Page 35 of Strike Fast

“N-no,” she said sharply.

Hamilton glanced up at them. Maybe the bastards had taken her that same way. Thrown her into a van before bringing her out here. “Okay, no van. I’ll carry you out to the road and my guys will call an ambulance up. Because you need medical attention. All right?”

She hesitated a moment, then managed a nod, and Reid let out a sigh of relief before asking for an ambulance to be sent around.

“Here we go.” Hamilton stood and started for the road. Reid stayed behind them to light the way with his flashlight while Khan loped ahead. When Reid emerged from the trees behind Hamilton, Khan was already bringing the van up. He popped out and slid the side door open for them.

The woman made a sound of protest and tried to twist away.

“I’m just going to sit you on the edge of the floor, not put you in it,” Hamilton said to her, never breaking his stride. Reaching the van, he gently set her inside the open doorway, and straightened. He turned his head and met Reid’s gaze, those steel gray eyes were so full of rage they all but glowed in the half-light. “Get that fucking collar off her,” he snarled under his breath.

Reid didn’t have to be told twice. He waited until Hamilton moved aside before approaching the woman, taking his helmet off so she could see him better in the moonlight. “Let’s get this chain off you, okay?” he said, reaching for it.

She tensed and drew away slightly, but otherwise didn’t move, her one functioning eye darting back and forth between the three of them.

Khan aimed the flashlight for him. Reid moved in close to get a good look at the collar. Some asshole had locked it with a padlock, giving her only a fraction of an inch breathing room between her skin and the rusted metal. It had worn a raw strip around her entire neck and throat, and he could tell with one look that the bloody wound was infected.

God dammit.

“I need a lockpick kit.”

“Try this,” Khan said, handing him a multi-tool.

Reid got to work. He tried his best not to tug on the collar, but he had to when he gave the multi-tool a final savage twist. “Sorry,” he murmured, but the metal hook on the padlock sprang free. He pulled it off and tossed it into the dirt, then carefully pried the stiff halves of the collar apart, the rusted links of the chain clanking dully on the van floor.

She hissed in a breath as it pulled away from her raw skin, and when Reid saw how deep it had cut into the sides of her neck, he clenched his back teeth together to suppress a growl of pure rage.

“There we go,” he said, finally pulling it free. He wanted to hurl the goddamn thing into the woods, but they’d need it for evidence, so he tossed it inside the van.

Hamilton moved in to crouch in front of her. “Can my medic take a look at you now?”

She looked from him to Khan, and Reid thought she was about to give her consent when the ambulance turned onto the road and headed for them. Her hand shot out from the blanket and latched onto Hamilton’s in pure reflex, seeking reassurance. Or protection.

With them, she had both.

Hamilton curled his fingers around her slender hand. “It’s all right. They’ll help you. Give you something for the pain.”

Her throat worked convulsively as she swallowed, her gaze trained on the approaching ambulance.

“What’s your name?” Hamilton asked gently.

Her head turned, her one open eye focusing on him. “Victoria,” she said, her voice hoarse either from disuse…or screaming. “Victoria Gomez.”

Chapter Ten

Tess felt much calmer by the time she arrived at the hospital. When she’d received Reid’s text that he was there, she’d been afraid he or one of the other guys had been injured or worse during the op. But he’d assured her he was fine, and she’d agreed to meet him here.

The automatic doors to the emergency department swooshed open before her. She rounded the corner and let out a relieved breath when she saw Reid standing with his back to her down the hallway, speaking to Khan and Hamilton, all of them still in their tactical uniforms.

The latter two glanced over at her, and when Reid turned around, the slight smile he flashed her filled her with warmth. He said something to the others, then headed her way, and she had to hold herself back from rushing up and throwing her arms around him.

She searched his eyes as he approached. “You okay?” she asked when he was a few steps from her. The anniversary of his friend’s suicide was coming up next weekend, and she knew it was on his mind a lot. Whatever had happened tonight might have exacerbated it.

“Yeah. Let’s go outside.” And to her surprise, he wrapped a proprietary arm around her shoulders as they headed back toward the main doors, all but staking his claim in front of whoever was watching. “Were you at base the whole time?”

She slid her arm around his waist, enjoying the flex of taut muscle beneath her palm. “Yes. We were on standby, in case we needed to insert another unit or extract some of you guys.” The night air was warm and without the humidity that made being outside in the daytime at this time of year so uncomfortable.

“You take a cab here?”

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