Blinded by Hate | a.hotchner

Chapter 23

Trigger Warning: Violence and Gore

Aaron's POV

I let my thoughts get the best of me when Emily walked away from me on the catwalk.

The image of y/n tied up to that chair was burned into my eyes. Every time I closed my eyes, the image stared at me, her helpless naked body covered in blood.

I had been at work since eight, it's been fifteen hours since y/n left. Every bone in my body was desperate to find her, and every nerve was tired. I would never give up on her, and I would never stop looking for her.

When I pulled out of my thoughts, I realized that the bullpen was filled with agents. It had been desolate the past couple of days, so the change in pace was welcomed.

"Aaron, we need to get back to work." I heard Dave say, my feet responding by following him into the briefing room. The clock on the wall read 11:52 am. Nineteen hours since I last saw y/n in person.

"We're missing something, Briza has left clues before, and y/n knows how to get information into a message." Spencer said, seeing that I had entered the room.

"She only stressed two words, we knew she was going south so that one isn't helpful. The only other word was 'mom'. It wasn't any property owned by either of Briza's parents. I can't think of anything else we missed." I said through clenched teeth. My fingertips were subconsciously rubbing together, a habit I formed in college due to stress.

Spencer looked defeated, his shoulders sagging and head hanging. He sat down at the table with a huff.

"What could we be missing?" Morgan asked with a sigh, he pushed his chair away from the table. "We know that where they are doesn't belong to Briza, what if it belonged to y/n? It could be y/n's mom's property."

"Garcia." I said shortly.

"On it." She responded, opening her laptop quickly.

The room filled with the sounds of Penelope's fervent typing. The anxiety in the room was palpable, the strings of tension almost visible.

"Okay, okay. I have two properties south of DC. One is a cabin, but I don't think that's it. It's in good condition, and it's got close neighbors. The other is a two story, abandoned house. It hasn't had residents for years. There's not really anything around it." She told the team, looking around to see if they agree with her assessment.

"That's it, Garcia. You got it, send us the address." I said, leading the team out of the briefing room.

I wasn't feeling very relieved, the last time we found locations, we were sadly mistaken. I drove the first car, Prentiss and Rossi joining me. Morgan drove JJ and Reid. We didn't waste anytime, I turned my sirens on and stomped on the gas, Morgan following in the same matter. The drive there would take an hour and a half, going over the speed limit.

Dave and Emily didn't attempt to talk, their nervousness filling the car, joining mine. My left leg bounced under the wheel, my hands gripping the wheel tightly. Emily was picking at her nails, pulling the skin off around her fingernail. Dave just sat, his anxious gaze set firmly out the window.

I heard Emily's phone ring in the distance, and she picked it up, but I couldn't hear.

The muffled noises of Emily talking on the phone could be heard under the loud ringing in my ears. I tried to listen, but I couldn't take my focus off of y/n.

"Aaron? You in there?" Emily asked, her hand setting on my forearm lightly.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, what did Garcia want?" I responded to her, watching her hand retract from my arm.