Page 53 of Strike Fast

“That, on top of everything else and what happened with Sarah after she heard the news about Ruiz… It’s no excuse, but I drove past a liquor store on the way home and I just thought, ‘fuck it’. So I stopped and went in.” Shame flickered in his eyes.

“I poured everything down the sink,” she said, not sorry but bracing for his anger anyway.

“Thank you,” he said instead.

She relaxed and rested her cheek against his shoulder again, glad he’d allowed her to stay and that he wanted her here at such an emotional time. “Welcome.”

He was silent for a minute before speaking again. “You know, when I first quit drinking I thought cold turkey was too hard so I switched to a non-alcoholic beer. Then I had to quit even that because it tasted too close to the real thing. I was doing pretty well by the time Autumn was old enough to understand what alcoholism meant. I never hid it from her. When she was about five or so I told her exactly what it was and that I was doing my best to stay sober. She looked up at me, cocked her head and said I should try root beer instead.”

Tess smiled, picturing it easily in her mind. “That’s adorable.”

“Yeah. I always make sure I’ve got some of our favorite brand on hand. There’s some in the fridge right now.” His grip on her tightened and Tess squeezed her eyes shut, his pain slicing through her. “They’re gonna find her, right? The cops or the feds. Hell, even a citizen, I don’t care.”

The desperation in his voice shredded her inside. “Yes.” There was no question that Autumn would be found. Tess just hoped they found her intime.

They stood holding each other for a while before Reid spoke once more. “You’ve gotta be exhausted,” he murmured against her hair.

She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“You should sleep.”

“I’m not sleeping if you’re not.” That wasn’t right. She’d come here so he wouldn’t have to bear this alone.

He kissed the top of her head. “How about we lie down together for a while then, and if you fall asleep, I won’t hold it against you.”

“Okay.”

Lacing his fingers through hers, he led her past Autumn’s closed bedroom door to the master bedroom. The lights were off, but there was enough coming through the open doorway from the kitchen for her to see the big king-size bed she hadn’t paid attention to before while she’d been looking for bottles.

Reid laid his phone on the bedside table, then pulled the covers down. Tess took off her shoes. Fully dressed, they both climbed in, and he immediately pulled her into his arms. She settled against his hard frame with a sigh and slipped an arm around his waist, surrounded by his heat and scent, willing him to take the comfort she offered.

He curled one thick arm around her back, and sifted his free hand through her hair. “I’m so damn glad you’re here,” he whispered hoarsely.

“Me too,” she whispered back.

They lay together in the silence, listening to the sound of each other’s breathing, each of them hoping his phone would ring with good news.

Praying for a miracle.

Chapter Fourteen

Autumn jolted awake in complete darkness. Fear surged through her, making her body go rigid, her heart swelling painfully in her chest. Her arms and legs ached from being bound together behind her. Her mouth was dry, the piece of tape over her lips. She was still locked in the trunk, but it wasn’t as hot as it had been. Where had the man taken her?

The car stopped.

Her pulse pounded sickeningly in her ears when a door opened and shut. Footsteps came toward the back of the car.

Autumn tensed, a film of cold sweat coating her skin as she waited.

The trunk popped open. She squeezed her eyes shut, but no light penetrated her eyelids so she opened them. It was dark out. The bad man from before leaned over her, a light somewhere in the background illuminating half of his face. Fear slithered through her when he grinned, the light gleaming on his gold front tooth.

“It’s time, little angel,” he said in an accented voice that sounded almost excited. He held up a phone, the bright flash of light blinding her as he took a picture.

By the time she opened her eyes again he was reaching for her. She bit back a cry of fear, tried to scurry backward away from him but with her limbs bound she couldn’t move. The man grabbed her, roughly jerked her out of the trunk and tossed her over his shoulder. Bone dug into her belly and she gritted her teeth, determined not to cry in front of him.

But inside she was shaking with terror.

He carried her a short distance to another vehicle, where a different man waited. “You fed her?” the new one asked.

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