Page 72 of Strike Fast

Then Prentiss grabbed the handle on the aircraft door.

Carlos’s heart shot into his throat. “Okay! Okay, I’ll tell you!”

Chapter Nineteen

“Whoa there, Wonder Woman,” her sister said, hurrying through the connecting door of their Alexandria hotel rooms as Tess came out of the bathroom struggling to get her damn bra strap over her bandaged shoulder.

Tess sighed and lowered her left arm in frustration, her plain white bra dangling from her left hand. “I hate this damn thing,” she grumbled, glaring down at the sling that kept her right arm immobile and useless against her chest.

“Well that damn ‘thing’ is currently keeping you from being in even more pain,” Shannon said, efficiently easing the strap into position over Tess’s bad shoulder, choosing a spot where it wouldn’t rub the surgical site. Two years younger than Tess, Shannon was a natural mother and had jumped a flight to be here for Tess when she’d arrived an hour ago.

She paused, meeting Tess’s eyes. “Do you, um… You wanna do the honors, or shall I?” she asked, lifting the cups, eyeing Tess’s bare breasts.

Tess grunted and sat up straighter, hiding a wince as the motion pulled at her newly fixed collarbone. It hurt, but not so much as not having any more information about Autumn. And she was worried as hell about Reid since their last call this morning. “Go ahead. It’s not like you haven’t seen them about three minutes ago while you were in there helping me wash my hair.”

“True.” Shannon tucked a strand of golden-blond hair behind her ear and wiggled the cups into position, then reached down and quickly scooped each breast into place. “There. Voila,” she said, reaching around Tess to hook the bands together between her shoulder blades. “What shirt do you want to wear?”

“Whatever hurts the least to get on.”

Shannon dug through Tess’s duffel on the floor. “Let’s try this one.” She pulled out an oversize plaid, button-down, flannel shirt.

“Is that Reid’s?” It sure wasn’t hers. She grabbed it, brought it to her nose to smell it and caught the scent of his soap on the fabric. A pang hit her. He must have put it in here when he’d thrown the bag together for her last night.

“And it does double duty, because not only do we not have to pull it over your head,” Shannon said, carefully easing the right sleeve up Tess’s curled arm, “but it also put a smile on your face.”

“He’s a good man.” They’d talked about him a lot while Tess had been back in Texas. Shannon had listened patiently while Tess had poured her heart out, talking about her concerns, her fears. And that she had already pretty much been a goner as far as Reid Prentiss was concerned.

“So you’ve told me, alcohol and ex problems included.”

“I know, but he’s so much more than that, Shan.” He was also brave and strong and caring. “He rescued me yesterday. And he was there waiting for me when I woke up in the recovery room. He even packed me a bag and called you to arrange your trip.”

“Gotta love him for that,” Shannon said.

All that in spite of the hell he was going through with Autumn. He amazed her. “God, I miss him.” So damn much, especially with all that had happened yesterday. She’d relived those stomach-curdling moments before the crash so many times since, and the terrifying attack in the woods. If not for Reid and the men he’d recruited to come in after them, she and her crew might be dead right now.

Or, she might be in a cage like those other women, about to be shipped out to the highest bidder. Cold swept through her just thinking of it.

“Well, I’m sure as hell looking forward to meeting him when this is all over. I’m going to hug the hell out of him for saving my big sister.”

“Get in line, Shan. He’s mine, so I get to hug him first.” Tess eyed her phone sitting there charging on the desk across the room. It had been hours since she’d gotten word from Reid about the operation happening right now, but he’d been so evasive and there’d been no updates since.

She pushed off the bed to walk around, the pain in her shoulder making it impossible to get comfortable. They’d given her meds to keep on top of it before leaving the hospital but she didn’t want to take any with the current situation going down. Her boss had told her that the DEA and FBI had hatched some kind of sting to nab Ruiz and get a lock on Autumn’s location. Reid was involved, but she wasn’t sure in what capacity and it was driving her nuts to be cooped up here waiting for word.

Her cell rang, making her heart rate skyrocket. She grabbed it from the desk, hope inflating her ribcage when she saw Reid’s number. “Reid?” Her entire body was on alert as her sister watched her anxiously.

“Yeah, sweetheart, it’s me.”

The endearment hit her straight in the chest. “Are you okay?”

“More than okay. I think we’ve found her, Tess.” His voice cracked with emotion.

Tess closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, praying Autumn was all right. “Thank God.” She opened her eyes, mind working fast. “Where is she?”

“An address in the Tidewater region. Analysts are working on it now, and the taskforce is putting together a team to go after her.”

She was already grabbing her ID and jacket from the closet. “Where are you right now?”

“I’m in the air, about two hours out of Alexandria. Will you go with them? They’re going to pull the trigger soon, and Autumn knows you. She’s gone through hell already, and if she’s there it—”

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