What's she Worth to You?

Good Girls Get Rewarded

hey, if y'all don't mind, please make sure to read the A/N at the end of this chapter. It is so very important. Thank you :)

U N K N O W N

I wipe the sweat on my forehead, sighing as we continue to drag her towards the cluster of trees.

"I don't understand why we're doing this," I complain and he groans in an annoyed manner.

"And I don't understand why you're asking so many damn questions." He snaps back and I roll my eyes as we arrive at the usual tree, hidden deep within the forest line. We drop her body to the floor and her eyes flicker open, looking fearfully back and forth from me to him. Tears begin falling from her eyes as she attempts to say something, yet the tape over her mouth restricts her from doing so. He looks up to me.
"We need to do this fast." I nod my head in agreement and he grabs her from the ground, holding her body to the tree. I cut through her write restraints and hold one wrist to the trunk of the tree above her head, grabbing a nail from my pocket. Her crying intensifies and she begins to struggle harder but we just hold her tighter to the tree. I hand him the nail and he places it in the center of her palm, making sure to get it on the right place. He grabs the hammer from his bag and smirks at her.
"This might hurt." She shakes her head vigorously before he begins hammering the nail into her hand.

Her screams are loud, even through the tape, and they continue to be so even after we're done with both her hands. He grabs her roughly by the face and she stops.

"Don't. Scream." She meekly nods her head and he lets go, turning his attention back to me. I shake my head.

"I really don't understand how this is going to help us get the girls back." I say quietly and he smiles.

"It'll send a message," he pauses.
"No one is safe, not just the girls. And, we'll add a little something for our detective, as well." He pulls a pocket knife out from his pants and opens up the blade, making this girl go ballistic. He chuckles and turns toward her, holding it in front of him and rolling his eyes.
"This doesn't even hold a candle to what I'll do to those girls when I get them back." He laughs before raising the knife and slitting her throat in one quick motion.

H A N K

I rub the bridge of my nose as I look at the board. The faces of Noah, Seth, Brooke, and William (just to name a few) stare back at me and I begin to feel the pressure of this case.

"Do we have anything new?" I breathe out and the room is quiet except Erin slightly rolling her chair back. She does this when she's overthinking.
"What are you thinking, Erin?" I ask and she looks up, mid thought.

"Nothing really, just," she stands up and approaches the board, looking at the picture of Noah.
"Noah told me a story the other night, about a place that Lucifer used to take her and Brooke, a park." The rest of the team leans up in their chairs, listening more intently. She clears her throat.
"She says that he used to take them there when they'd been 'bad' and nail them to the trees and make them stay there overnight." Silence falls over the unit as we really let the new information sink in.

These girls have been through everything.

"If she can retrace her steps and take us to this park maybe we could find something he left behind." I think over her idea, slowly nodding my head.