Battlecry | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Prologue

~August, 1993~

"You killed him." My voice comes out in a quiet gasp, the words reluctant to leave my lips.

Sam shakes his head. "I did it for you. For us, C."

I bury my face in my hands, trying to keep my shoulders from trembling. "Oh my God. No, no, no."

His hands find my shoulders and I shrink away from his touch. "You killed him," I say again.

His gaze hardens. His hands grip my shoulders, shoving my back against the side of the house. Dried blood crusts his nails, flaking at his fingertips. "I had to."

"No you didn't," I plead. "Sam, he's your father."

Was, I silently correct myself. Was your father.

He shakes his head again. "That man was never my father."

I try to pull away from him but his grip tightens. "Carli, I did this for you!" he exclaims. "We can get out, isn't that what you've always wanted? We can finally do it, we can run and never look back, just you and me-"

"Sam!" I cut him off with a sharp whisper. "We can't. You... you killed someone. You can't just walk away from this."

He finally lets me go, stepping away. I continue to lean against the house for fear that my legs will give out.

"You don't understand," he mutters. "You never understood."

"Sam?" My voice breaks.

"I love you, Carli!" he shouts.

I look away from his pleading eyes. "I know. And I'm sorry."

He strides forward until his hand grips my throat. He shoves me against the house, his blue eyes wild with the desperation of a boy that knows the cruelty of the world too well.

And he makes me a promise.

"I will kill for you. I will kill them all for you."