Plausible Deniability

Bait

I heard her wince and whine in pain and bit my lip hard.

"What happened to you?"

"Eh, I got shot." I could tell she was acting tough, playing it off like it was no big deal.

"Well where's this amazing team of yours?"

"They'll find me eventually."

"You don't seem too concerned."

"Should I be?"

"You're all tied up and at my mercy. I would be."

"Nothing I haven't done before." I could hear the smirk in her voice. "I know I'm not the one you want to play with."

"You think you know what I want?"

"She ruined your life. Got your friends killed, trashed your little game plan."

"Shut up!"

I could hear the skin on skin contact of him slapping her face. I held my breath until I could hear her breathe again.

"Hotch!"

"Wait!" I told the team to hold until the right moment. She knew what she was doing. She was in control.

I heard her spit. "Is that what you would do to her? Smack her around a little?"

"I would make her beg!" His voice got closer and I hard a sharp rip of fabric before her scream echoed. I clenched my jaw and looked away so no one could see the hurt in my face.

"Hotch!"

"Not yet!" I spat, wanting with everything I had to run inside and kill that bastard. "We have to wait until she gives the okay."

"How's that wound feel now?" He was enjoying this.

"It burns a little," she was still playing it cool. I knew she was in a lot of pain, but damn that woman was strong. "Why do you keep checking your phone? You hoping she'll come save me?"

"I told you to shut up."

"And I told you that Emily Prentiss isn't part of our team anymore."

"She knows that I'm looking for her. She'll show her face and my men will find her."

"What's left of your men, you mean?" I head another slap and I couldn't take anymore.

"Okay, go! Go!" I yelled across the lot that we were waiting in and they all followed me to the back doors.

"Tell me where she is."

"No," she was still putting up a fight. I heard another slap in the earpiece and sped up, practically running to where I knew she was.

"Tell me!" I knew he was about to hurt her again so I took my shot. One of his guards fell and I knew she heard us coming. I heard the scrambling of everyone else in the room get their guns and try to shoot but we were faster.

"Is that Emily?" His voice echoed and she yelled.

"If you want it to be," Prentiss called back and Evan took her chance. I just got to her when I saw her push herself off the wall with enough force to kick the man in the head. It incapacitated him long enough to give me the chance to take my shot. One bullet and he was done.

"You took your time," she coughed and spit blood onto the concrete.

"I'm sorry," I ran to her and tried to get her down. "Morgan!" I called for him. "We're gonna have to get a bolt cutter."

"It's okay, Aaron," she whispered. "I'm alright."

I looked at her with concern and tried to hold her up to relieve the strain in her arms.

"Here, I got it!" Morgan came running back and carefully clipped the chain around her wrists and she fell into me.

"Are you okay?" I hugged her as discreety as possible and checked her over. This was the hardest it's been not to fawn over her and cover her with kisses.

"I'm fine, I promise."

"Get that arm checked out, honey," Morgan came to check on her.

"Yeah," she winced and she wobbled out to the parking lot where an ambulance was already waiting.

"What's going on?"

"Well now that he's dead, Emily can go back-"

"No, I mean with Evan."

Shit. "What do you mean?" Play dumb, Arron.

"Come on, Hotch. You work with a group of profilers. Something is going on."

"She volunteered to be tortured by a man who used to do this for a living."

"That's not what I meant."

I kept my face as confused and innocent as possible. "I don't understand."

"You just act differently around her. Like a moment ago you checked her over a little too closely. Reached for her hand."

Shit. "She was already hurt, Morgan. You saw how beat she is now." Good play.

He shook his head, not believing a word I was saying. "Whatever."

Shit.