Page 65 of Strike Fast

“Not too far now,” he told her, shortening his strides so she could keep up, watching the underbrush for any further sign of a threat. “Almost there.”

With his teammates surrounding them and providing added protection, he relaxed his guard a little. His mind shifted back to Autumn. Was she at the target house? Had someone tried to whisk her away when the assault had begun?

Tess didn’t say anything as they walked at a fast clip, her mouth compressed into a grim line and his pistol still in her left hand. Reid led her through the forest, retracing the path they’d taken on the way in.

Finally, they reached the edge of the road where they’d parked the SUV. Three ambulance crews were waiting for them.

Reid ushered Tess to the closest ambulance and sat her down on the rear of the deck. She closed her eyes, swallowed and sucked in a deep breath, looking as though she was fighting the urge to puke.

“Okay, brother, we’re outta here,” Hamilton said from behind him.

Reid straightened and turned to face his team leader, a sudden lump clogging his throat. He closed the distance between them in three strides and grabbed Hamilton’s wrist, hard. “You go find my daughter,” he rasped out, desperation making his heart pound.

Hamilton’s face hardened, his eyes turning to pure steel. “If she’s there, we’ll get her out and bring her to you. I give you my word.” He gripped Reid’s forearm, squeezed tight. An unspoken vow to back up the words.

It would have to do.

Keyed up and powerless to charge to his daughter’s rescue, Reid stood there dragging in deep, unsteady lungfuls of air as his teammates were swallowed up by the dense trees. Go get her, guys.I can’t lose her. I just can’t.

Only when he was sure he had control over himself did he turn back around to face Tess. The paramedics were trying to get her to lie down on a stretcher inside the ambulance.

Hopping up into the back, Reid approached her and forced a reassuring smile. “You won’t be needing this anymore,” he said, gently easing the pistol from her grip before winding his fingers through hers.

This woman had dropped everything and come running when he’d needed her most, then put herself in harm’s way to help find Autumn. For those things, she would always have his undying gratitude. Along with his cynical, banged-up heart.

“You’re one tough cookie, Agent Dubrovski,” he told her.

“I don’t feel very tough at the moment,” she muttered through clenched teeth as the paramedic began probing at the fracture site. Her fingers tightened around Reid’s and she looked up into his eyes. “Any word on Autumn?”

It touched him that she was still thinking about his daughter even after everything she’d just gone through. “No.”

She squeezed his hand, giving him strength. “Go to the house.”

“No, I can’t leave y—”

“Reid.Go.” She flinched when the male paramedic shifted her right arm. “You need to be there. Go.”

The naked emotion in her voice made his heart pound. “Thank you,” he whispered, bending to brush a swift kiss across her lips. He took a backward step toward the open doors, holding her gaze. “I’ll come see you as soon as I can.”

Tess gave him a brave smile in answer. “Just go get her and give her a hug from me.”

“That’s a promise, darlin’.” Reid jumped down from the ambulance and ran to catch up with his teammates.

Chapter Seventeen

Tess came to slowly, blinking heavy eyelids as consciousness returned. She squinted against the bright light overhead, made out the curtains surrounding her bed and the quiet beeping of a machine nearby. Bits and pieces of the time between Reid leaving and the ambulance bringing her here returned.

They’d drugged her on the way and she only vaguely remembered lying on the operating room table staring up at the bright overhead lights and breathing through the mask placed over her nose and mouth a few seconds before she’d gone under.

Angling her chin, she tugged aside the neckline of her hospital gown with her left hand. A sterile bandage covered her right shoulder, and they’d bound her arm to her chest. The pain wasn’t too bad, way less than before the surgery, more like a bad toothache that pulsed with every beat of her heart.

The slice on her face throbbed a little too and her mouth and tongue were dry. She ran it over her teeth, aware of the rawness in the back of her throat from where they’d intubated her. Damn, it was hard to believe she’d survived being shot down a few hours ago.

The curtain around her bed swept aside to reveal a middle-aged nurse in cotton candy pink scrubs. She smiled at Tess. “Agent Dubrovski. How are you feeling?”

“Tess,” she corrected. “Thirsty. And groggy.”

“I would imagine so,” she said, efficiently checking Tess’s vitals. “I can give you some ice chips, but no water just yet.”

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