Hard to Love {A Hotchniss Story}

Chapter 31

"All right Aaron." Emily gave in in that moment because she knew otherwise Aaron wouldn't let her out of the cell. "Can you let me out now?"

"If you run away at any time during this investigation I swear to God I'll track you down faster than Usain Bolt." Aaron said in all seriousness and Emily was starting to doubt her decision. "Deal?"

"Do I have a choice?" Emily asked and Aaron shook his head. "Then deal." The last time she had seen him that scared was one Jack was missing and Emily didn't want that event repeating itself.

Aaron opened the door to the cell and the first thing Emily did was hug him tightly. Aaron was quick to wrap his arms around her. "You're an idiot, but thank you."

Aaron said nothing, he kissed the top of her head and held her in his arms a little longer then he pulled back and looked at her. "Round table room with the team."

"Yay." Emily said after she let out a long sigh.

"Look, an idiot!" Derek said as soon as Emily walked into the room.

"Nice to see you too guys." Emily rolled her eyes and occupied her seat next to Aaron, he soon sat down himself. "So Hotch filled you in."

"Of course, how could you think even for a moment that you would have to do this on your own Emily?" Jennifer asked and Emily let out a long sigh.

"I never said I'd have to do it on my own, but it would have been the best decision." Emily sighed as she sat down in her usual chair. Instead of walking to his own chair, Aaron stood behind Emily's with his hands placed on the back of her chair, inches away from her back and shoulders. 

"It wouldn't have been." Aaron said simply. "Good, now we have a couple of ways of doing this. We wait for Doyle to track you down while having you under surveillance as well as the whole team, just to make sure everyone stays safe."

"That's too many resources, it would never be approved and you know that Hotch." Emily switched to calling Aaron 'Hotch' because she needed to think as an FBI Agent, not as his girlfriend, a friend, a scared person, no, she had to be rational and she was good at being rational most times. However, this time she was scared she might not succeed in making the best decision. "What's the other way?"

"We go to him." Aaron said simply and everyone looked at each other. "There's no other way."

"By that you mean I go to him. We can't ambush him, he has way too many people working for him. The money and resources that man has tops the FBI's." Emily said without doubt and hesitation. 

"We'll be there."

"Where's my phone?" Emily looked at Aaron and he pulled it out o his pocket. As he did so the screen lit up and he saw she had a couple of missed calls, but he didn't keep it in his hand long enough to see who they were from.

"Here." He handed Emily her phone and she unlocked the screen. The missed calls were both from a number she had never seen before, the same number, but it was not someone on the continent. "Italy. That's where I first approached him." Emily could feel the blood rushing to her head. 

"Call back." Spencer said and Penelope wanted to protest, but no one else did so she knew it was for the sake of their investigation, an investigation in which they were very much emotionally involved. 

Emily did as told, she was urged to put it on speaker and even though she did not want it, she did it. "Lauren Reynolds, or should I say Emily Prentiss?"

"Ian, you escaped." It was all Emily could say. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she couldn't sit her, she kept shaking her right leg. 

"Now it's your turn to escape me. You didn't think you'd be free as long as I'm living and breathing, did you?" Emily could hear Doyle's anger in his voice.

"What do you want Doyle?" Emily felt it as if hours passed till he spoke again while it was just a few seconds. 

"Am I not 'Ian' anymore, Lauren?"

"You're not 'Ian' to me and I'm not 'Lauren' to you." It wasn't a conversation to have with everyone there. Aaron had no idea about what actually went on between Emily and Ian. She told him that she was in a pretend relationship with him, she told him she had never been in love with anyone before him, but she lied. Or at least she thought she lied, but at the same time she wished she didn't. Because being in love with someone like Ian Doyle made her sick to her stomach, but only Emily knew how hard it was for her to go through everything she went through with Ian.

"Let's meet and see. Maybe Lauren will come back when she sees the man she loves." 

For a few moments after Ian said that Emily remained silent, her mind was blank and she had no clue what to say except for "Send me the details, I'll be there."