Strike Fast

by Kaylea Cross

  Madre de Cristo. Carlos spun around to find Antonio striding toward him, and threw his hands up. “What the fuck are you doing? She was almost ready to take from my hand!”

  Antonio stopped, looking uncharacteristically uncertain as he stood there staring at Carlos.

  Carlos heaved out an irritated sigh and set his hands on his hips. “What?”

  “I just thought I should tell you… One of our contacts has ID’d some of the men on the DEA team from last week.”

  “How many?”

  “Two.”

  They’d been working this angle for a week, and only managed to identify two members? Pathetic. “And?”

  “And…there might be a weakness we can exploit.”

  “Might?” He stared at Antonio, incredulous, not even caring about what kind of weakness he meant. “You come out here and interrupt me about this with a might?” Maybe it was time to open up the spot of head enforcer. Or clean his ranks entirely. How was he ever going to take over the cartel with a bunch of incompetent idiots under him?

  Antonio cleared his throat. “We’re looking at targeting one of the agent’s family members. I was going to send one of the guys up there tonight. To D.C.”

  “Just get it done.” Beyond annoyed, impatient for results that might actually get him somewhere, Carlos flapped a hand at him. “Go. And don’t tell me again until you have something solid.”

  “Sure, boss.”

  He turned back to face the giraffe as Antonio’s footsteps faded away behind him. She’d been spooked and wouldn’t approach him now. He was back at square one.

  Muttering under his breath, Carlos picked up the bucket, dumped the husks over the fence for her and trudged back toward the house. His night was ruined. The only thing that could save it was getting word of a firm target to strike at.

  Chapter Twelve

  Autumn’s stomach grumbled as she and her mom stopped at a red light not far from their house. She reached out to turn on the radio and switched to her favorite pop station, pre-game jitters dancing around in her belly, adding to the hunger. “Can we stop somewhere on the way to the park? I’m starving.”

  From behind the wheel, her mom shot her an irritated look. “Why didn’t you eat before we left the house?”

  “There was nothing to eat.”

  Her mom made a frustrated sound before focusing back on the road and proceeding through the intersection now that the light was green. “Right. There weren’t three different kinds of yogurt in the fridge that you asked me to buy the other day, or five different kinds of fruit, or bread, cheese and cereal. Or a big jar of peanut butter in the pantry. You know what that’s called? Laziness.”

  Autumn stemmed the urge to roll her eyes and didn’t say anything. Her mom had eyes in the back of her head, so Autumn knew better than to try it.

  “There’s a Subway on the way,” her mom finally said in a ticked-off tone that rang with annoyance. “I’ll stop this time. But don’t make a habit of this. From now on you can take ten minutes and make yourself something before we leave the house. You’re old enough to feed yourself a snack, at least.”

  “Fine,” Autumn said on a dramatic sigh, secretly pleased that she’d gotten a Subway out of the deal. Then she changed the subject. “Is Dad coming to the game?”

  Her mom’s mouth pinched, just like it did every time Autumn brought him up. It was weird to think they’d ever been married, because Autumn sure couldn’t remember them being together. Even now when they talked, all they did was argue, though usually by text or email. “I would imagine so. And Max said he’d try to come by if his meeting finished up in time, too.”

  Autumn didn’t care whether Max showed up or not, she only cared whether her dad did. Her mom’s boyfriend was nice enough, and so was his house, but the truth was, Autumn resented having to share her mom with anyone. She didn’t like having to follow all the rules he set just because she and her mom were living in his house. Though again, she didn’t say it aloud. Her mom was really protective of him. “So I’ll go with Dad straight after the game’s over?”

  “Yes.”

  Awesome. She was super excited about him coming to watch this afternoon. He was gone so much for work, and that meant he missed a lot of the games.

  Practices, she didn’t care about him not being there, but for games she did. Her fielding was still iffy because she wasn’t that good with her new glove yet, but her arm was getting better each game and last time she’d even gotten a base hit. She loved it when he was sitting there in the stands, cheering her on. On the opposite side of the field from where her mom sat, but Autumn didn’t mind that. Plus, she had the sleepover to look forward to after.

  She loved hanging out with her dad, just the two of them. He’d take her out to eat right after the game, then they’d go home to his place and watch a movie together or play cards or a board game. Sometimes he’d make them popcorn or root beer floats, and he didn’t make her take a shower or bath until the morning. She also loved her bedroom there. He’d let her pick out the paint color and comforter set, and let her arrange all the furniture the way she wanted. At Max’s house, everything had been picked out for her, and she had to keep it perfectly clean or she got in trouble.

  Autumn smiled to herself, already looking forward to tonight. Maybe her dad would make her chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. He barely ever burned them anymore. And he’d totally be up for going to the park tomorrow for a game of catch, help her break in her glove more.

  The traffic was bad, making her mom uptight, but Autumn didn’t mind the delay because it gave her more time to listen to the music. A few minutes later her mom slowed the Lexus and pulled into the turning lane next to a strip mall. Autumn spotted the Subway sign immediately, over in the corner.

  Her mom steered into the lot and parked out front of the shop. “What do you want?” Her tone was a little short, but that was probably because they were running behind with the traffic, and this unexpected stop had added time her mother hadn’t been anticipating. Her mom hated being late, said it was rude.

  Autumn was quick with her order. “Six inch turkey on whole wheat, with mustard and mayo. A little lettuce, no tomato.” Disgusting things. “And a chocolate milk. Please,” she added politely.

  Her mom’s expression softened at the show of manners and appreciation. “Okay, wait here.” She shut off the engine and started to pull the keys out of the ignition, which would kill the radio.

  Autumn shot out a hand to stop her. “No, wait! This is my favorite song.”

  “Ugh, fine.” Her mom dropped her hand from the keys and left them in the ignition. “I’ll be right back, but lock the doors when I get out.”

  Don’t roll your eyes. Her mom was so insanely overprotective sometimes. “Okay, Mom.” Autumn waited until her mom shut the driver’s side door before hitting the automatic lock button. Safe inside the cool interior, she tapped her foot and started singing along with her favorite artist, her nerves about the game forgotten.

  The driver’s side door handle jiggled.

  Autumn glanced over, expecting to see her mom, but her heart stuttered when she saw the strange man standing there instead. He had a hard, tanned face with a mean expression and tattoos on the front of his neck.

  He was a bad man. She could tell just by the look on his face. And the way he was staring at her made prickles crawl up her arms.

  He yanked on the door handle again.

  Her insides shriveled and she froze in her seat, staring into those dark, evil eyes. She only had a moment to process that he was trying to break into the car, when he raised his arm and smashed something against the window. Glass crunched and tiny bits of it flew inside as he kept bashing at it.

  Autumn screamed and undid her seatbelt to scramble away, flattening herself against her door, but the man didn’t stop. In the blink of an eye he reached in, unlocked the driver’s door and was sliding behind the wheel before she could draw another breath to scream.

  “Don�
�t you fucking move,” he snarled at her in an accented voice as he started the engine.

  Her throat squeezed shut and her heart pounded in her ears as the car came to life, spurring her into action.

  She reached for the door lock, trying to pull it up so she could get out of the car and run. So he couldn’t take her.

  A hard, cruel hand locked around the back of her neck. It squeezed, the painful pressure making her cry out.

  “I said, don’t move,” he snapped, his fingers crushing the back of her neck as he shot the car backward out of the parking spot.

  No! He was kidnapping her!

  Unable to break free of his grip, Autumn’s eyes darted around frantically, searching for help. Two people were gaping at them from the sidewalk out front of the stores, their eyes wide with horror. “Help!” she screamed at them. Why weren’t they doing anything?

  One woman lunged forward as if to grab at Autumn’s door handle. “Hey!” the lady yelled at the man, her voice muffled under the music coming from the radio.

  The bad man shifted into drive, hit the gas and floored it.

  Autumn grabbed his wrist to pull his hand from her neck and fought to turn around, but he was too strong, and even digging her nails into his skin didn’t do anything. He grabbed the base of her ponytail, sticking through the opening at the back of her ball cap, and yanked, wrenching her head to the side.

  Terrified, Autumn caught a glimpse of her mother as she raced out of the sandwich shop. Her face was stricken, eyes bulging as she stared at the moving car.

  Tears flooded Autumn’s eyes as their gazes locked through the shattered window for an instant, fear clogging her throat, twisting her stomach until she almost threw up. “Mom, help me!”

  “Shut up,” the man muttered, yanking on her hair again, never easing up on his grip as he sped through the parking lot and out onto the busy street.

  ****

  Reid was in the shower, washing away all the sweat from his recent workout at the gym with Maka when he heard his phone ring in his adjoining bedroom. He had it set to go to voicemail after four rings, so he took his time scrubbing his hair and rinsing all the soap off. The phone rang again a few seconds later. He killed the water.

  The phone rang a third time as he was wrapping a towel around his waist. Whoever it was, it must be important.

  Hustling out of the bathroom, he headed straight for the dresser where he’d left the phone. All three calls were from Sarah’s number. Reid frowned. She never called him, only texted or emailed. Maybe it was Autumn calling from Sarah’s phone.

  He called back, putting the phone to his ear as he strode back to the bathroom to get dressed.

  “Reid!”

  A split-second’s shock hit him at the sound of his ex’s voice on the other end of the line, instantly covered by alarm at the sheer panic in it. His entire body tensed. “Sarah, what’s wrong?”

  “Autumn’s gone! Some asshole just broke into the car when I ran into Subway, and drove off with her!”

  “What?” The blood drained from his face with a hot, prickling sensation.

  She let out a broken sob. “Oh my God, I don’t know where he took her, I—”

  “Did you call the cops?”

  Another sob, this one so full of anguish the hair on Reid’s nape stood on end. “They’re out looking for her right now.”

  Calm down. You need to calm the hell down. Think. But it was fucking impossible when his baby girl had just been kidnapped. His heart beat triple time, a sickening thud against his ribs. “Where are you?” He ran back to the dresser, yanked out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

  “I’m still at the strip m-mall,” she quavered.

  “Give me the address. I’m on my way.” He kept talking to her as he dressed, grabbed his keys and shoes and ran out of the condo. The blood roared in his ears as he raced for his car, terror and helplessness racing through him in a chaotic, unstoppable tide. The cops would find Autumn. He couldn’t handle the alternative.

  The Mustang’s tires squealed as he turned out of the parking garage onto the street and gunned it. He kept Sarah talking to him, trying to get as much information as possible out of her despite her hysteria. Why the hell had she left the damn keys in the ignition in the first place? He bit the accusing question back. Sarah and he might have their problems, but she was a great mother and would never do anything that would put their daughter in jeopardy. This had been a horrible tragedy, plain and simple.

  “Have to go. The d-detective wants to t-talk to me,” Sarah gasped out.

  “I’ll be there in under ten minutes. Just stay put and don’t leave until I get there.” He hung up and immediately dialed Hamilton, started talking as soon as the man answered. “Someone just broke into Sarah’s car and took Autumn from a strip mall in town. I’m heading there now.” He could barely get the words out, his hands shaking on the wheel.

  “Fuck,” his team leader barked. “Aw, Jesus, Reid—is there anything we can do?”

  His eyes stung. “I’ll let you know. But I’ll be unavailable for…until we get her back.”

  “Of course, man. Understood. You need anything, you let one of us know. I’ll alert the guys. We’ll all be praying for her.”

  “Thanks,” Reid said hoarsely and hung up, his throat too tight to get any more words out. He was fucking sick with apprehension, his stomach a roiling mass of terror.

  It seemed to take forever for him to reach the mall. Half a dozen cop cars were already on scene, and he picked out Sarah immediately standing on the curb out front of the sandwich shop.

  Reid jerked the Mustang to a stop just outside the police tape and leaped out, barely remembering to slam his door shut. A cop came at him, hand upraised in warning. “I’m Autumn’s father,” Reid called out, holding open his wallet to show his agency ID as he shoved his way past. His eyes locked with Sarah’s, and the terror grew sharper.

  Sarah’s face crumpled and she launched herself at him. Reid caught her, crushing her close to his chest while she lost it. “She’s gone,” she sobbed out, shaking so hard it made Reid’s teeth rattle. “My baby’s gone and it’s all my fault!”

  “No, don’t say that,” he managed, his own eyes burning as he looked to the detective, a middle-aged Hispanic man dressed in a suit standing a few feet away. He needed fucking answers. “What’ve you guys got so far?”

  “Several eyewitness accounts, and we’re running the surveillance video now. We’ve already put out an amber alert for her.”

  Good, because Sarah’s Lexus was probably their best hope of finding them. With that many people alerted to look out for the car during daylight hours in this populated an area, chances were good someone would spot it. He just prayed someone did before the asshole who’d taken Autumn could hurt her. “What did the perp look like?”

  “Hispanic. Mid-twenties. Tats on his neck. Possibly a gang member.”

  Fuuuuck. Reid swallowed hard, his blood pressure nose diving.

  “Our forensics people are trying to see if they can get a match to anyone in our database. The tats should help.”

  Reid’s brain spun. Every second that ticked by was its own separate agony. Autumn had just been abducted by some gangbanger asshole and there was not a goddamn thing Reid could do to help her. When he thought of how scared she must be and what could happen to her… Christ, it killed him to not be able to protect her. “What about the FBI?” he grated out.

  “They’re monitoring the case and will send agents to us to assist, but for the time being, it’s our investigation.”

  Sarah took a long, shuddering breath and went limp against his chest, exhausted. Reid scooped her up before she could fall and carried her to a bench out front of the sandwich shop. “We’re gonna find her,” he vowed, fighting back the grief and terror ripping at his insides. “We’ll find her and she’ll be okay. The asshole probably just wanted the car. He’s probably already ditched Autumn a few blocks from here. She’s smart, Sarah. Real smart. She’ll get to a
phone and call us.”

  The words had just left his mouth when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Reid all but dumped Sarah off his lap and yanked his phone out, his heart plummeting when he saw Maka’s number. Reid shoved it back into his pocket and wrapped an arm around Sarah’s shuddering shoulders. He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now except Autumn.

  Sarah didn’t say anything, just leaned her body into his and hitched in jerky breaths, her acceptance of his embrace testament to how distraught she was. “Have you called Max?” he asked her.

  She nodded. “He’s c-coming.”

  Reid didn’t exactly love the guy, but right now they needed all the help they could get, so it was all hands on deck. Sitting here doing nothing was slowly eating a hole through his gut, but what else could he do? Jumping back in his car and driving around like a madman looking for Sarah’s Lexus, was pointless.

  His phone vibrated again. He snatched it up, clenched his jaw when he saw Khan’s number. He appreciated his teammates worrying about Autumn, but there was no way he was talking to anyone right now.

  Unless Tess called him. God, he wanted to hear her voice so bad, tell her what happened, but he didn’t think he’d be able to hold it together if he did. He’d never been this raw and afraid, not even during combat or when he’d found Jason hanging in that shower.

  He swallowed hard, struggling against the rise of tears that burned the back of his eyes. Losing it wouldn’t change anything, and it wouldn’t help find Autumn. He had to hold it together, be the strong one.

  Max finally arrived and took Sarah from him. Reid talked to the lead detective some more, then agreed to go down to the station with him. The asshole should have dumped Autumn by now if he’d only been interested in the car. Why hadn’t she gotten to a phone and called him yet?

  Maybe he wanted more than just the car.

  The idea scared the living shit out of him.

  Sarah and Max met him at the police station a few minutes later. Because of his position as a DEA agent and his security clearance, the detective allowed Reid to view the security footage with him in his office.