Back To December || Aaron Hotchner

Chapter 48 - Taylor

That was a close one. If only Aaron knew what I was doing in that hotel... I have been trying to forget that morning since it happened, but I can't.

I did a good old cover up for a big name. People within the White House knew about his adventurous nights behind his wife's back, however this time everything went downhill. He was found dead with the two prostitutes in that hotel room. And I had to handle it before the word got out. It was an order directly from POTUS.

When I got there, the place was a mess. Immediately, I had Secret Service people remove the big name from the room and get him quietly to his house. The rest helped me get the room together and clean up any sign of him ever being there.

I hated every second of it. But I did it. I erased and rewrote every event of that night. We had just finished up when Aaron and the team arrived. And a few hours later, it came out that he passed away peacefully in his sleep from a cardiac arrest by his wife's side.

It looks like I did a good job, because the BAU was forced to drop the case a few days later due to lack of evidence and pressure from above. POTUS congratulated me. But I walked away and broke down as soon as I reached my office.

Maybe this job isn't for me. I have proven that I am excellent at a handling crisis political or someone's personal. But this was too far. I hate myself for doing that. Those women deserved better. I was always the one catching the bad guys, not covering up for them.

I am reminded of all that whenever I look at Aaron. I lied to him. I feel horrible but my NDA will not let me admit it to him. If word gets out and they feel threatened that I could reveal more secrets, they will not hesitate to plant a bullet in my head. But I guess that I chose to take on this job offer, so I have to live with my choices now.

Aaron has been acting all sweet and touchy this week. He has been over his head with work lately but still puts effort to keep me happy. I hate myself.

"Taylor Melissa Wilson!" Aaron calls and I hear the front door slam shut.

I leave the bedroom and meet him halfway to the door. "Hello to you too" I smile and reach up to kiss him

"Sit down" he orders.

My heart sinks. He knows.

I sit on one couch and he sits on the other one. He takes a paper out of his briefcase and sets it on the table in front of me. I pick it up and read it. With the corner of my eye, I see that he rubs his temples as he waits.

"Do you know what that is?" he asks

"A fingerprint match..." I answer

"Do you know who they belong to?" he asks

"There are no names" I say, but I have a feeling that they belong to me

"The first one was found besides the door of the hotel room where the two bodies were found last week. It was very hard to find since the entire room was swiped clean, but I found this partial earlier this morning when Rossi and I went back for the hundredth time. The second one is the fingerprint that matched it, which to my surprise belongs to you" he explains.

"It has been a week, Aaron. I have been back to that hotel for work, maybe I accidentally touched a wall--"

"That entire hallway is closed off" he informs me. "So, I am going to ask once. What were you doing in the hotel that morning, Taylor?".

This is my chance to come clean, or break his trust for good. I want to keep my head, but I don't want to live without him.

I flip the paper with the fingerprints and I grab a pen from his briefcase.