Undercover Lovers |Aaron Hotchner|

Chapter Thirteen: Gloom

The OHPD put up crime scene tape to keep everyone out of the way, but it didn't stop them from getting as close as they could to see what was going on. There was a huge crowd— neighbors, newscasters, and cops alike— and Craig, Aaron, and I all looked like extras in a gory horror movie.

The sirens surrounding us were loud, but not as deafening as the crowd. Everyone shouted terrible things at Craig, except Paul. He looked calm as he stared at the man who killed his wife, but I could see the hatred in his eyes. He reached into his jacket and pulled something dark out.

"No!" I screamed, but it was too late. Paul shot Craig in the head in front of everyone there and on live TV. Perez pushed through the crowd and arrested him. He went with her without a problem, finally at peace.

The crowd was going crazy. People sobbed, others screamed, and some stood there expressionless, shocked by what just happened. They'd just seen someone killed in front of them, so it was understandable. No one in their right mind would react properly— not even I did. I pulled Aaron close, protecting as much of him with my body as possible. He dragged me inside and locked the door behind us.

"We're okay." He whispered into my hair. "He's gone."

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from him and- and everything he did." I said shakily.

"It's my own fault. I should've known it was a trap. There's no way you could've possibly gotten arrested, but I rushed home as soon as I got the message."

"No, actually, that's true. He took me from Claire's, drugged me, and set me up. I'll tell you about it later."

He pulled me in hard and rested his chin on my head. His heart was beating quickly against my ear.

"We should get washed up." He decided, leading the way to the bathroom. My pajamas had been white 24 hours ago, but they were bloodstained beyond repair. There was no saving our damaged clothes, so we ended up just throwing them away.

I turned the cold water on so we could get the blood off of us more easily, but Hotch switched it to hot when I started shaking. The bathtub looked like it'd be permanently stained, so I'd have to bleach it if it stayed that way. We'd have a lot of cleaning up to do tomorrow. Blood was a bitch to get out of things.

"I had to tell them who we are. I got Bartley on the phone and had him bail me out. It was that or wait 72 hours and risk losing you, so I didn't have a choice." I explained.

"He probably wasn't happy, but I don't give a damn." He shrugged. "We're both okay and that's all that matters."

"We have to go see Claire tomorrow. She got beat up pretty badly and I'm assuming Zachary did too."

"Tell me exactly what happened." He prompted, shampooing both of our heads. I launched into the story and gave him all of the details. When I got to the hallucinations, I paused. Was that something he needed to know? He looked at me expectantly when I stopped without an explanation, so I continued. A smile grew across his whole face when I told him how happy I was when I thought it was real.

"Tell me what happened on your end." I said when I finished.

"I was at that boring ass conference worrying about you, but I knew I couldn't take out my phone and call you in the middle of it. During the lunch break, I saw a bunch of missed calls from the same number." He tightened his grip on me. "They left a voicemail that said that you'd been arrested and that I was possibly in danger, so I rushed back to Oak Hills. Claire and Zachary weren't at their house and they didn't pick up their phones. I was frantic trying to get ahold of you, but I couldn't. I came back here and walked straight into Craig's trap."