Strike Fast

by Kaylea Cross

  Reid’s stomach clamped tight as he watched the thug approach the Lexus and smash in the driver’s window before climbing in. And the asshole was armed, the butt of a pistol sticking out of the back of his waistband.

  Arms folded across his chest, Reid squeezed his hands into fists, wanting to punch something. To scream. His little girl had no chance against that motherfucker.

  The detective stopped the video feed and studied Reid. “Maybe you should sit down for a bit.”

  “No.” He was barely containing the need to pace around the room as it was. Planting his ass in a chair would make him crack wide open.

  “Okay, then how about—” He stopped when his cell rang. Pulling it from his belt, he checked the display, then answered. When he glanced at Reid with a somber expression a moment later, every muscle in Reid’s body tensed in denial.

  No. Autumn had to be okay. They had to find her.

  His heart thudded in his ears as the detective hung up. “What?” Reid demanded.

  The detective’s expression didn’t change. “Citizen just reported finding Sarah’s car.”

  Oh, God… “And?”

  “Suspect ditched it in an alley a few miles from here. It was empty. Cop showed up on scene right after and looked around but there was no sign of your daughter.”

  Reid’s shoulders sagged and he closed his eyes. So the bastard had dragged Autumn from the car and taken her somewhere. Bile burned the back of his throat.

  “Forensics team is on their way there now. Someone might have seen where they went.”

  The next few hours passed in a slow, life-sucking blur. Reid demanded to go to the scene with the lead detective. Forensics were dusting for prints when they arrived, and searching for any clues that might point them to where the suspect had gone with Autumn. None of the residents living along the alley had seen anything.

  The investigation had hit a dead end.

  Alternately panicked and numb, he waited hours more back at the station, briefly speaking to Commander Taggart, and waiting for news. None came.

  By midnight, when it was clear they wouldn’t allow him to help with the investigation further, and there was nothing more he could do but wait, he reluctantly left. His phone had a dozen text messages on it. Every single one of his teammates had reached out, offering their support and urging him to call if he needed anything. Much as he appreciated the offers, he didn’t return any of the calls.

  Climbing back into his car, he froze when he saw the German Shepherd pom-pom puppy sitting there on his dash, staring back at him with its plastic googly eyes.

  Completely hollow inside, he shut the door and sat there staring at it while a razor-sharp blade slashed through his heart. Tears blurred his vision and he sucked in a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel so tight his bones hurt. His baby was missing, and he couldn’t bear the thought of what might have happened to her.

  Tess. He needed to call Tess. He had to tell her, but dammit, he just needed to hear her voice.

  His hand shook as he pulled out his phone. After three rings he was about to hang up, unwilling to leave a message right now. Then she picked up.

  “Hey, I was just thinking about you.”

  The sound of her chipper voice made the tears burn hotter. “Tess,” he croaked out, barely clinging to the last shred of his control.

  “What’s the matter?” she blurted, voice tense. “Reid?” she prompted when he didn’t answer. “What’s wrong?”

  He swallowed, struggled to breathe. “Someone broke into Sarah’s car a few hours ago and took off with Autumn.”

  “What? Oh my God.”

  His throat spasmed. “The cops can’t find her. It’s been hours and there’s no sign of her, and I…” His voice broke. He lowered the phone to his shoulder and bowed his head as a sob tried to rip free. The burn in his chest spread into his throat, agonizing, unbearable.

  “Reid, oh, God, I’m so sorry,” she breathed, sounding as stricken as he felt. “Is there anything I can do?” With the phone resting on his shoulder her voice was faint, far away. Just like she was. And he was here alone, not knowing how he was supposed to cope with this.

  He shook his head, battling his emotions even though she couldn’t see him. He dragged in a ragged breath and exhaled slowly, but it still felt as if his lungs might explode. “No. Just needed to hear your voice.” He wished she were here, needed to feel her arms around him so badly.

  “Oh, baby…”

  The endearment, the tormented note in her voice, undid him. “I gotta go,” he blurted, a second away from losing it and unmanning himself.

  “Reid, wait—”

  He ended the call, unable to continue. The phone fell from his numb fingers into his lap as the crushing weight of despair crashed down on him. Suffocating. Compressing his chest cavity until he couldn’t breathe, crushing his heart.

  The phone rang almost immediately. Tess. But he couldn’t bring himself to answer.

  Reeling, he started the ignition and somehow drove home, though he didn’t remember getting there. His phone rang twice more during the drive, both times Tess, and both times he ignored them. He felt a hundred years old as he climbed out of the car and headed for the elevator in the underground garage.

  A few paces from his door, he got a text. Out of habit he glanced down, expecting to see a message from Tess begging him to call her back.

  Autumn’s frightened face looked back at him instead.

  He jerked to a halt, staring at the screen, for a moment wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. She was dressed in her ball uniform, her cap covering her hair, her deep blue eyes wide and her expression pinched.

  Before he could react, a message appeared below it.

  Missing something?

  Reid’s heart slammed into overdrive, the surge of adrenaline making him shake all over. What the fuck?

  Another message appeared.

  Nobody fucks with Carlos Ruiz. We’re going to do exactly the same thing to her as we did to the reporter you rescued.

  His stomach pitched at the threat, a thousand horrific images bombarding his brain. He’d seen the state Victoria Gomez had been in. Could guess what they’d done to her, and what would have happened if she hadn’t escaped that night.

  By sheer force of will, he stopped picturing those animals raping and torturing his daughter. He called the person back, his chest heaving as he waited for whoever it was to pick up, white-hot rage burning inside him.

  No answer. No voicemail. Just that ring droning in his ear.

  He hung up and dialed the detective, wanting to scream. “It’s Carlos Ruiz, a Veneno lieutenant my team’s been after,” he ground out. “Someone just texted me Autumn’s picture and threatened her using his name.”

  “Hell,” the detective muttered. “Where are you?”

  “My place.” Fuck, he was gonna puke. Right out here in the hall. He couldn’t move, all his muscles locked tight. Carlos fucking Ruiz or someone affiliated with him had Autumn.

  “Sit tight. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Reid lowered the phone and brought up Autumn’s picture again. Acid churned in the pit of his stomach as he stared at her frightened little face. She was all alone with that monster, praying for a miracle. Probably hoping her daddy would come rescue her.

  A strangled sound wrenched from his throat as he stared down into those terrified blue eyes. I’m coming, baby girl. Daddy’s coming.

  Except he couldn’t do shit, because he didn’t know where she was.

  What he did know was what Ruiz and his sickening excuses for men were capable of doing to a woman. To do that to a nine-year-old girl?

  His knees gave way.

  Angling his body so that his back bumped against the wall to keep him from pitching over, he allowed himself to slide to the carpeted floor, the phone clutched tightly in his hand. As the scalding hot tears burst free at last, he covered his head with his arms and sobbed as he succumbed to the overpowering ti
de of grief.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “You did what?” Carlos stood in the hotel room with his encrypted phone to his ear, his entire body stiff, hardly able to believe what he’d just heard.

  “You wanted me to find an opportunity. So I found one and acted on it,” Javier answered, his tone both defiant and a little annoyed, as though Carlos should be more grateful for what he’d done.

  Carlos dragged a hand over his face. “How old is she?”

  “I dunno. Young. Elementary school age.”

  Madre de Cristo. Taking a federal agent’s daughter in broad daylight, in front of the fucking mother. It was a miracle they hadn’t already found Javier and killed him. “And you’re going to do what with her?”

  “Make a statement.”

  He pulled in a calming breath before responding. “You’ve just put us in the crosshairs of every federal agency. Do you even realize that?” He needed to do some damage control and shore up security. Fast.

  “Don’t worry. I’m well clear now. I’ve switched cars four times already. She’s tied up in the trunk. It’s all good. And I’ve got a potential buyer lined up to take a look at her when I get into North Carolina.”

  Carlos frowned. He’d never sold a kid before. Wasn’t sure he was comfortable with it. “How do you know it’s not a setup, asshole?”

  “It’s not. He’s a regular of mine.”

  Carlos still didn’t like it. Well, he liked that they’d put the fear of God into at least one FAST agent, but he didn’t like all the rest of the bullshit Javier had just rained down on them. “Take her someplace and lie low until you hear from me. I need to figure this out.”

  “Don’t worry, boss. I’ll keep her well entertained.”

  Carlos hung up without responding and called Antonio. “We need to get to North Carolina. Tonight.”

  ****

  Reid didn’t even remember driving to the police station, fear for his daughter eating away at his insides like acid.

  When he walked in and saw Sarah and Max already sitting in the detective’s office, the look on his ex-wife’s face made Reid’s heart constrict. Before he could utter a single word, Sarah shot out of her seat, her eyes spewing pure venom as she came at Reid.

  “You bastard!” she shouted, slamming her fists against his chest, hard enough to knock him back a half-step. “They took our baby because of you!”

  Reid’s entire body went cold as the truth behind the accusation hit him like a sledgehammer to the solar plexus. He didn’t even try to stop her hitting him. He deserved this and more, and part of him wanted the punishment. “I—” He shut his mouth because there was nothing he could say in his defense.

  She was right. And fuck, he was dying inside because of it.

  “Sarah.” Max had an arm around her chest as he tried to pull her away. “Stop it. This isn’t going to help.”

  “It’s fucking helping me,” she snarled, fighting Max off to stand rigidly in front of Reid, the accusation and rage in her eyes flaying him alive. “Your damn job already destroyed our family, and now it’s destroyed our daughter too,” she choked out, and shoved him hard in the center of his chest.

  Reid rocked back on his heels to absorb the blow and clenched his jaw, battling the urge to turn and drive his fist through the wall. “There was a leak,” he said roughly.

  “A leak,” she spat, her voice dripping bitterness. “The Veneno cartel has Autumn, Reid. That’s more than a goddamn leak.” She clenched both hands in her hair, her expression distraught as she shook her head. “I can’t handle this. I just can’t…” Her shoulders jerked and a ragged sob burst free. Max cursed, caught her shoulders and pulled her to him, and this time she didn’t fight.

  Reid stood there staring at the floor while Max consoled her, his whole world coming apart at the seams as the sound of her grief and terror sliced at the raw, gaping wound in the middle of his chest.

  Rapid footsteps sounded in the hallway, then the detective appeared in the doorway. His gaze swung from Sarah to Reid and back, his face tightening as he shut the door behind him. “Mrs. Prentiss, have a seat.” He pulled out a chair and tugged Sarah into it before facing them all, hands on hips. “I realize this is hard on all of you, but blaming and accusing aren’t going to get your daughter back. If you can’t refrain from attacking one another, I’m gonna kick you all out. Is that clear?”

  Sarah and Max only stayed another ten minutes before she couldn’t take it anymore, and they left. Reid was left alone with the detective as he went over everything he knew about Ruiz and his network. A lot of it was classified but he’d be damned if he’d keep it to himself if it might help get Autumn back.

  An hour later he was sitting there alone in the office, having been told to go home. He’d given everything he could, and there was nothing more that could be done. Reid didn’t like it, but he had no choice but to accept it. A crushing pressure filled his chest as he dragged his ass into his car, his ribcage compressing until it felt like his heart and lungs would implode. He was cut off from the investigation now, unable to help the police any more, and no one wanted him to do anything.

  Useless as a one-legged man at an ass-kicking.

  He spotted the liquor store on the left when he stopped at a red light a few miles from his building. Without even realizing it, he’d already made the decision and was turning into the parking lot. He walked straight to the whiskey aisle and stood there staring at the neatly stacked row of bottles, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

  Fuck it.

  He grabbed one, the weight and feel of the bottle a familiar comfort.

  Back at his place, he dropped his ass onto the couch and uncapped the bottle, his hand shaking as he poured himself a tumbler full. He sat there staring at it for a long moment before taking one step closer to the abyss and lifting it to his nose.

  The moment he inhaled that familiar scent, every pleasure center in his brain lit up, like Christmas and the Fourth of July combined. His whole body groaned at the sweet temptation in his hand, craving it so much his heart pounded and his mouth watered.

  The reaction scared him so much he set it back down on the table. He forced his fingers to release it, his mind in chaos as he fought his oldest and most feared adversary.

  He wanted the oblivion the booze offered. A respite from the pain and sheer helplessness that was shredding his insides, even if it was only for a few hours. But if he did this, he wouldn’t be able to stop at one glass. Or one bottle.

  No. Autumn still needed him. He had to be sober if she was found.

  His gaze strayed to the mantel, to all the pictures of him and Autumn lined up there in the frames. Grief punched through him so hard it stole his breath.

  She’s gone. She’s gone and it’s my fault.

  His hand shot out and grabbed the tumbler.

  ****

  Tess hitched the strap of her hastily-packed overnight bag higher up on her shoulder and jogged through the half-empty terminal at Dulles. After Reid basically hung up on her and wouldn’t answer her calls, she’d pulled some strings at headquarters and hopped a transport from Fort Worth within the hour.

  Maybe coming to D.C. was a giant mistake, but right now she didn’t care. This thing between her and Reid might be new and fragile—and she didn’t even know what “it” was—but there was no way she could have stayed in Texas while he was going through hell alone here. If she’d overstepped her bounds by flying here to be with him, well… She’d deal with the repercussions later.

  She pulled her phone out to try Reid again and saw there were no messages. The phone rang in her ear, then Reid’s voicemail picked up.

  Frustrated and sick at heart for what he must be going through, she dodged around the slower-moving passengers on their way to baggage claim and exited onto the sidewalk.

  She jumped in a cab and went straight to Reid’s place. The sidewalk outside his building was deserted, not surprising since it was one in the morning. At the front door, she buz
zed his unit and waited.

  No answer.

  She buzzed again, and waited another minute.

  Nothing.

  Was he at the police station? At headquarters? Maybe at Sarah’s place?

  She walked back to the sidewalk and around the side of the building to stare up at his unit. The blinds were pulled over the sliding glass doors that led out onto his patio, but she could see lines of light around the edges. Was he in there? With him refusing to answer her calls, she had no way of knowing where he was.

  Discouraged, she strode back around front, ready to buzz his unit one last time and then find a hotel nearby.

  “Tess?”

  Surprised, she spun around to find two of Reid’s teammates walking up the front walkway from the street. The big one, Agent Maka, and the one Reid was closest to, Agent Khan, the team medic. “Hi.”

  “You just fly in?” Khan asked.

  She nodded. “Hopped a transport right after Reid called to tell me Autumn had been taken, then hung up on me. You guys know where he is?”

  Khan frowned. “He’s not home?”

  “If he is, he’s not answering the buzzer. And he won’t pick up when I call.”

  “Sonofabitch,” Maka muttered, striding toward her alongside his teammate. “You got the code?” he asked Khan.

  “Yeah.” Khan dug out his phone and fixed his gaze on Tess when he got close. “I’m Zaid, by the way. And this is Kai.”

  “Hi.” She quickly shook their hands and followed them up to the front door, anxiety eating at her. Reid wouldn’t do anything crazy, would he? “Have you guys heard from him?”

  “No,” Khan answered. “We’ve been getting sporadic updates from Commander Taggart. But after the last one, we told our team leader we would come check on Reid in person.”

  She zeroed in on the first part of that sentence. “Why, what was the last update?”

  Zaid met her gaze, the overhead lights illuminating his hazel eyes, startling against his bronze skin. “They found out who took her.”