The Boss' Niece (Spencer Reid)

78. Close call

Spencer could feel the blood exiting his body. The bullet-proof vest was good, but the bullet missed the vest and much to his surprise, hit the side of his torso. He laid on the ground, feeling his consciousness slowly slipping away. Matthew's hand rested against Spencer's wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked, confused.

"A dead cop isn't going to be much of a negotiation tool." Matthew scoffed.

"You okay?" Matthew looked at Chris, who exhaled.

"I shouldn't have done that. They're never gonna let us out of here now." Chris shook his head, trying not to get too angry.

"Who knows? Maybe they'll save him and he'll be our ticket out of here. You took my advice." Matthew smiled.

"How's that?" Chris asked, confused.

"You didn't go for the kill shot." Matthew explained.

"I need to check the back again. There's gotta be an escape we haven't thought of." Izzy groaned, running to the back of the bank.

"I'm sorry." Spencer groaned, feeling the intense pain in his side. He couldn't quite understand what the assailants were saying, considering he was one wrong move from death.

"Just hang in there, buddy. Are you armed?" Matthew asked, turning to the pale Spencer.

"No." He shook his head, closing his eyes. He was trying his best to push the pain away, or ignore it all together. He was so stupid. He didn't listen to his team, or his wife, both of whom begged him not to go inside.

"Damn. I think we might have something of a chance here." Matthew smiled.

"What?" Spencer muttered, trying to stay awake. If he even so much as closed his eyes, who knew if he'd ever open them again.

"The girl's gone, and the guy's off his head. He doesn't know who to trust. We can work them against each other." Matthew smiled, nodding.

"Wait, are you a cop?" Spencer breathed, trying to remain calm.

"A former marine." He nodded.

With whatever energy he had left, Spencer - with Matthew's help - was lifted off the floor, his hand pressed tightly against his wound.

"You gotta listen to me. I need you to get a message to my wife." Spencer barely lifted his left hand, making his wedding ring visible to Matthew, who was trying to keep him alive.

"All right, you can tell her yourself when we get you out of here." Matthew shook his head.

"Only I'm not getting out. You need someone to cause a distraction. Her name is Cassidy, and she's a Federal Agent, like me. You tell her I'm sorry." Spencer groaned, feeling the pain only get worse.

"Sorry? Don't you want to tell her you love her or something?" Matthew chuckled, watching as Spencer used all of his energy to hold his hand against his wound.

"She already knows that." Spencer smiled, slowly stumbling toward the other man, who looked like he was one wrong word from spiralling out of control.

"The woman. What happened to her?" Spencer asked, confused.

"Aren't you dead yet?" Chris tilted his head, glaring at Spencer, who groaned more.

"You can't trust her. She's taking orders from someone else." Spencer tried to convince Chris, who scoffed and shook his head in disbelief.

"No, she takes orders from me." He stared at Spencer, who tried to keep himself awake.

"Look around. Any second, Agents are gonna storm into this place, and the only bad guy I see is you. She's setting you up to take the fall for this." Spencer glanced at the room.