Page 74 of Strike Fast

“Dubrovski!” a male voice called up to her.

“Here!” She broke into a jog, heart clattering against her ribs as she rushed down the stairs. What had they found? Not Autumn’s body.Not her little body, please.

She rounded the corner, able to see because one of the men had switched on a flashlight. “Did you find her?” she asked, desperate to know.

“Yeah.” The team leader pulled off his balaclava, his eyes grave. “In there.” He pointed to a utility room off the basement hallway. “Let her in, guys,” he said to his men.

Tess immediately moved past him, the pain in her shoulder forgotten, a dull throb in her ears and her legs wooden as she walked to that open doorway. Someone was inside it. One of the SWAT agents.

His back was to her as he did something with his hands. And he was speaking softly, his tone soothing. Cajoling, as though talking to a frightened animal.

Or a terrified little girl.

Tess rushed inside and stopped dead when she took in the sight before her. The agent moved back enough for her to see Autumn as he gently sliced through the tape holding her hands behind her.

Elation slammed into Tess, so sharp and powerful the floor seemed to tilt beneath her for a moment. “Autumn.”

The little girl’s eyes swung toward her, and the moment they locked on Tess, her face crumpled and she burst into tears. “Tess,” she choked out, reaching for her.

Oh my God, oh my God…Tess pushed past the male agent and grabbed her, wrapping her left arm around those frail little shoulders.

Autumn clung to Tess. Tess winced and hissed in a breath when Autumn’s face pressed against her surgical site, but she didn’t care about the pain. “Oh, sweetheart, it’s so good to see you,” she murmured against that soft brown hair.

Autumn continued to cling to Tess as she cried, her whole body shaking.

Tess held her tighter, gathered her up and sat there on the floor just holding her. “It’s okay. It’s okay now.” She smoothed her left hand over Autumn’s hair, down her shuddering back. Was she okay? Was she hurt anywhere that Tess couldn’t see? “I’m going to take you home.”

“W-where’s my dad?” she quavered.

“He’s coming, sweetie. He’s on a plane right now, coming to get you.” Tess cupped the girl’s face in her hand and tipped it up. Autumn’s eyes were puffy and swollen, but in the dim light it was hard to see if she had any cuts or marks on her. “Are you hurt anywhere?” It made Tess’s guts clench to think of what they might have done to her.

Autumn shook her head, her frightened gaze darting past Tess to all the uniformed men standing in the basement.

“It’s all right, they’re with me,” Tess soothed. “Honey, look at me.”

Deep blue eyes exactly like Reid’s focused on her.

“That’s better.” Tess put on a reassuring smile. “Are you hurt, Autumn?”

“N-no.” Her lips quivered and more tears flooded her eyes. “I want to go home. I want my mom and dad.”

“I know you do. And you’ll see them real soon.” Tess hugged her close again, clamped her teeth together as her injured shoulder protested with a searing pain. Autumn had been through something unbelievably traumatic, and Tess didn’t want her to suffer even a moment’s more distress. “I’m going to take you outside now, okay? There are lots of police officers and federal agents waiting for us outside, just to make sure you’re safe. Some of them will want to talk to you, ask you questions about what happened, and the paramedics will want to check to make sure you’re okay.”

“I just wanna go home.”

“I know, sweetie. But I’ll stay with you the whole time, okay?”

Autumn focused on her again, searched her eyes a moment, then nodded.

Tess smiled at her again. “Ready?”

Autumn burrowed closer and wrapped her arms tight around Tess’s neck, and this time she couldn’t hold back a hiss of pain. Autumn’s head came up, her gaze moving from Tess’s face to her shoulder and back. “What happened?”

“Well, it’s kind of a long story.”

“Are you alright?”

Tess huffed out a laugh. It was funny, for Autumn to be asking her that right now after everything she’d been through. “Yes. Now let’s get you out of here, huh?” When Autumn nodded, Tess gathered her tight and wrapped her left arm around the girl’s hips. “You’re gonna have to hold on tight because I’ve only got one arm to hold you with.”

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