~SPENCER POV~

The feeling of an alarmingly fast heartbeat woke me the next morning and I opened my eyes to see Bexley. A sight that should have been the most beautiful thing I could have imagined if tears had not been falling fast down her cheeks.

I pulled her close to me and saw her bright golden eyes immediately open in alarm. She quickly sat up in bed and flinched at the sharp pain I knew she would feel after last night. I waited as she closed her eyes and started mouthing words to herself that I couldn't make out.

I gently placed a hand on hers and her worried expression faded to a smile. She opened her eyes and looked back at me before tangling her fingers with my own. "Are you okay?"

It was a stupid question but I found myself saying it before I had time to stop myself. She smiled and leaned down to where I was resting on the pillows to place a light kiss on my lips.

"I will be." She moved and placed a kiss on both of my cheeks before kissing my nose. I immediately wrapped my arms around her waist and in the process dropped the blanket that covered us on the floor.

I tangled my hands in her hair and kissed her passionately before pulling myself away from her. I wanted to know what was wrong with her and wouldn't let myself be distracted from the situation. A task not easily done when you have a beautiful woman completely naked resting on your own naked body.

"Talk to me, Bex." I said softly and her smile dropped before she brought her hand up to my cheek. I leaned in and gently placed a kiss on her palm before looking back up into her eyes.

She took a deep, shaky breath before saying "I don't want to lose you. I've walked in and found someone dead before that was meant everything to me and I can't live through it again. Spencer, he's going to come after you and I can't let someone else's death be my fault."

I leaned up then and pulled her close to me before she could say anything else. I let her listen to the sound of my heart as I gently played with her hair and, for once, she let me comfort her.

"Alexandrea's death wasn't your fault and mine wouldn't be either. When you love someone, you have to be willing to give up everything for them. It's a choice we make when we decide to love someone. Nothing's going to happen to me though. We're going to find your dad, find some way to put your mom away, you're going to meet my screwed up little family, and I have every intention of spending the rest of my life with you."

I heard her breath catch in her throat and smiled at the expected reaction. She pulled back from me after a minute and had a very serious expression on her face. One that was serious but I could see the passion in her eyes.

"Spencer, I-" My phone ringing cut her off and for the first time in a long time, I wanted to throw the damn thing out the window. I leaned over and grabbed my phone, keeping a hand on her back so she wouldn't fall in the process.

I read the text and saw that we'd gotten the case on Bexley's dad and had to fly to New York to meet him. I looked up at her and saw that she was looking down at her hands that were splayed across my chest.

"What were you about to say, Bex?" I asked and she bit her lip, seeming almost nervous.

She ran a hand through her hair and smiled. "What did the text say?"

I raised an eyebrow at her, knowing that she was avoiding the question. "JJ said we got the case. We're going to get your dad."

The smile fell into a frown and she shrugged before saying "I don't want you to go."

I gently placed a kiss on her forehead before saying "I know you don't but I want you safe. There's no way I'm letting the team go in without me, especially since this concerns your safety."

She nodded before moving to stand by the bed, flinching as she did so. I leaned up and then remembered that she was sore from last night. We'd made love for the first time last night and it "perfect" didn't even begin to describe it.

I stood up and got dressed before leaning over and kissing her forehead. "I'll see you in a few days."

She didn't say anything but simply nodded before throwing her arms around my neck. "Be safe."

I kissed her lips gently before heading to the airport to go to New York and meet the bastard that was the father of the love of my life.

~BEXLEY POV~

It had been four hours and twenty minutes since Spencer and the team had left for New York. It was pitch black outside and I had just walked in to the little music store and saw Drew pacing in the store. I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I asked and he turned around to look at me.

He grabbed my hands and said "I have a huge favor to ask! I have a date tonight and got called in to work but I've already rescheduled on this girl twice and if I do it this time, she's going to dump me all together and I really like her. Can you please cover my shift?"

"Drew." I said and he had a look of pure nausea come across his face. "Get the hell out of here and go by some flowers."

He threw his arms around my neck in a hug before running out the door, calling "Thank you, Bexley!" over his shoulder.

I rolled my eyes and went over to the collection of CDs in the box. It was late and I knew that tonight Drew and I were pretty much in charge of restocking the music, which meant there wouldn't be a lot of customers if any.

I heard the door close and lock, the sound immediately causing me to be on my guard even though I knew it was useless. I felt the tears sting my eyes but I finished stacking the last shelf before turning around to face the intruder.

His black hair was down to his chin; his clothes were typical jeans and a torn shirt with a pair of steel toe boots, and a cold smile. The cruel look in his golden eyes was what completed the look for him and I felt my face slip into a very cool and emotionless state.

"I saw your lover along with his team board their plane." He said and leaned against the wall, casually, as if this were a normal situation. For us, I guess it was though.

I nodded and said "I know. I sent him off this morning."

He laughed and looked at my collarbone that was exposed a little by the button down shirt, proud of his work.

"You knew I was coming?" He asked and I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"I'm not as stupid as you'd like to think. You sent Sasha here and I know you know that I can't give you any money until the year is up. What did you do? Promise to split it with her if she helped find me?" I asked and he smiled. That was exactly what he'd done.

He walked forward and said "I'm not waiting a year, Bexley. If I can't have the money, then you are of no use to me as of now. I'm not going to kill you until you've lost everything: the B.A.U. team, Sloane, Roxy, Drew, Nathan, Eleanor, and more importantly, Dr. Reid."

I launched myself at him then and managed to tackle him to the ground before he punched me in the face, blackening one of my eyes. I reached up and scratched him from his cheek to his jaw before he slammed my head down on the floor. On impact, my vision began to blur but he wouldn't let me pass out.

"Maybe you need a reminder of what happens when you piss me off, little whore." He said and I felt the familiar feeling of his steel toe boots in my ribs.

I gasped in pain and felt my oxygen immediately disappear. I curled into the fetal position and he kicked me in my back before leaning down and grabbing a handful of my hair and slamming my head back down on the floor.

I put a hand on my head and when I felt him lean down close to me. "You're still weak as ever, daughter."

I threw the last bit of energy I had into a punch to his nose, satisfaction filling me when I heard the crack and felt the warm liquid that I knew was blood leak down from his face. He screamed in frustration and kicked me in the hip, shattering the bone.

I didn't know what hurt worse but the fact that I couldn't catch my breath was scaring me beyond belief and I knew that he'd broken one of my ribs. My vision went from blurring to beginning to go completely black and the last thing I heard was "See you soon, little girl."

***I'm back! This was a chapter I have not been looking forward to writing but I hope you all enjoyed reading it. Everything is finally out in the open and the real fight has begun. Thank you for the reviews, R&R, and I'll update soon! Have a great day.