Page 11 of Strike Fast

Acceptance. Relief.

He saw it in her eyes. She knew he was going to kill her.Wantedhim to use the cane and put an end to her torment.

His hand shook on the cane as he sucked in a shuddering breath. He refused to end her torment so easily after what she’d cost him. He wanted her to suffer a lot more yet before she eventually died in some hovel of an Asian bordello when her pimp decided she no longer was worth the cost of keeping her alive.

A slow smile curved his mouth, and he reveled in the first hint of fear that crept into that dark, bruised eye.

“Get Javier,” he said softly to Antonio. “Might as well not let her go to waste, now that she’s all clean again.”

Pivoting on his heel, he limped back down the sagging wooden steps and across the overgrown lawn, the music from the house getting louder and the rage-filled screams from the shed growing fainter behind him.

Chapter Four

Reid pulled up in front of Tess’s hotel twenty minutes after dropping Autumn off at her mom’s place, trying to think of a way to stall. Or even pondering asking Tess out, which didn’t make any sense because they lived in different cities.

Although that could be a good thing, too. The thing was, he hadn’t expected to enjoy Tess’s company so much, and now he didn’t want the evening to end.

He wanted more time with her, to get to know her. And if part of it was because a tiny bit of him was desperate to stave off the inevitable moment when he was left alone with his demons as the anniversary of his best friend’s death loomed like a black hole before him… Well, he was far from perfect.

“Thanks for letting me tag along on your father-daughter night. I had a good time,” Tess said to him, reaching down to unbuckle her seatbelt.

“Yeah, me too.” Watching her undo that belt and prepare to get out of his car made dread congeal like a cold, hard lump in the pit of his stomach.

The idea of going home alone to his apartment right now rattled him enough that his heart rate kicked up. This time of year was always the hardest on him, as well as the Christmas holidays.

This past Christmas he’d been at Bagram with his teammates, and had plenty of things going on to keep his mind occupied. Until Khan had eloped a few months ago, Reid had spent a lot of time with him, in part because his teammate didn’t drink. Now, Reid was on his own with downtime on his hands, and the urge to hit up the nearest liquor store just to numb the memory of Jason’s death a little was like a living thing inside him.

“And thanks for dinner. Next time, my treat,” Tess added.

It encouraged him that she was open to a next time. “Sure.” Things had gone way better tonight than he’d anticipated. The movie had been pretty good, then he’d taken them to Autumn’s favorite Italian place for dinner. He’d expected to suffer through a couple hours of awkward pauses during the meal since they didn’t know each other, but that hadn’t happened.

Throughout dinner Autumn had chattered to Tess like they were old buddies, and Tess had kept up with every shift in the conversation, talking to and treating Autumn as a little adult rather than a child. That earned her major points right there. Too many adults talked down to kids, and kids could always sense that forced fakeness a mile away.

Not Tess. She was kind, with a good sense of humor, and clearly had a soft spot for kids. More points for her.

It was actually kinda funny—he’d avoided introducing Autumn to the few women he’d gotten involved with since the divorce, and here Tess had forged a connection with his daughter right off the bat. Not that he and Tess were involved, of course.

But he was starting to think he’d like to be. And he wanted the chance to see how much more than just physical attraction was going on here. Because shit, yeah, their chemistry was powerful.

Tess popped the passenger door open and shot him a questioning look. “See you at HQ tomorrow, maybe?”

“Maybe.” He’d only be called in if something big came up because the team was scheduled to have the day off.

She gave him a little smile and started to slide out, and a spurt of alarm shot through his chest at the prospect of being alone with his memories the rest of the night. He’d been dry for almost nine years now, but it was a constant battle. Not a day went by when he didn’t crave a drink, even though he’d gone through programs and had a fellow vet for a sponsor. Days likethiswere even worse. And he was the kind of recovering alcoholic that if he had a single drink, he’d likely fall headfirst off the wagon and not even realize what happened.

“You wanna go for a walk or something?” he blurted. He told himself he wasn’t being selfish, wasn’t using her as a distraction or a crutch. He genuinely liked and was drawn to her. Although as far as distractions went, Tess was a goddamn powerful one. “There’s a nice promenade in front of the hotel that goes along the waterfront.”

She stopped and faced him, her hazel-green eyes searching his.

He liked the way she looked at him. Direct. Nothing coy or practiced or calculated about her. Tess was classy. Mature.

Real.

Maybe that’s what it was that drew him so hard. She wasn’t trying to be anything other than her authentic self. As someone who was still learning to be comfortable in his own skin without alcohol, he admired that a lot.

He was pretty sure she felt the pull too, or at least he hoped there had been a gleam of interest in her eyes a time or two across the table tonight. But no flirting from her, not even after they’d dropped Autumn off. He’d always enjoyed being the pursuer, and it had been a damn long time since he’d needed to be, let alone felt the urge to.

The idea of enticing Tess was arousing as hell and excited him in a way he didn’t even understand. His instincts were urging him to pursue her, and for once, he didn’t question them.

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