Lacuna [Book 2]

twenty-eight

twenty-eight; beauty

dr.shepherd: hey, wanted to check in on you. it's been a while since we've last spoke. i hope you're doing well and you should come back to seattle and visit some time!

I smiled at the text and looked up. "Hey, next week I'll be giving Gemma a ride to school in the morning. I can take Ellie if you want me to." Rossi asked and I looked over to him- who was sitting next to Hotch. Right across from him was Emily and JJ. Alyssa sat next to Derek in the back- Spencer was on the couch reading and Sofia was listening to some music. Anthony stood in the corner on his phone and I sighed- feeling bad for him.

"Awe, thanks, but it's okay really."  I said and Rossi furrowed his eyebrows. "Grandpas always spoil their grandchildren." He said and I snorted and laughed. "By spoiled you mean you sneak her your Italian recipes so I can cook for her?" I asked and he shrugged and looked down with a smug look on his face.

"Hello my fine fury friends- we've got some bad news. Another body has been found. 24 year old Vanessa O'Brien. Same as the other vics. Brown hair, blue eyes." She said and I scoffed and leaned against a table.

"Garcia, is there any connection between the girls?" Emily asked and she nodded. "Yeah, one actually. They all did Beauty Pageants." She said and Alyssa rolled her eyes- annoyed.  Anthony came and sat down and said, "There's a place we can all stay in- we don't need to get a hotel." He said and I raised an eyebrow- confused. 

"Where?" I asked and he rolled his eyes. "My parents. They have extra rooms.My dad called the hotel and cancelled the bookings." He said and Rossi snorted.

"You must be Agent Jareau." The woman- FBI Agent Mark Walton said as he came up to us, he had bright blue eyes and his hair was white. He looked pretty built to be a 50 something years old man. JJ nodded and gave him a nice smile. "I am, these are Agents Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan, Dave Rossi, Alyssa Larsen, Dr.Spencer Reid and-" She said but I cut her off extending my hand. "Agent Hadley LaMontagne This is our intern Sofia Wilson." I said and he nodded and gave me a smile and then looked over at Anthony. "Son, look at you." He said and Anthony walked away from him, not making eye contact. 

I cleared my throat and looked at the man. "Can we see the most recent victim?" I asked and he nodded. "Sure. They're at the Coroner's office as we speak getting examined." He said and I nodded and gave him a small smile. 

"Prentiss, Morgan and Larsen, you guys go talk to the families of the first victim. Reid, Rossi and I will be going to look at the crime scene and Walton, Hadley and Sofia can go check out the bodies at the Coroner's office." Hotch said and we all nodded and I walked over to Spencer. I wrapped my arm around him and he jumped. I raised an eyebrow and smiled a bit. "Are you okay?" I asked and he nodded and looked down. "Sorry. I didn't mean to jump." He said and I nodded and he bent down and kissed my forehead. "Be safe. I'll be going to get coffee after this. You want some?" He asked and I nodded smiling. "Yes, please." I said and he chuckled.

"I'll call Ellie in an hour so I can she what she's up to." He said and I nodded and gave him one last hug. "I love you." I said and he smiled and looked down at me. "I love you too." He said and turned to walk away. I smirked and then my phone rang.  I saw it was my brother calling. I picked it up and answered.

"Hey, what's up?"I asked and Will began speaking. "I need to ask you something. I've been thinking about Jocelyn and stuff and when you said what if Valentina came after you. I had JJ ask Penelope stuff about Jocelyn and she found some interesting-" He said but I cut him off- annoyed. I walked away fro Sophia and Spencer and resumed the conversation.

" Will, why are you looking into that? What I said- I wasn't being serious." I said and he sighed. " Hads, I know. But we found out she was apart of something." He said and my heart dropped.

"Whatever it is- it has to wait. I'm on a case." I said and hung up. I closed my eyes and turned around bumping into a firm chest. I looked up and saw Anthony. "What's going on?" He asked and I sighed, shaking my head. "Nothing. "I said and he tilted his head- knowing I lied.

"It's about Jocelyn and stuff- we can talk about it later. I promise we will." I said and he rolled his eyes. "You better. We do things together now. And can we talk about the fact that Shaw hired that guy for you?" He asked and I cocked my head back and looked at him.

"What guy-" I said and then cut myself off and laughed to myself angry. I dialed his number but it went straight to voicemail so I left a message. 

"Shaw, call me back as soon as you hear this. You are so luck you are in Cuba right now because I will kick your ass the next time I see you." I said and then hung up and rolled my eyes Anthony snorted and we both left to go to the Coroner's office.

"Take a look at this." Anthony said as I finished talking to the women who preformed the autopsy on Vanessa O'Brien. I walked over to him and looked at the forehead.

He pointed to the carving- which was perfectly clear. "Either our UnSub has done this before- or she used a very sharp blade." He said and I looked down at the report.

" It says here, that the word was carved into her forehead post-mortem." I said and he grimaced. He looked down and then behind him- as if he was looking for something.

" Did we bring the rape kit?" He asked and I mentally face palmed. " Shit- no I left it in Rossi's SUV." I said and he gave me a small smile.

"So... you want to tell me what that was back there with your dad?" I asked and he shrugged. " It's just alot. We never got along." He said and I nodded slowly. He cleared his throat and looked over at me.

" How are things with Hotch, Prentiss and JJ?" He asked and I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"I'm not talking to them. Prentiss- sure, I get it. But JJ? She's with my brother and they have a kid. Hotch? Was like a father figure to me and he lied." I said and then bit my lip and continued my conversation.

" I just can't forgive them right now." I said and he gave me a small smile and then walked over to me.

" Hads, I get it- I feel just like how you feel." He said and I nodded and he pulled me into a hug. " I love you Hads. Don't ever forget that." He said and pulled me into a hug.

I hugged him back and smiled. " I love you too, Anthony. But... we all know you only love me because of my daughter." I said and he pulled away and scoffed.

" Okay- you got me." He said and we both went into a laughing fit.

a/n:

q: when will you update No Time to Die????

a: sometime soon! i've been super busy but i will soon! i haven't forgotten about it!!!