Page 67 of Strike Fast

“That makes sense.” She blew out a breath. “I just hate not being here with you for the rest of this.”

Reid leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I know, sweetheart. But even when you leave, you’ll still be with me here.” Raising her left hand, he unfolded her fingers and pressed her palm against the center of his chest.

And right then and there, Tess lost the last remaining pieces of her heart to him.

****

Reid stayed with Tess while they transferred her to a room on the surgical floor, and waited until she was fast asleep before leaving her around two in the afternoon. He took a cab back to the hotel where the taskforce was meeting, exhausted, his heart heavy. Would this nightmare ever end?

Maka and Khan were standing in the lobby when he walked in.

“How’s Tess?” Khan asked, his expression concerned.

“Resting. Surgery went well, and they think she’ll have normal function of her arm after she heals up.”

“That’s good news.”

He nodded. The only good news he’d had in days. “Anything new come in while I was gone?”

Maka shook his head. “Sorry, brother. Nothing.”

The frustration and adrenaline had long since drained away now, replaced by a slow sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. Every hour that passed without a tip on Autumn reduced the chance that she’d be found alive. He wasn’t ready to allow himself to think that she might be dead already, but it was there at the back of his mind, held at bay only by sheer will.

Khan eyed him. “When’s the last time you ate something?”

“I dunno.” He honestly couldn’t remember, or tell anymore whether the grinding pain in his stomach was due to hunger or despair.

“Come on.” Khan grabbed his arm and towed him into a conference room off the lobby. The rest of FAST Bravo was there with the HRT guys, gathered around the table laden with sandwich platters and other snacks. One of the HRT sniper teams must have been called in to assist as well, because Colebrook was talking with his brother Brody on the far side of the room.

“Eat,” Khan commanded, giving him a little shove toward the table.

Reid grimaced. The thought of food right now wasn’t appetizing in the least but his body needed the fuel, so he reached for a turkey sandwich and started chewing, the bread and meat sticking to the roof of his mouth.

While he ate, the guys asked him about Tess, then they filled him in on more details about the op. They turned his already touchy stomach.

“How many women were there?” he asked after he forced the last bite of his second sandwich down his throat.

“Nine. All in the basement, all in cages,” Granger answered, his expression full of buried rage as he polished off an iced tea.

“Assholes treated them worse than stray dogs,” Lockhart added with a shake of his head. He was the quietest one of the whole team, so him offering the comment was testimony of just how upset he was about it. “Made me sick, to see them like that.”

Reid understood that completely. Victoria Gomez had been chained to the floor by a collar around her neck. He’d seen the marks on her. Welts from whatever they’d hit her with, and little round burn marks probably made by cigarettes. Were they doing that to Autumn too? She was only nine, but that didn’t mean shit to savage animals like Ruiz and his men. He was terrified they’d abused her, sexually as well as physically.

The sandwich congealed in his belly, threatened to come right back up again. He swallowed hard.

A sharp whistle rent the air.

Reid swung around to find Taggart standing in the conference room doorway and HRT Commander DeLuca striding to the rear of the room. “Listen up, boys,” Taggart called out.

Silence descended as all eyes swung to DeLuca in his trademark San Diego Chargers ball cap. “Just received a tip on Ruiz saying he got spooked and took off for Florida. We think one of his men alerted him during our assault. Word is he’s trying to arrange a flight out of the country. We need to find him before that happens. We’re monitoring our channels to see if we can pinpoint a certain area, but if the cartel is helping him that’s gonna make it hard for us to get a lock on him unless we get another tip or some insider help.”

“God dammit,” Reid muttered, shoving a hand through his hair. Was Autumn with Ruiz? Was she even in North Carolina? Where the hellwasshe?

Across from Reid, Colebrook’s phone chirped. He grabbed it, showed it to his brother, their heads together as they started talking, their expressions intent. Then Brody Colebrook pulled out his own phone, checked it, and nodded as his brother put up a hand. “Commander, could we talk to for you a sec?”

DeLuca raised his eyebrows, appearing as surprised by the interruption as everyone else. “What’s that?”

“Check your phone. I think we might have a possible solution to our problem.”

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