Page 33 of Strike Fast

Reid joined him, a deep-seated anger roiling inside him. He was the father of a little girl. The thought of a man treating a woman like that, knowing the sick fucks had planned to sell them into the skin trade afterward, made him want to smash the bastards’ faces in.

Again, he and Khan found nothing.

Reid reported their findings to Hamilton, who sent them out front to talk to the investigators. An ambulance was on scene now, treating the female hostages. He didn’t even want to think about what kinds of injuries they might have sustained being held captive here by these animals.

As for his team, their work was done here. He and Khan started back through the woods together, heading for the spot where they’d left the van. “Think Ruiz was here?”

“If he was, the dogs will pick up his scent.”

Reid hoped they did, but he doubted anything would come of it. Ruiz had eluded U.S. authorities for a long time, and he was smart. Too smart to be caught holed up here with his enforcers and human cargo.

He stepped over a fallen log, the beam of his flashlight cutting like a laser through the darkness. Then a branch snapped somewhere to his right.

He froze and whipped around, aiming the beam there. A branch in the distance swayed at waist level, having been disturbed by something.

Or someone.

Without a word, Khan was right next to him, weapon up. Reid shut off his flashlight and lowered his NVGs into place, allowing them to hunt without the light giving them away.

Khan squeezed Reid’s right shoulder, signaling that he was ready to move. Reid crept forward, scanning the dense undergrowth, his pulse kicking up a notch. Was it Ruiz, or one of his men?

Something moved beyond the screen of leafy branches, right next to a path worn into the earth, making the surrounding brush quiver.

“Freeze,” Reid called out in a hard voice. He had his rifle to his shoulder, finger on the trigger guard, Khan locked and loaded behind him and to his right.

The brush stopped moving.

Reid zeroed in on the spot, every one of his senses on alert. “Stand up and put your hands in the air,” he commanded.

Nothing.

“Show yourself,now,” he yelled, taking a few gliding steps forward. He hated that he couldn’t see his target, or tell whether they were armed—

A figure stepped out onto the path, hands raised.

A woman. Naked.

Reid stopped. “Stay right there and don’t move,” he warned, approaching her slowly. She had something in her hand, but it didn’t look like a gun. Too bulky, and not the right shape.

Leaving Khan to cover him, Reid pulled his flashlight out and aimed it at her. The woman flinched as the light blinded her, and when she raised her arms in a gesture of self-defense, Reid finally saw what she was holding.

A big stick.

And she had a goddamn rusty collar and chain dangling from her neck.

Oh, Jesus.

He immediately lowered and slung his weapon, and gentled his demeanor. “Put the stick down and get onto your knees for me.” He needed to be certain she wasn’t armed with something else. His and Khan’s safety took precedence.

The woman seemed to weave on her feet for a moment, blinking at him with one bruised eye, the other swollen shut. Her face was too badly distorted to see her features clearly. They’d beaten the shit out of her, and it twisted Reid’s stomach.

“It’s okay,” he said in a softer tone, holding one hand toward her, palm-out. “We’re not gonna hurt you. We’re with the DEA.”

She stared back at him for a moment, her long, dark hair partially shielding her naked breasts. She was trembling all over.

“Put the stick down,” Reid said again. “We’re going to help you.”

The woman swallowed. Her hand twitched on the stick, then she opened her fist and it fell to the ground with a soft thud.

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