The Face of Love: Chapter Ten

"The idea of evil is always subject to denial as a coping mechanism."

- John Bradshaw

Hotch knew Emily had worked a few undercover missions in her past; he never really questioned the nature of those missions or what she had done because he knew from years of experience that some of those missions contained highly-sensitive information often putting the agents in very uncomfortable positions, and he never wanted to force Emily to tell him anything she truly didn't want to.

"So, she was undercover working on Doyle's case...why did she never mention any of this to anyone?" David asked with a furrowed brow.

"Interpol uses a skill other countries usually don't...infiltration." Clyde said looking at them as their eyes went wide.

"Emily assumed the identity of Lauren Reynolds in order to get intel on Valhalla...she basically played the role of another weapons dealer."

"How close did she get to Doyle?" Hotch asked, feeling anger and jealousy bubble inside him.

"Well, we had a full background on Doyle, and his information included relationships, what he liked and what he didn't...Emily was his type." Matt answered, watching as Hotch's eyes grew darker and angrier.

"I still don't follow why Emily's dark past and this case are related to the BAU today." Hotch glared…the more he knew about Emily, the more he realized that maybe she wasn't the person he thought she was.

"Ian Doyle escaped prison over six months ago." Clyde finally said as he watched the surprise and horror in the team's eyes.

"He is after everyone that put him away, and he won't rest until they are all dead." Matt said looking Hotch directly in the eyes. He knew Hotch was angry about everything he was hearing, but he needed to understand this was about saving Emily.

"That explains her behavior these past six months." Rossi stated. "He has been after her all this time."

"She didn't run away with another man..." Matt's eyes focused on Hotch with a look of horror. "…He has her." Hotch finished, feeling his heart clench and the air leave his lungs.

"Oh my God." Penelope hissed while covering her mouth." The entire team was in shock because they had no idea their best friend was in trouble; they all just thought she simply had run away with another man.

"Doyle has been taunting her for six months...he first made contact with her when he got out of prison." Matt explained.

"Why didn't she say anything, why did she just go out on her own after he contacted her; if something happens to her..." JJ said, shaking her head as her eyes filled with tears.

"That doesn't make any sense, why didn't she talk to anyone after he contacted her...we're her family, we would have helped." Spencer said horrified looking at the screen images.

"Because she couldn't...Doyle would have taken down all of us...he was seeking revenge...Emily gave him what he wanted to stop him from hurting anyone." Matt admitted.

"Gave him what he wanted?" Rossi questioned, frustrated. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"She divorced Agent Hotchner, and after that, she went after him on her own..." Clyde told Rossi then turned to look at Hotch who still had not uttered a single word.

"So, all this time you knew she was in trouble, that we all were, that he was after her, and you just sat there doing nothing about it!"Said Hotch "That's obstruction of justice." The look on his face quickly changed from disappointment, shock, fear and now anger.

"We couldn't tell anyone, Agent Hotchner." Clyde attempted to get him to calm down

"She is my wife!" He yelled and banged his fist on the table as he stood up and bored his eyes into Clyde Easter's eyes. "I demand to know why I wasn't informed that a terrorist was after my wife, my family and my team!" Hotch barked.

"Agent Hotchner, calm down." Matt Cruz said raising his voice slightly.

"You!" Hotch pointed to Cruz moving closer to him, "This is your fault, you didn't tell anyone simply because you couldn't stand her not being under your control. YOU are a coward!" His face inches from Cruz now, both men stared at one other in a dance of dominance trying to gain power and control over the other.

"This isn't about you, Agent Hotchner." Matt said not at all intimidated by his glare. "Your jealousy and insecurity have nothing to do with the privacy of this case."

"Agents, enough!" Clyde shouted, standing between both of them before either of them could say anything else. Rossi and Derek had already stood up from the table and were waiting to take any necessary action to prevent the two men from getting into a fight.

"I hope you both understand this isn't a competition for her love." Clyde continued in an angry tone. "This is about saving Emily and nothing else."

"He's right," Derek said assuming charge as the Unit Chief. "We need to focus on bringing her home, we could start by profiling Doyle to find out where she is."

"We already know where she is." Matt stated.

"And you're still standing here instead of notifying every single law enforcement agency wherever she is...if something happens to her, I will destroy you, you can count on that." Hotch said as he felt his anger rising again.

"Agent Hotchner, I understand you're angry." Clyde intervened glaring at Hotch.

"But, your attitude isn't going to save her or make things better." His heated eyes focused on Clyde; Hotch was seething, and he wasn't sure how he was going to be able to control himself.

"Okay, that's enough, everyone." JJ stepped up, finally snapping out of her shock.

"We're wasting time...we need to get there before it's too late." Now, she felt terrible for judging her best friend and thinking the worst.

"Agent Jereau, it's not that easy, trust me." Clyde said. "If we haven't taken any action it's not because we don't want to save Emily; Doyle doesn't work alone, we would be putting her at more risk by going there and barging in."

"So, we just stand here doing nothing!" Morgan said incredulously.

"We can't put her life at risk, the longer we wait..." JJ said, unable to finish her words.

"He's not going to kill her right away." Clyde stated, and all eyes focused on him. "If he wanted her dead, she would already be dead, trust me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Morgan asked even more angered.

"He is a power-assertive psychopath," Matt explained, "He doesn't play games, he plans everything to the last detail."

"Yeah, that last detail being her." Hotch exclaimed angrily, fighting the urge to beat the hell out of Matt. Not only had he hid secret important information about his wife, he also was calmly dealing with this situation…THAT was really pissing him off.

"Doyle doesn't want to kill Emily." Matt said as he turned around and faced Hotch again.

"Then why take her? You just said she was the one that put him away." Spencer, who had been awfully quiet up until this time, finally spoke with a distressed voice.

"Because he's in love with her, better yet, he's obsessed with her." Clyde told them.

"Emily is the only person he has ever loved or cared for; keeping her alive gives more meaning to his life than killing her."

"You just said he is a psychopath, he has no empathy." Hotch intervened looking at them.

"Which is why we must be careful," Clyde amended. "Emily isn't stupid, she knows what she's doing, she knows exactly the way to stop him and what he wants."

"Which is what?" Dave asked with a furrowed brow.

"Playing into his fantasy, making him think she loves him, too." Matt said, looking at them worriedly.

"Where is she?" Hotch finally asked, praying that nothing would happen to her; he knew she was strong, but even then, everyone has a breaking point.

"Lake Tahoe...a cabin somewhere."

"What?" A few of them exclaimed, confused.

"Doyle recently bought a property on Tahoe Vista, a cabin in front of the lake."

"Why Lake Tahoe, does that place have meaning to him?" JJ asked equally confused.

"No," Hotch answered, "It has meaning to Emily...it was her grandfather's."

"We'll get Doyle, that's a promise, Agent Hotchner," Clyde vowed, "But, we need to act with an abundance of caution, any reckless move will put Emily's life in danger."

"The jet is ready," Matt informed them, "We can continue briefing the case on the jet, we need to get moving."

Everyone left the round table and followed Clyde and Matt. The tension in the room was high, and everyone was angry as well. Everyone agreed on the same thing, they needed to save Emily, and they all had to work together in doing so. Hotch followed behind them, too, scrutinizing Clyde and Cruz. There was so much he needed to know, so many explanations he needed. He couldn't come to terms that they had known all along what was going on with Emily; hell, they even let her file for divorce.

He wasn't sure if he trusted them anymore, actually, he wasn't even sure he believed anything they were saying. None of this made sense, the worst part was he still couldn't believe Emily had left him to be with a terrorist even if it was to allegedly save her family and the team. This entire situation was very sketchy, he wasn't sure what to believe; the simple fact that Emily had slept with a terrorist for a profile made his stomach turn. As much as he loved her and wanted her safe, Hotch wasn't sure he could get past the fact that his wife had been in someone else's bed, that someone being a terrorist murderer.

Emily woke up the following morning with a bad headache and feeling emptier than ever. Every time she went to sleep, all she dreamed about was Violet and Aaron being hurt by Ian, and she woke up screaming in the middle of the night. The only thing that got her through was her conviction that she was doing this for them, to keep them safe. She was the only one who knew exactly what Ian was capable of doing when was angered. There was no way in hell she would ever risk the lives of her family, or her team for something she had started years ago.

This was a war she had started, nobody else had to pay for what she had done to put Ian Doyle away. She could only hope Ian was really focused on getting her back, and she knew if she followed his game and pretended to be just as in love with him as he with her, maybe she would have more possibilities for survival and maybe even take him down. She had finished dressing when there was a knock on her door. She was surprised since Ian had told her the night before he was going be out taking care of some business, but she told the person who was knocking to come in, just as she finished brushing her hair.

The housemaid, Francesca, walked in carrying a large tray with breakfast, coffee and juice for Emily.

"Good morning, signora, I have breakfast for you." She announced in her broken English.

"You didn't have to bring breakfast up here." Emily said, smiling at Francesca and feeling bad for her. "I could have eaten downstairs."

"Mestre Doyle order to bring you anything here, I am sorry signora." The old lady said, looking extremely uncomfortable as if she was in trouble.

"No, no, it's okay, I'm not mad, it's just…you don't need to this for me."

"I do what Mestre Doyle wants." The old lady said rapidly and then left without saying anything else. Emily shook her head angrily; she hated the fact that Doyle felt like the entire world had to serve him.

After Emily finished breakfast, she decided that it was maybe a good idea to walk around the lake in front of the cabin. If she was going to be here for a long time, she needed to clear her head and strategize, and she couldn't do that locked up in this room…she was starting to suffocate. She wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and headed downstairs running into a couple of service staff people and genuinely smiling at them.

She headed out the back door of the cabin sliding the glass door and stepping outside. The day was beautiful, the sun had risen almost completely, the breeze was soft, and she could smell the lake from the cabin. It was such a beautiful day outside, maybe a walk around the lake was just what she needed. Emily had not made it past Doyle's property when two of his security detail guys stopped her from going any further.

"Signora, you should go back inside, you cannot be here." The taller Irish man told her.

"Excuse me?" Emily queried, smirking and looking at them as if they were joking.

"Mr. Doyle gave strict orders not to let you out of the house." The other, younger man explained.

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" She barked angrily, moving past both clearly not intimidated by their roughness and height.

"Ma'am, please, go back inside...Doyle isn't going to like that you went out." One of the men again tried moving closer to her, taking the gun from his hip in an attempt to intimidate her.

"What are you going to do?" She bit back, "Kill me? Good luck with explaining that to your boss." She said sardonically and then continued on her way past them, heading out to the walk around the lake.

She knew she was probably going to piss off Ian Doyle…by leaving the house, but she couldn't stand being cooped up there for one more second. She needed air and to think, and she couldn't do that in a place that felt like a prison to her.

She made her way around the lake looking at the water and feeling so nostalgic because she couldn't stop thinking about Violet. All she wanted to do was hold her baby girl and kiss her, even if it was only for one last time. She hated that she had to live like this especially without being able to say goodbye to any of them. Even wanting to do that, Emily was sure none of them would have understood why she had done what she had done.

JJ was going to be so angry, just because Emily didn't confide in her past secrets; Morgan would hate her and think the worst of her; Garcia and Reid would probably be disappointed and look down at her, and Aaron...well, she couldn't think what his reaction was going to be, but she was certain he would never forgive her for doing what she did. Maybe Dave was the only one that would possibly understand her actions without judging her, but she wasn't going to risk his life to get him involved in her own personal mess.

She was walking around the lake when a young man approached her while flying a kite. He was with a few friends at a distance, and his kite had almost landed on Emily while they were playing around.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you...the breeze had it out of control." He said, smiling at her…he was in his late twenties, and Emily just smiled at him.

"You didn't hit me, and no worries, it's okay."

"You are not from around here, are you?" The man asked as he looked at her expensive clothes and appearance.

"Kinda, I grew up here a very long time ago."

"That's amazing, this place is beautiful, we moved here about twelve months ago."

"Yes, there's something magic about this place."

"Well, I have to head back, my friends are waiting…nice to meet you."

"You, too." And with that, the man was gone. Emily smiled sadly watching as he ran back to his friends laughing. She only wished she could have her freedom again and be with her family and the people she really loved.

Suddenly, she heard screeching tires and turned to see one of Ian's trucks on the gravel facing the area of the lake where she was. Two armed men jumped out and grabbed her forcibly as she tried to free herself. Emily didn't want to start screaming and make a scene, but she wasn't going to let these idiots treat her like that. They dragged her back to the truck and suddenly, the truck door opened, and Ian came out glaring at her, looking angrier that she had ever seen.

"I thought I made it extremely clear you were not to leave the house." He barked as he grabbed her forcibly by the arm and pressed her against the truck.

"I'm not going to run away, Ian, that house is a freaking prison, you can't just isolate me and never let me out." She stated, fighting her tears…he wasn't going to see her cry!

"Who was that man?" Ian asked angrily, looking back toward the lake.

"What man?" Emily asked him.

"Don't play stupid! The one that was talking to you." He replied and slapped her on the face.

"I don't know who he is, what the hell is wrong with you?" She hissed attempting to free his grip on her arm.

"You're mine, I thought I had made that clear."

"You're insane, I wasn't doing anything, he just ran into me. He is just a some random young guy, Ian."

Suddenly, two of his other security guards dragged the man Emily had been talking with and held him in front of Doyle, as the man struggled trying to free himself and screaming for help

"Now, I said I didn't want any surprises, Emily." As he pulled out his gun and pointed to her, he asked her… "Do you want to die, is that what you want?"

"Go ahead and kill me...do it!" She dared him, "I'm not afraid of dying…GO AHEAD! Kill me!" She screamed, but Doyle just smirked releasing the security clip on his gun aiming it at the man and shooting him in front of her.

"Nooooo!" She screamed, horrified. "God, nooooo, stop...please. I can't do this anymore, just stop please!" Emily cried hysterically, falling to the ground and covering her face. She was stunned that he had killed someone else and had made her watch.

"Take her back home." Doyle instructed his guards. "And get rid of this asshole." He said with venom in his voice while heading back to his truck and not looking back.

Emily cried the entire time she was forced inside the truck and dragged back to the cabin. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to resist this any longer.

"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow-creatures is amusing in itself."― James Anthony Froude