Puck's closing his locker door when he hears a woman let out a sharp cry.
Rachel.
He doesn't stop to put on a shirt and dashes out past Spike and Sam, stopping when he sees Rachel with her hair loose around her shoulders. He's been telling himself to behave himself around her, that Rachel's not like the other women who frequent his bed. This girl screamed commitment and strings and Puck's the last person who could give her that.
The men she's speaking to looks familiar, one blonde and the other with his hair shaved close to the scalp.
'What do you mean she's missing?' Rachel demands, eyes flashing as the colour rises to her cheeks.
'Look Rach, calm down-'
'No I will not calm down Javier Esposito!' Rachel interrupts, cutting her brown eyes towards the blonde. 'Have you tried calling her? You know sometimes when she's like this she doesn't like talking to people…'
'Rach,' the blonde begins, tentatively putting his hands on Rachel's arms. Puck narrows his eyes at the gesture.
'What's going on?' Ed asks and Rachel seems to realize she's got an audience. Her gaze lands squarely on Puck and time holds still for a moment. Rachel wets her lips with her tongue and Puck feels his blood heat.
'Detective Lopez is missing,' the blonde speaks, gently nudging Rachel while casting a calculating glance towards Puck.
'You sure?'
'I'm positive,' Esposito nods, Puck recalling he was Santana's partner. 'She hasn't been answering my calls or Sam's. She had a…difficult time today so I wanted to check on her but it's been too long. Lopez knows the drill. If she's not calling me back, something's wrong.'
'What do you mean difficult time?' Rachel questions and Esposito gives her look that has her nodding. 'Okay when was the last time you saw her?'
'At the precinct. She had a meeting with Christopher and she blew outta there pissed. Couple of guys said they saw her at the Grey Goose about two hours ago.'
'I've tried tracking her cell's GPS but no luck,' Sam chipped in.
Rachel's quiet for a moment.
'Did Detective Lopez have any enemies?' Ed asked and this causes Esposito to chuckle.
'She was good at what she did man. San was the pretty face that got them behind bars and there's a ton of people out there who would like nothing better to return the favour,' Santana's partner replies tightly.
'But you have someone in mind?' Spike pushes and Puck glances at his friend, takes in the worry lines creased around his eyes.
Sam and Esposito exchange a look.
'Yeah. Name's Cristo Ramirez. San got pulled out because of…well the asshole was coming close to blowing her cover so she got out. But he had a real thing for her you know? Wouldn't take no for an answer,' Esposito states.
'Where is he?' Rachel demands and her tone is flat.
'Rach-'
'I'm going Sam and either we can waste precious time here arguing about that certainty, or we can begin searching for Santana so we can bring her home,' Rachel replies curtly, her hands clenching into fists.
'I'm coming too,' Puck says and Rachel eyes widen before softening.
'So am I,' Spike adds.
'We'll meet you at the precinct,' Ed agrees handily.
'Ed-'
'We're family Berry,' the team leader waves away her protests. 'We take care of our own.'
Rachel looks like she wants to say more but stops herself.
'Give us a minute to suit up and we'll follow you,' she says before disappearing into her locker room.
Puck watches her go and startles when Spike delivers a slap to his midsection.
'I don't think your rock hard body can deflect bullets,' Scarlatti delivers and Puck casts one more look over his shoulder before jogging after him.
It's been six hours, twenty-eight minutes and thirty-four seconds. Rachel pushes her fingers into straps around her thigh, sucks in a breath as she spies the innocuous house spread out before them. Team One is ready to go in there, Esposito delivering the intelligence they needed to get Santana. Rachel's fingers tighten as she thinks of what Ramirez could be doing to her best friend – her sister – in that innocent two-story.
'Hey. You good?' Puck's breath is hot in her ear and Rachel tamps down the urge to shiver. She doesn't turn to face him but nods quickly, letting out a slow breath as Ed and Sam converse a few feet away with Esposito.
'She's going to be okay.'
'She is. Santana's strong,' Rachel answers him, almost as if she's talking to herself. 'She'll be fine.'
'Rachel,' Puck says her name softly, intimately and it makes her defences crumble just a little.
God why did he have to be so ridiculously attractive and stupidly sweet when the time called for it? Rachel's heard about his revolving door of women from Winnie and she's told herself to keep it professional, keep it distant. Puck seemed to be thinking the same thing and she's ignoring the disappointment that swells up whenever he treats her as a friend rather than an attractive woman.
'Let's go,' Greg's voice thankfully spares her from having to respond and Rachel grabs onto her focus, pushes everything away as they approach the house. Esposito, Spike and her take the back while the other's filter in through the front. They enter silently and Rachel adjusts her position easily with the two men, the screen door squeaking enough on its hinges to set her teeth on edge.
The only light they can see is from the basement and Rachel hefts up her gun, back against the wall as Ed and Puck take point. She can hear voices, faint and then the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a moan of pain.
Santana.
Rachel wonders why Ed is taking so long to go in, her blood thrumming impatiently.
'Stupid bitch,' a man says.
'Go to hell,' Santana retorts and her voice is strained, reedy. The sound of a hammer being pulled back is enough. Ed slams through and Rachel resists the urge to break rank when she spots Santana bound and gagged on the floor, blood staining what little clothes she has left.
'Drop the weapon Ramirez,' Ed tells a man dressed in a business shirt and slacks calmly. 'It's over.'
The two men with Ramirez drop their knife and gun compliantly but Ramirez remains defiant.
'This bitch is gonna die for what she did,' Ramirez spits out.
'Keep talking Cristo. Give me a reason to put a bullet in your head,' Esposito grinds out as he takes in his partner's ripped clothing. Ramirez swings his gun around towards Santana and Rachel lets out a muffled cry, starting forward.
'Don't,' Rachel says and her hands shake.
'Oh look. Someone cares for the whore,' Ramirez laughs and leans down towards Santana, whispering loud enough for them to hear. 'Too bad I didn't get the chance. But watching was enough.'
The air sucked out of the room and Rachel's hand steadied.
Santana lunged upwards, startling Ramirez enough for Esposito to rush him. The gangster went down hard and Esposito ground his head into the floor, slamming the cuffs over his wrists. Rachel doesn't wait for Ed or Greg, shoving her gun into the holster and cradling Santana's head in her lap.
'Somebody get EMS here,' Rachel yells and her voice is shaky when she takes in the swollen lip and black eye.
'Fuck Berry. Took you long enough,' Santana tells her and Rachel can't laugh.
The paramedics push her aside gently when they come down and Rachel stands helplessly as they put Santana on a stretcher, tell her which hospital their going to. Someone grabs her elbow and says they'll take her there, Rachel following blindly.
'Rachel. Rachel. C'mon snap outta it,' Puck's urgent tone makes her blink. Rachel realizes their back outside the house beside the SUV.
'Santana-'
'I'm taking you to the hospital,' Puck tells her gently and Rachel nods.
'Alright. Thank you.'
She gets in the truck and Puck pulls away from the curb, not wanting to break the silence between them. A few minutes later Rachel tells him to pull over.
But watching was enough.
Her stomach rebels and Rachel barely makes it out of the SUV before its contents reappear. She's horrified but she doesn't care because oh god, not Santana.
Puck hands her a water bottle and she swishes out her mouth before crumpling the bottle in her hands and throwing it violently to the ground. Someone is crying and their sobs are heavy and sound like they hurt.
When Puck gathers her up in his arms Rachel realizes the crying woman is her.
'She didn't deserve that,' she whispers out harshly, hands crumpling the collar of Puck's uniform. 'Not Santana.'
Puck doesn't reply but she feels his cheek against the crown of her head. Rachel buries her face in his chest and wonders why he feels like the shelter from an impending storm.