Undercover Lovers |Aaron Hotchner|

Chapter Ten: Hillside Accounting

My theory about the mothers and children held out. It was much easier to find two missing people on the internet, so I found Amy and Xavier's information in no time. They were taken from Pensacola, Florida in late January. Thinking about Amy's behavior and appearance at Sharon's Valentine's Day party, she was disheveled from being kidnapped, obviously, and obeyed every order because she had a child to take care of. There was one surefire way to make a mom listen to you: put her child at risk.

Julie's due date approached rapidly. I wanted to tell her to be careful, but there was no way I could without worrying her. She and Peter were both good people who deserved good things, definitely not to have their family ripped apart.

Frantic knocking at the front door made my stomach churn. I ran downstairs to see what was going on and met Claire in the living room.

"What's going on?" I asked. She pointed at the tv, which showed the outside of some building I barely recognized.

A newscaster finally explained. "I'm standing outside of Hillside Accounting in Oak Hills, where 37 people are currently being held hostage. A shooting was called in four minutes ago, and officials have reason to believe wanted killer Craig Ayton is inside. He's a former employee of the com-" I shut the tv off, grabbed the keys, and got in the car. My brain was going too fast to keep up with as I thought through every scenario. Hotch was inside the building and I had to get him out.

I sped the whole way and got in a crowd of a few dozen people at the police barricade. We stood in silence for what seemed like hours. Two gunshots rang out as clear as day, so worried loved ones let out screams and sobs. Everyone was terrified.

The front door opened and everyone's undivided attention went straight to it. I bit my lip as women and children walked outside.

Hotch always found a way to get the women and children to safety, so at least I knew he was alive. He always had a trick up his sleeve— he could promise to paint them a certain way in the media or try to negotiate some deal— but he had nothing here. What could he promise them as an accountant?

He had his life and he had his wife, but I knew he'd never put me on the chopping block. He was going to give himself up instead.

If Craig really was behind this, he'd want both of us. I went to the back of the building and found a broken window on the ground level. There were newscasters and cameras everywhere, so it was hard to not get captured by one. I slipped inside and started making my way upstairs. Hotch worked on the third floor, so I knew that's where he'd be.

There was a man on the second floor who'd been shot in the thigh. I took off my belt and used it as a tourniquet, but I wasn't sure how effective it would be. He wasn't in good shape.

"Take the stairs and get out of here." I directed quietly. "Do you know who did this?"

"No, but he went that way." He pointed down the hall as I ushered him to the stairwell. I walked down the long hallway and came face to face with a large man wearing all black. He pointed his gun at me, so I put my hands up.

"Please don't hurt me." I said in my best fake scared voice. Truthfully, I wasn't scared at all. I was in control of the situation. I grabbed the gun from his hand and smashed his head against the wall. He fell and I knew he wouldn't be getting up any time soon. I kicked the gun away from him and kept walking up the stairs.

A door a few floors up opened and I could hear people on the stairs, so I went back to one of the offices to hide. There were more women being ushered out by a gunman. I waited a few seconds before continuing.

"Stop!" Someone yelled, pointing another gun at me as I made it through the door at the next level. I used the same tactic and took him down too. Two men came around the corner together to collect me. One grabbed me and dragged me by my hair while the other pointed his gun at me.