be the one ⇢ s. reid

xxviii.

Unfortunately Jeremy had gotten to Phil before Luke could arrive. This had fueled more rage in Luke. It had been awhile since something like this happened to him. He had dropped off Phil's dog to his own place so Melanie could take care of him before he headed back to the Bureau to meet up with the rest of the team. 

Luke was then taken off the case because he had a potential target on his back and Emily did not want to risk that. There was a lot for Luke's mind to wrap around and he showed that to Emily when they had a chat.

Because she knew her brother, Melanie didn't expect Luke to be home again. The sad look in his eyes made her upset. She wasn't sure she has ever seen her brother look this way. 

He lost his best friend. 

Melanie instantly gave her brother a hug.

"Spencer told me what happened." Melanie said. "I'm so sorry, Luke." 

Luke didn't respond or hug back. Instead he had pulled away from his sister and walked over to the lockbox that was behind a painting. 

"Go pack a bag." He instructed.

She looked at him in confusion. "Pack a bag? What? You said I wasn't a target. You need to tell me what's going on here."

Luke rubbed his forehead. "Jeremy...he's not going to stop, Mel. He's not going to stop until he gets to me. Phil was a high priority because he knew him. Then he'll go for you. And the cops...the cops out front aren't going to be able to stop him."

Before he had left, Luke had cops post outside of his apartment complex for the safety of his sister. 

As Luke was speaking he walked over to the side table where there was another safety box where he took out a cell phone - an outdated one if Melanie had to say so herself. 

"Look, I got an army ranger buddy of mine coming to pick up you and the dogs okay? John and his wife Carla, they life off the grid. You'll be secure with them. I'll call you when it's safe." He instructed. 

Her eyebrows raised as she placed her hands on her hips.  "You'll call? You're not coming with us?"

Now she was concerned. It was almost expected of Luke but she was hoping to be proven wrong.

The male shook his head.  "No." 

It was then Melanie realized.

"Because you're going after him." 

Luke just sighed and didn't say much. Standing here talking to Melanie and possibly start an argument meant that he was wasting time. He went to brush past his sister until she took a hold of his arm.

"Luke. Look at me." She demanded.  "Just look at me. Your best friend was murdered and I know you're hurting, but don't do this." The femme was pleading. The worry in her brown eyes was very prominent. The last thing she wanted was her brother killed. "Please, Luke. Don't do this." 

Luke knew his sister was right but it wasn't enough to convince him to not go after Jeremy. He needed to do this. 

"I have to, Mel. I'm sorry." He shrugged Melanie's hand off his arm and walked out of the apartment. 

"Luke!" She yelled out. 

She ran her fingers through her hair and gripped onto it as she started to pace back and forth. She couldn't just sit on the information she knew now. She had to tell someone and she knew exactly who to call. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she went through her contact list and tapped Emily's name.