Page 59 of Strike Fast

“All right, people.” HRT Commander Matt DeLuca strode into the room, all business in his tactical uniform, and Taggart on his heels. “Our analysts have come up with a target location.”

Yes.

Reid’s heart thudded in his throat as DeLuca walked over and set his finger on a point on the map in front of Reid and the others. “Best we can tell, the cell that call originated from is now here. And satellite images show a private log home hidden in the trees. It’s a rental property.”

When DeLuca turned his attention to the screen at the back of the room, Reid followed his gaze and focused on the satellite image there.

“It’s isolated. Only one road in and out. We got a tip saying Ruiz, or at least some of his men are there, and a wiretap confirms he made a call from that phone two hours ago. There was chatter about a girl, but we can’t say for certain it was Autumn. Based on all that, however, we’re going in. At this point we don’t know what kind of manpower or resistance to expect, and that means we have to be ready for anything. So let’s lay this thing out together.”

SA Tucker immediately got to work with his team while Hamilton took charge of FAST Bravo’s meeting. Reid hovered on the periphery, hyper-focused on every detail. Everything passed in a blur. Ideally, they would wait to execute the joint raid when it was dark, but with Autumn’s life potentially hanging in the balance, they were going now.

He didn’t see Tess again after the briefing, not even out at the flight line at the airport. He’d suited and kitted up with the rest of his teammates, but when they reached the tarmac, Reid headed left with Taggart, DeLuca and some other support staff rather than going right with the other operators. It chafed that he couldn’t be the one to kick down the door on this op and rescue his daughter, but he understood and trusted his boys. That would have to be enough.

The taskforce touched down at a small, private airstrip several miles from the target house some fifty minutes later. As Reid hopped out behind Taggart, he studied the cockpits of the other two birds and thought he spotted Tess in the right hand seat of the last one but she didn’t look his way as he climbed into the modified RV that was to serve as their mobile command unit.

Agents inside it were already monitoring satellite links and cell tower activity in the area. While the HRT and Reid’s teammates met again to go over the details of the coming op, the RV rolled out toward the mountain town where the target location lay.

Reid stayed in his seat as they wound up the switchbacks, thinking of Autumn. Remembering all the little milestones in her short life. The day she’d been born. Taking her home from the hospital, terrified he might break her. The first time she’d smiled at him and it wasn’t gas. Her first steps. That first time he’d picked her up from preschool and her face had lit up when she’d seen him, then raced over and launched herself into his arms.

Easter. Halloween. Birthdays and Christmas. Their trip to Orlando just over a month ago. That time she’d made the game-winning catch a few weeks back and she’d immediately looked for him in the stands…and the huge smile that had broken across her face when she realized he’d been there to see it.

And he also thought about all the milestones he’d missed, either because he was overseas or on a training mission somewhere.

His career had cost him a lot. He couldn’t handle it if it cost him Autumn, too. Nothing was worth his baby girl’s life, and he felt sick that his job had been responsible for this nightmare.

The RV stopped at a pullout on the side of the winding road, the tinted windows giving passersby no clue of what was actually going on inside. Support agents were waiting a few miles back in their vehicles, ready to arrive on scene once the HRT and FAST Bravo had secured the target location.

While the minutes ticked by, Reid was forced to sit there and do nothing as the hive of activity carried on around him. But when Taggart looked over at him and jerked his head in a silent order to come over, Reid was off his seat and beside his commander in the space of a single heartbeat.

“How you doing?” Taggart asked, scrutinizing him.

Reid already had his game face on. “Fine.”

His commander’s expression softened a fraction. “I know this is hard on you. Being stuck here instead of with the boys at a time like this.”

“It’s okay. I get it.” And Taggart was a father too, so he understood on some level what Reid was going through.

Those pale aquamarine eyes focused on his. “We’re going.”

Reid expelled the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.Thank God.“When?”

“Two minutes.” He handed Reid a headset. “You can listen in and watch as long as you stay out of everyone’s way.”

Reid snatched it and put it on without a word, his pulse accelerating. Taggart turned away and faced the wall of monitors set up on the inside of the RV, a group of analysts seated before their stations in front of him.

Commander DeLuca walked over from the front of the unit, the brim of his San Diego Chargers cap pulled low over his forehead. “You boys ready to do this?” He looked from Taggart to Reid and back, green eyes sharp.

“Yup,” Taggart said. “Let’s pull the trigger.”

Reid glued his gaze to the monitors as both commanders issued the green light. It was weird to hear Hamilton’s voice responding on the other end of the headset, weirder still to not be with his teammates on this critical of an op, but being able to monitor everything live from here was a thousand times better than having to sit back and wait for word at HQ in Virginia.

Within minutes both Blackhawks were in the air, Tess at the controls of one of them. The helos raced over the mountains turned brilliant green with their spring foliage, carrying the teams toward the target house and the unsuspecting narco terrorists hiding there.

If Autumn was there, she would be back in his arms within an hour or two.

Chapter Sixteen

Hovering the Blackhawk just above the leafy green canopy of the trees below, Tess adjusted the foot pedals to keep her as still as possible for the team in the back. Through her headset she could hear the crew chief getting ready to deploy the rope for FAST Bravo. Eight members instead of nine, because Reid was somewhere still on the ground in the mobile command unit.

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