Chapter One

 

 

Four months later

 

Reid pulled up to the curb in front of the two-story, Colonial-style brick house in the middle of Georgetown, the most expensive neighborhood in the D.C. area. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he could ever have afforded this kind of place on his salary as a DEA agent. Lucky for his ex, her businessman boyfriend had a lot more money than he did.

He didn’t get out of his car and go to the front door, just pulled out his phone and texted Autumn. He’d discovered years ago that it was way easier for everyone involved if he and his ex didn’t have to see each other during pick-ups and drop-offs.

He had joint custody of Autumn, but with Sarah still bitter about the divorce and forced to assume all of the parenting duties while Reid was away—and he was away a lot, either for training or deployments—he’d learned to keep a low profile with her. All their limited communication was via text or email, or through their lawyers. Which sucked, not only because it was a pain in the ass, but because it was a damn waste of money for them both.

The front door popped open a minute later and Autumn bounded onto the porch with her little pink overnight backpack strapped to her shoulders. She waved as she hurried down the steps, an excited smile on her face that made his chest tighten even as he grinned. He’d known nothing about kids or being a father before she’d arrived nine-and-a-half years ago, and now he couldn’t imagine life without her. She was the light of his life, hands down. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.

He leaned over and popped the passenger door open for her. “Hey, baby girl.”

“Hi, Dad!” She tossed her backpack onto the backseat, then ducked into the front to wind her arms around his neck. “Missed you.”

Reid gave her a squeeze, inhaling the scent of her shampoo. “Missed you too.”

Autumn hopped out and slid into the rear seat while he set the front one back into position. She was still too short to sit up front with him. “I brought my new craft kit with me. We can do it after we get home from the movie and dinner.”

Inside, he grimaced, but he merely smiled, glad she’d have something to occupy herself with for the next several hours. “Yeah, about that…”

She stopped in the midst of doing up her seatbelt to look at him. “What?”

“I have to stop by HQ for a little while right now.”

She groaned. “Now?”

“I know, it sucks, and I’m sorry. But I have to go in, there’s an important meeting. I didn’t want to cancel our night together though, so I thought I’d just come get you, take you with me, and we can catch the movie when I’m done.”

She buckled her seatbelt and flopped back against the seat with her arms crossed, looking so much like her mother but with his coloring, it startled him. “Fine,” she muttered, gazing out the window.

Reid fired up the engine. “Shouldn’t take too long,” he said trying to put a positive spin on things. He swiveled to look back at her. “It’s a nice day out. Wanna drive with the top down?”

She shrugged and didn’t look at him. “I guess.”

The amount of attitude she managed to inject in those two syllables damn near made him chuckle. He was in so much trouble when she hit her teens. “Okay.”

Without another word he hit the button to open the convertible top and it folded away into the back, smooth as butter. Pulling away from the curb, he reached down and turned on the stereo, where he had a special playlist waiting, and cranked it.

As soon as the bass line for one of the bubblegum pop songs she loved blasted through the speakers, he glanced in the rearview mirror and caught the reluctant smile tugging at her mouth. Reid smothered a grin. Worst music in the history of music, but if it put a smile on his kid’s face, that was all that mattered.

By the time he reached FAST headquarters in Arlington just across from the Pentagon, Autumn was singing along to the music and bobbing her head in time with the beat.

Mission accomplished.

He parked in a spot out front of the building just as Maka pulled in beside them in his big-ass black, raised pickup. Reid nodded at his teammate. “Hey, who’s that?” he said to Autumn.

“Uncle Kai!” she squealed, and frantically unbuckled her seatbelt.

Reid had just enough time to switch off the ignition and pop the passenger door for her, then she was out like a rocket, practically hopping up and down as she waited impatiently for Maka to climb down from his truck.

“Hey, if it isn’t my best girl,” Maka said, his bronze, rugged face breaking into a huge smile as he reached down to scoop Autumn up in a giant hug.

The contrast in their size was almost comical, but Reid had to admit there was something endearing about a guy Maka’s size hugging his daughter with such genuine affection, those huge arms wrapped around her protectively. It always made him proud that all his teammates loved her and would watch out for her.

“Nice tunes, by the way.” Maka shot Reid a knowing grin. “Didn’t know you were into that sorta stuff, man.”

“Guy’s gotta have some secrets from his teammates,” Reid said, climbing out and grabbing Autumn’s backpack, then his gear in the trunk.

The instant Maka set her down, Autumn reached up for both his hand and Reid’s. “After Dad finishes with his meeting, we’re going to see the new Pixar movie,” she said to Maka. “You wanna come with?”

“Oh, man, I wish I could, sweetie, but I’ve already got plans later.”

Autumn peered up at him, a frown tugging at her eyebrows. “You have a girlfriend?”

Reid burst out laughing at her astonishment.

Not the least bit offended, Maka grinned. “Yeah, I do. We’ve been seeing each other on and off for a while now.”

From what Reid had gathered, the “relationship”—if one could call it that—with Shelley was a total shit show, but there must be a reason why Maka kept getting back together with her. And Reid wasn’t exactly a relationship guru, so what the hell did he know. She must be damn good in bed for his buddy to put up with all the drama, though. Since he didn’t exactly have the equivalent of a PhD when it came to making things work with the opposite sex, Reid had never asked his buddy about Shelley.

“Oh, there’s Uncle Zaid!” Autumn said as they entered the building. She tugged free of their hands and raced over to Khan, who stopped and held his arms out to her with a big grin.

“Hey, princess. How are you?” Khan said, wrapping her up in a bear hug.

“Good. Dad and I are going to a movie after he’s done here. You wanna come? Uncle Kai can’t, because he’s got a date or something.”

“Is that right?” Khan shot Maka a wry look. “I’d love to go, but I’ve got a date too.”

“With Jaliya?”

She and Khan had eloped over in England back in March. Everyone on the team had been stunned by the suddenness of it, except for Reid. Of all of them, Khan was the most level. He knew what he wanted, and when he’d found Jaliya he hadn’t wasted any time in making her his. Reid had never seen his buddy happier.

“Yes. You like her, right?” Khan asked Autumn.

“Of course! She’s awesome. And I like that she knows how to use a gun.”

Reid’s heart almost burst with pride. “She’s her daddy’s girl,” he murmured, watching her chatter on to Khan.

Maka scratched his chin, watching her. “How long you figure until she starts dating?”

That wiped the smile off Reid’s face. “Dude, she’s only nine.”

Maka shrugged his massive left shoulder, shifting the thick black, tribal tattoos roping down the length of his arm. “Okay, so that gives us, what? Another five years or so until the boys start sniffing around?”

The thought was absolutely terrifying. “Jesus. Five years?” The last nine had already flown by way too fast. And soon he was going to have to worry about horny teenage boys?

Maka nodded. “I was about fourteen, yeah. You?”

Reid scowled. “Yeah.” And unfortunately he knew too well exactly how teenage boys thought.

His buddy clapped him once on the back. Hard. “Don’t worry about it yet, brother. Let’s go get this briefing done so we can spend some quality time with our ladies.”

Reid rescued Khan from getting his ear talked off, and held Autumn’s hand as he escorted her to the kitchen. “I think there are some of those cookies you like. Unless Uncle Kai ate them all. And you can have some milk with them—” He stopped in the doorway to the kitchen when he saw the blond-haired woman sitting alone at the table, her profile to them as she read a newspaper.

What was she doing here?

Agent Dubrovski looked up from the paper, gave him a quick smile before focusing on Autumn. “Hello. Who’s this?”

It had been months since their paths had crossed overseas, and he’d never imagined bumping into her again stateside.

He shook himself and found his voice. “My daughter, Autumn.” Was she here for the briefing or something? That didn’t make sense, since she was a pilot, and the last time he’d seen her had been at the FOB in Afghanistan back in January. What a hell of a night that had been.

“Hi, Autumn. I’m Tess.”

Tess. Reid let his gaze wander over her as she got up and came over to shake Autumn’s hand. He hadn’t been able to get an up-close look at her before, and at the FOB it had been too dark to see her face clearly, but he sure was curious about her. She and her crew had saved his entire team that night.

She was tall for a woman, around five-nine or ten, and maybe in her early thirties. The dark jeans she wore hugged the womanly curves of her hips and thighs, and the deep blue T-shirt emphasized the generous swell of her breasts.

Seeing her in civvies was a hell of a lot different than seeing her in a flight suit and combat boots. Though on her, both were equally hot. She had a lush, ripe body, curvy in all the right places, made to fill a man’s hands. How the hell he’d never noticed her back at Bagram was a mystery.

“Do you work with my dad?” Autumn asked, shaking Tess’s hand politely. Reid noticed Tess wasn’t wearing a ring. Was she single?

“Sort of. We worked together overseas a few months back.” She glanced up at him, a hint of humor in her light green eyes. Faint laugh lines fanned out from the corners and a light scattering of freckles dusted the bridge of her nose and cheekbones. He’d noticed she was quick to smile, her lips full and kissable.

“Are you on the FAST team too?” Autumn asked.

Tess chuckled softly. “No. I’m a pilot.”

Autumn’s eyes widened. “You fly planes?”

“Helicopters. Big ones.”

His daughter grinned. “That’s so cool.”

No, it was downright hot.

“It really is, yeah,” Tess said with another smile, and straightened, a slight dimple appearing in her left cheek. Realizing he was staring, Reid forced his gaze back to his daughter.

“I had to come here with Dad because he’s got a meeting. But after that we have a special date planned.”

Yeah, so special she’d invited Maka and Khan along, Reid thought with a mental snort. “Right, so you can sit over there and have some cookies while you wait,” he told her, and headed for the cupboard, his entire body attuned to the woman standing behind him.

As soon as he opened the cupboard, he bit back a curse. Of the dozen packages of cookies that had been there the last time he’d checked a couple weeks ago, just one remained. And when he pulled it open, there were only two cookies left.

“Maka, you giant pig,” he muttered under his breath, turning back toward the table. “Sorry, there are only a couple left. You want milk with them?” he asked Autumn.

“Can I have some tea?”

He blinked at her. “You drink tea now?”

She shrugged, already in the process of opening her backpack and unloading her things onto the table next to Tess’s seat. “Mom took me out for a tea party a month ago. It was super fun.”

Right. Tea. “Okay, I guess so.” He’d never made tea in his life. He searched the cupboard until he found a teabag, then took down a mug and filled it with water. Plopping the teabag in it, he put it in the microwave to nuke it.

“Eww, Dad, that’s not how you do it.”

Reid cranked his head around. “Why not?”

Autumn rolled her eyes as though he was an uncultured hick. “You’re supposed to boil the water in a kettle first, then pour it over the teabag and let it steep.”

Steep?

Agent Dubrovski walked over and gestured to the microwave door, amusement gleaming in her pretty eyes. “May I?”

He held up a hand and backed away. “Be my guest.”

She gave him a sideways glance as she took the mug out. Damn, she was pretty, in a low-maintenance, fresh-faced way. “Isn’t your meeting starting soon?”

“Yeah, in a minute.”

“I can stay with her if you want. One of the analysts is my ride, so I have to wait here until after the briefing anyway.”

He hesitated. He didn’t even know her. Didn’t seem fair to expect her to hang with Autumn, and he wasn’t sure if his daughter would be comfortable with it. He never even introduced Autumn to the women he dated. Though to be honest, he didn’t date them so much as he hooked up with them over the past two years. Easier that way, and less bullshit to put up with. “You sure?”

“Absolutely. I’ve got three nieces back home.” She shot Autumn a grin that was so genuine, warmth spread through Reid’s chest. “Been a while since I had some genuine girl time.”

Autumn’s eyes lit up. “You like to do crafts?”

“Love doing crafts.”

Reid rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little out of his depth. Truth be told, even though he was looking forward to spending time with his daughter, he hadn’t been super pumped about the crafting portion of the evening she’d planned for later on. And Autumn sure seemed to like her, so… “Okay with you, Autumn?”

“Yes, for sure. You go on,” she said without looking up from emptying bundles of what looked like yarn and other supplies onto the table. “As you can see, I came prepared.”

Reid didn’t miss the jab. He’d picked her up without bringing anything to amuse her with because he’d planned to let her watch TV here while he was in the meeting. “All right.”

He shifted his attention back to Agent Dubrovski, struck again by her understated beauty. And combined with that body… Yeah, he must have been fucking blind not to notice her before. “Thanks a lot. Shouldn’t be too long, hopefully.”

She shrugged, the ends of her golden hair brushing her shoulders. A lock clung to the top of her breast, dragging his gaze there like a magnet before he forced his eyes back to her face. “No problem. See you soon.”

Reid made it to the briefing room just as the meeting got underway. All eight of his teammates were already in their chairs facing the front of the room. He took a seat between Khan and Hamilton, the team leader, and listened while their commander gave them a rundown of the latest intel.

“First off, thanks for coming in on your day off,” Taggart began. His dark blond hair was spiked at the top and front and he wore dress slacks and a button-down, all spiffy-looking. Must be taking the wifey out on a hot date after this. “I’m gonna keep this brief, and update you on the latest on the Veneno cartel.”

The current bane of their existence. FAST Bravo’s recent deployment to Afghanistan had been…eventful, but positive. They’d managed to bag a famous smuggling lord known as The Jackal, who worked with the Venenos and turned out to be the head of the Afghan forces that FAST Bravo worked with on ops.

“Our recent deployment to A-stan helped curb the majority of the flow of opium out of there to Mexico, but now the drug runners are just smuggling their shit north over the border into Tajikistan, and from there to China before shipping it into the U.S.”

This came as no surprise to anyone in the room. Seal off one avenue, and the smugglers simply used another. The war on drugs was never ending, and frustrating as hell. Sometimes Reid wondered whether they had any affect at all on diminishing the flow of illicit drugs around the globe.

“As you know, the entire purpose of General Nasar acting as The Jackal was to earn enough cash to pay for a heart transplant for his young son. Even though he didn’t raise the funds and got locked up, someone in the Veneno organization stepped up and made the operation happen. Found a donor on the black market and paid for the procedure personally. All our sources to date have indicated it was El Escorpion.”

The fabled and mysterious head of the Veneno cartel. As far as the DEA knew, no one within the cartel even knew exactly who he was, except for perhaps the top two or three people. Even the top lieutenants had never met the man in person.

“I asked you all in today because we’re gearing up for Emerald Warrior in just over a week.”

A joint training exercise held in the southeast U.S. where FAST trained with other SOF elements like SEAL Team Six, Delta, the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team and others, to increase cross-unit proficiency and streamline things when they worked missions together.

“It’s a happy coincidence that we’ll be working along the Gulf Coast, since the agency is currently searching for Carlos Ruiz, one of El Escorpion’s lieutenants. Some of our agents tangled with him last year. He was wounded, but recovered. So he’s got a grudge against all of us, and he’d love the chance to get even if he can.” Taggart paused, his thick arms folded over his chest as he glanced up at the screen behind him.

One of the analysts brought up a picture and a list of bullet points. Ruiz was a rugged-looking Hispanic man in his mid-thirties maybe, with wavy, coffee-brown hair and hazel-green eyes.

“This asshole is a real piece of work, even by cartel standards,” Taggart continued. “Likes to live the high life, rumored to own a big spread of land in the Sinaloa region, and he’s got a sadistic streak that is right up there with the worst we’ve seen from the Mexican cartels. Word is, he’s responsible for the recent kidnapping of American reporter Victoria Gomez and the killing of her family. The FBI isn’t sure if she’s still alive or not, or if she’s still being held captive by Ruiz and his men.”

Staring up at that picture, burning the image into his mind, Reid hated the human piece of shit on sight. He remembered the reporter’s story, because it had been all over the news when it first happened. She’d disappeared almost two weeks ago after her family had been slaughtered by those sadistic animals in southern Florida, and nobody had heard anything since.

He sat there committing every detail of the bastard’s face to memory while Taggart carried on with his report, giving them all the background info the agency had on him.

“He’s suspected to be operating in southwestern Florida right now, or maybe into Alabama, and he’s our priority target. If we get a lock on him, we’re going after him.” Taggart turned back to face them, his turquoise gaze intense. “Memorize his face and the pertinent details. He’s going to be heavily armed and will likely have a protective detail made up of at least a half dozen Veneno enforcers with him, all hand-picked by him. And if it helps as a point of reference, Dillon Wainright was his head enforcer.”

Everyone glanced at Logan Granger, seated at the end of the row to Reid’s right. Wainright was the asshole who had terrorized Granger’s girl, Taylor, last year. Reid was glad she’d shot the bastard dead that day.

“Ruiz is impatient,” Taggart continued. “He’s abrupt and ruthless, and that goes for dealings with his own men as well as anyone who gets in his way. Or anyone he suspects might get in his way. He’s reputed to have either personally killed or ordered the killings of over a dozen high-ranking rival cartel bosses.” Taggart paused to scan the room, giving his next words added weight. “This guy is marked for death by other cartels, so the fact that he’s stayed alive this long has to tell you how tough a target he is. He’s got money, resources and plenty of contacts to protect him.” He raised his dark blond eyebrows. “When we get the call about him, we need to be ready to go in hard and take him out.”

Hell yeah. Arms folded across his chest, Reid’s hands bunched into fists against his ribs. As far as he and his teammates were concerned, Ruiz and the rest of the Veneno cartel were living on borrowed time.