her arms around her sister.
“Oh, my God!”
Alex laughed as she hugged her back. Nicki clapped her hands, and Evie rested a hand on Alex’s forearm with an affectionate grin. Alice’s blue eyes beamed with excitement for their expectant friend.
“I can’t believe this!” Avery finally pulled back. “You really are pregnant?”
“It’s very early, still.”
“How long have you known?”
“We found out shortly before your gender reveal party.”
Falcon’s wife’s face fell. “You’ve known since before then, and you didn’t say anything?”
“We didn’t want to steal your and Garrett’s thunder.”
“Our thunder?” Avery’s expression twisted in disbelief. “You’re my sister, you big dummy. You could never steal my thunder.”
“So you’re really not mad? We didn’t plan this, I swear. It just sort of . . . happened.”
“Yeah, we all know how these things can just ‘happen’,” Alice teased.
Lena’s shoulders shook as she and the others cracked up once more. On the inside, she felt a sense of warmth growing. Much like the families before her.
Family.
So this was what it felt like to have one of those. Unlike the one she’d grown up with, this family wasn’t defined by blood or obligation. This was different. Better in so many ways.
Theirs was a family of choice, and without Lena realizing it, they’d begun making her a part of it, too.
She looked at Alex. “Congratulations. And please, tell Colt I said so, too.”
“I will, thank you.”
Lena had known Colt for quite some time. She’d watched him grow as an operative into the man he was today, and she genuinely loved how happy he and Alex were together.
“So when’s the wedding?” Nicki asked Alex next.
Alex’s smile widened. “That’s the other thing.”
Avery looked to her sister. “There’s more?”
“Colt and I decided to do a simple, courthouse wedding.”
The group of women erupted again, and Lena laughed.
“But, but, but”—Alex staved off the barrage of comments and opinions—“we want all of you there. The team, obviously, and all of you girls.” Then she turned to Lena. “And you and Rafe.”
Her heart swelled inside her chest. “Really? Because I completely understand if you prefer to keep that day between you and your friends.”
“Of course, we want you there,” Alex assured her. “And not just because you used to be Colt’s boss.”
Something shifted inside her.
“Thank you.” Lena smiled back. “I’d be honored to be a part of your special day.”
Alice scoffed. “You do realize you’re stuck with us now, right?”
She looked at the other woman. Something in the pretty blonde’s expression made Lena’s throat tighten. Her tone may have been a tad flippant, but the truth was there, in her intelligent eyes.
She meant every word she’d just said.
“She’s right, you know?” Evie piped up next.
“Yep.” Nicki nodded. “You may as well accept it now.”
“Accept what?” Lena asked, though she was starting to understand.
Alice reached over and covered Lena’s hand with hers. “You’re one of us.”
“Like it or not.” Alex grinned.
A sudden rush of emotion gathered behind her ribs as she looked around the table. Each of these women was a warrior in their own right.
They were fighters. Survivors. Heroes who’d overcome insurmountable odds. And they had welcomed her into their group—into their family—with open arms.
An hour later, they begrudgingly said their goodbyes on the sidewalk outside the coffee shop. Alex headed the opposite direction, toward the nearby art gallery she owned. Avery had a doctor’s appointment. Evie had to get home, and Nicki had errands to run.
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.
But as the darkness began closing around her, Lena remembered something about his face. That strange smile he’d given moments before his well-deserved death. A knowing look she’d dismissed as arrogance.
Now she understood.
He knew.
Kozlova hadn’t been the end of the threat. He’d been a part of something bigger. Someone else was still out there, and if they were willing to come after her in broad daylight—with witnesses all around them—then Rafe was still in danger, too.
The thought tore through her as consciousness slipped away. She’d finally found happiness. A reason to live that extended beyond the CIA. And now, someone had stolen it away.
And they would be coming for Rafe next.
Lena’s eyes started to close against her will, but not before she caught a glimpse of the rearview mirror. The driver’s eyes met hers for a fraction of a second.
No. It can’t be him.
She knew those eyes. Knew the man to whom they belonged. Roger Wilcox had been her mentor and friend. And he was driving her farther and farther away.
From Alice. From Rafe. And from the life she’d only just found.