AN: Posting this slightly earlier than I wanted to. While the last chapter seemed to post fine, I think there may have been some issues. If you were able to read chapter 11, nothing has changed. If you weren't able to read it, hopefully you can now. The action is picking up finally, and hopefully I'm meeting my goal in keeping you all in suspense about where things are going and what might happen next. Again, I promise this isn't JJ/OC for the JJ parts, to those of you who may be worried/don't like that sort of thing.

Hotchner and Rossi pulled off the road and drove down the dirt driveway to the house once owned by Eric Jacobson's parents. About ten feet from the house Hotchner stopped their SUV and the two officers following in the car behind them stopped as well.

The lot had been cleared of much of the trees and brush that normally would have been there. This had given the family a rather large yard, although the grass was rather sparse. In the middle of the yard sat a two story house with what was likely an underground basement, and a small shed was located on the far side of the yard near the tree line. In front of them sat a parked pickup that couldn't have been more than a couple of years old.

They unbuckled their seatbelts and were about to step out when Hotchner's phone rang.

"Hotchner."

"Hotch, it's Reid. We have a problem, we couldn't get the warrants on the grounds that we don't have enough physical evidence that is actually linked to our suspects."

"What? Did that come straight from the judge?"

"It did. They're being extra tough considering who our suspects are according to Detective Harlan, nobody wants to stick their neck out."

Hotchner sighed, rubbing his temple as they began to approach the house, their eyes scanning the area.

"We don't have time to be playing these types of games. They realize someone is about to die don't they?"

"Hotch, I know, I've already been through all this as well, Harlan isn't too happy either. I'm going through everything we have to see if we can make something stick, but you are going to have to talk to the suspect or find more evidence as it stands right now." Spencer explained. Hotchner had continued walking up the pathway, not realizing that Rossi had stopped at the truck.

"Alright Reid, we'll see what we can do, I might have to go talk to the judge myself." He said with a hint of frustration.

"I understand. Also Hotch, there was something else…"

"Hotch, you better come see this." Rossi called over.

"Hang on Reid, Rossi's calling me." Hotchner walked to the back of the pickup where everyone else had gathered.

"What is it Dave?" he asked as he circled around.

"Take a look for yourself." Rossi said, pointing to the tarps in the back of the truck.

"Reid, I'm going to have to call you back, I think we just found what we're looking for." Hotchner said as he stared at the back of the truck.

/

"I'm done arguing with you, now get to your feet!" Christina's captor yelled at her.

She had tried and tried and tried some more to convince him to stop, to let her go, to humanize herself to him. None of it worked, he couldn't be swayed. Now he was just plain pissed off at all the time she had made him waste by arguing with her.

Christina began the painful process of standing again. It was harder and more tortuous every time he made her do it. Soon, she was on her feet as the man roughly grabbed her shoulder and led her from the room.

Christina felt her heart begin to beat more quickly as she was led down the hallway again. She tried her hardest to memorize the layout of everything she saw, just in case by any slim chance she would be able to escape. They made it to the end of the hallway and to a set of stairs. Christina visibly hesitated, feeling uneasy that her ankles were still tied and yet he expected her to navigate her way down the stairs.

"Come on, move." He ordered as he pushed her shoulder.

"Untie my ankles, I might fall otherwise." She protested.

"Start moving or I'll push you down them, your choice." He answered darkly.

Timidly, Christina moved to the first step. She took a deep breath after successfully making it down to the first step. Slowly, she made it down the next couple, focusing all of her concentration on not falling.

"You're going too slow, pick up the pace." He ordered her as he applied pressure to her shoulder.

"I'm going to fall dammit!" she turned and yelled at him, the stress of the situation overpowering the logic that told her not to piss him off. She made it down another step before he could respond.

"You're stalling, quit wasting my time!" he yelled at her.

Christina felt the breath catch in her throat as she felt him give her a push. She tried with all her might to stay balanced as she hopped down the next step, two steps from the landing which would mark the halfway point on the staircase.

She turned sideways as she tried to counteract the force of the push and stay on her feet. She stumbled, turning her ankle as she fell, landing awkwardly on the landing as her shoulder painfully crashed into the wall. She gasped in pain as she felt her shoulder bruise and her ankle throb. She remained leaning against the wall, unmoving as her captor grabbed her and pulled her up.

"Stop screwing around, let's go!" he spat in her face.

"Please, just untie my ankles until we make it down the stairs." She pleaded.

"No chance." He said simply.

"What do you think is going to happen? I just turned my ankle! I'm going to fall!" Christina argued back, the frustration overwhelming her.

"You're really worried about falling?" he asked as he looked at her, his face even.

"Yes." Christina responded quietly. There was an awkward pause and for a brief moment, she wished she knew what he was thinking.

"Well, let me save you the trouble." He said, grabbing her abruptly around the neck.

"No! Please!" Christina cried frantically as he pushed her towards the next set of stairs. With a hard push Christina let out a scream as she was sent tumbling down the rest of the staircase.

/

Once Cole had settled down and JJ felt recomposed, she pulled away. Her body was filled with warmth and when she met his broken eyes, desire filled her. She wished there was more she could do to help him, to take his pain away, to put his mind elsewhere while her team found Christina. He looked so sad, so broken, as if he had almost been resigned to the fact that Christina wasn't coming back. She had tried to convince him otherwise, but it almost didn't seem to matter anymore.

Cole kept his eyes locked on hers, almost daring her to look away. She felt like he could see through her, like he could see her deepest thoughts. Finally, she had to look away, her body heat rising from the intense look he had given her.

"It's kind of warm in here." She said to no one in particular as she shed her suit jacket and draped it over one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

Cole glued his eyes to her body, looking her up and down. He could do this; he was going to do this. His nerves had retreated some and his mind was almost solely focused on the woman in front of him.

'If not for you, for Christina.' He told himself.

He needed to keep her distracted long enough for the media to grab the story and run with it. So that when her team called, Jennifer would be running containment rather than out right denying that a killer was on the loose. JJ turned around and froze when she saw his eyes glued to her.

"What…?" she asked uncomfortably.

"Nothing, you're just really pretty." He said almost matter-of-factly.

JJ felt her face flush a little. What was it about this guy that made her head spin? That turned her on so much? She didn't know, besides the fact that he was exceedingly attractive and she felt an emotional connection to him because of all the pain she had seen him in.

"Uh, thanks. You're pretty handsome yourself." JJ smiled awkwardly.

"You're just saying that. I meant what I said, you're gorgeous."

"No…no, I meant it too." She stuttered a little.

"Did you, really?" he asked as he reached out and stroked her cheek, his thumb teasing a strand of her hair.

"Yes…" JJ whispered as she leaned into his touch.

"You're not playing games with me are you?" Cole said softly, trailing his thumb lightly from her cheek to the edge of her lips.

"Never…" JJ whispered again, his hand causing tingles through her body as her knees began to feel weak.

He pushed her bottom lip down with his thumb, moving in to claim her lips with his. JJ closed her eyes, and Cole kissed her as he pulled her body closer to him.

At first she let him, caught by surprise both at what was happening, and at herself for letting it happen. But then she pulled her head away, putting an abrupt end to the kiss.

"What are you doing?"

Cole smiled, keeping his hands around her.

"You're here to distract me aren't you?" he looked into her eyes, his thumb tracing along the bottom hem of her blouse as his fingers ran along her butt.

JJ felt a rush of emotion come over her. She didn't know what it was, but she felt desire bubbling up inside of her. She wanted him, she was turned on; even if she couldn't entirely explain it. She didn't do this. She didn't do things like this especially while on a case.

JJ met his eyes and felt another chill run down her spine. Cole chuckled, knowing she was torn, but also that she likely wouldn't stop him. She was vulnerable and he was going to pounce.

"So distract me." He said seductively, his hand now firmly squeezing her butt as he pulled her in for another kiss.

/

Hotchner stared at the tarps piled in the back of the truck, blood visibly pooled on them.

"I'd say it's safe to say we know how he transports and hides the bodies." Rossi said.

"He could be a hunter, just a thought." One of the police officers spoke up. Hotchner pondered this for a moment.

"It's possible. Call back to the precinct please; tell them we need a crime scene tech out here as soon as possible. I'm going to call Garcia." He said as he dialed his phone.

"Hello again bossman, what can I do for you?" she answered.

"Garcia, I need you to check and see if Eric Jacobson has a hunting license or any type of hunting history what so ever."

"Yes sir, just give me a moment." Garcia answered as she began to furiously type away.

"Okay…Eric Jacobson had a hunting license, key word had, three years ago. He has since failed to renew it so there's your answer. Besides that, I don't have any other recent history of him hunting."

"Ok great, thank you Garcia." Hotchner said as he hung up the phone.

"The crime scene techs should be here in twenty minutes or so." The officer responded as he walked over.

"Alright, good. As far as we know Eric Jacobson doesn't have any recent hunting history, he hasn't had a license for three years." Hotchner informed the others.

"So what do you suggest we do?" the other officer asked.

"We'll go up to the house, see if anyone is home. If no one is, then we'll canvas the area and find out what we can. Unfortunately we can't go in without a warrant, which we won't get until we know what the blood belongs to." Hotchner explained as the others nodded.

"Don't draw your weapon until there is a threat, but be ready and alert." Rossi ordered as they cautiously approached the house.

Hotchner led the way to the door and looked to the others to confirm that they were ready. When they all acknowledged that they were, he knocked on the door. After waiting a moment and getting no response, he tried again.

"Eric Jacobson, my name is Aaron Hotchner, if you're there I would just like to talk to you."

After waiting another moment, he knocked one more time without a response.

"I don't think anyone is home." He said finally.

"He must have two cars then. One he keeps here and one at his house." Rossi speculated.

"Most likely." Hotchner nodded.

"Let's spread out and look around." He told the others.

They made their way around the property, all taking in every detail while also keeping a close eye on each other in case there was a sudden attack. Hotchner circled closely around the house peering through the windows to try to get a layout of the house and see if anyone were hiding. From what little he could see, Hotchner surmised that the house wasn't lived in much as the living area was rather sparse and empty. Eric Jacobson wasn't there, and he most likely spent very little time there, this was his back-up place.

As Hotchner turned to find the others, he watched from a distance as Rossi drew his gun and cautiously opened the door to the shed. Slowly, Rossi entered the tight, dimly lit shed. After a moment he came back out, holding a couple of objects in his hand. They were tools and they had what looked like dried blood on them.

"Potentially have some more evidence here." Rossi announced as they all gathered around in the middle of the yard.

"That definitely looks like blood." One of the officers commented.

"I don't think you'd usually use these tools for hunting, do you?" Rossi posed to the others.

They all stared, possibilities running rampant through their minds. The sound of a car's tires coming down the driveway towards them grabbed their attention.