The Ultimate Choice (Criminal Minds FF)

Prologue

One year ago:

Winter Eve groaned, slowly coming back to consciousness. Every part of her ached, and her head was pounding. She blinked a few times, shaking her head, trying to clear it.

I need to get up, she thought.

Wait...she already was.

Something was holding her upright against the wall. She looked over at one of her wrists, stretched far from her, tied back with rope. She pulled against it, straining, but something was wrong with her.

Everything had a slight haze to it, and she could tell that her struggling was hardly doing anything. The heavy weight of sleep pressed down on her, even though she just woke up.

She was weak. Winter Eve was drugged.

Her head leaned to the side as she took in her pitch black surroundings, trying to make out anything more than a few feet away from her.

What happened?

She had been with Luke Alvez, that much she was sure of. She had spent the previous nights with the rest of the members of his team, protecting her from her stalker. She and Luke had been dancing, giving the stalker a show.

The stalker. He saw Luke and Winter and went crazy.

This is my fault, she thought. Luke and I had both gone for our guns, but we didn't make it in time.

He had come through the door, and...after that, things got so hazy. She couldn't remember.

Her head snapped up as a door slammed open and light flooded the room.

• • •

"Alvez!"

Luke jerked up at the sound of his name being yelled. Prentiss was kneeling next to him, and it took a few seconds for him to realize his apartment was filled with agents and a pair of paramedics.

His furniture was thrown every which way, shattered glass everywhere.

"Winter."

Her name escaped his lips, and his head snapped around, searching.

"Where is she?"

He started to panic, his voice rising.

"Alvez."

Prentiss set a hand on his shoulder, making him look at her.

"She's gone."

The paramedics were walking over, and he was trying to get up.

"Alvez, you need to stay down and let them check you out. You've been out for twenty minutes," she said calmly.

"What?" he said in disbelief.

It had only been twenty minutes?

"Alvez, I need you to calm down and tell me what happened," she said, voice steady.