EASY WAY OUT ¹ ➢ spencer reid

IV

"Daniel Harris," Hotch yelled, knocking on the door loudly, "this is the FBI! We have a warrant for your arrest!" He looked back, nodding to us. Prentiss and Reid snuck towards the back of the house, while the rest of us stood by. "Please come out with your hands up!"

There was no response, which was obviously expected. Hotch sighed, turning the doorknob slowly. He pushed open the door, motioning to the rest of us to follow. We crept into the house, our guns drawn as we cleared the main floor. I tiptoed into a bedroom, turning the corner quickly. My breathing hitched when I saw Leah, laying on the floor in pool of blood. Her face had been beat up pretty bed, a series of contusions lining the left side of her face. Her eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down her puffy cheeks. Along her arms were the same slash markings that Emma had, only much deeper. I swallowed hard and did a thorough search of the room before running to her aid. I crouched down to feel her pulse, which was thankfully still there. "I found Leah she needs a medic!"

Suddenly a gunshot was fired from upstairs. I stood up abruptly, running to the doorway. I raised my gun and walked slowly to the base of the stairs. As I glanced up, I saw the team saunter angrily down the stairs, disappointment coating their faces. 

"What happened?"

Hotch walked past without saying a word. I raised my brow and looked at Morgan who shook his head as he walked into the bedroom where Leah was. "Shit."

"She's still alive, but she's in rough shape," I came up behind him.

"Harris is dead," he responded.

"He's dead?" I raised my brow.

"Shot himself." He rubbed his eyes. "Where's the medic?" He stomped out of the house. I stayed behind, watching as the rest of the team followed. A couple of moments later a pair of paramedics ran into the house, throwing themselves onto the floor in front of Leah. I stood at the doorway.

"Rafferty."

I turned to face Hotch.

"She's gonna be okay."

I nodded and immediately walked outside. I figured he meant that I was needed elsewhere so I walked outside to where our SUV's sat. Everyone looked stressed, taking off their vests and adjusting their clothes back to normal. I looked over at Reid who ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh.

The rest of the day was a blur. We contacted both Leah and Daniel's families, telling them the news. Leah's family thanked us, while Daniel's merely nodded, claiming their son had strayed too far from the Lord. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes when they said it. After that, we headed to the Seattle police station to finish up there. We signed what I assumed would be the usual after case paperwork, while Detective Samuels gave us a warm send off. He thanked us for all the help. Hotch played it off like it was nothing, that he was just doing his job, but I could tell Daniel's death really pissed him off.

We packed up our things, standing in the makeshift office tiredly. Morgan stood near the doorway, pointing in our direction. "Anyone else down for a beer?"

"Make it ten," Prentiss responded, walking towards the door.

The rest of the group sounded off, a couple of them down, while others protested claiming they were too tired. Morgan gave me a look. "We're getting you a round so you have to come." He smiled.

I shrugged. "I mean, I'm not going to say no to free beer."

We left the station and walked out onto the sidewalk. We all piled into the SUV's. I jumped in the back, resting my head against the window as I closed my eyes. I hadn't realized until now how I tired I was.