At the pool, all eyes were on Sloane and his barely-legal escorts. They made themselves comfortable on the king-size chaise lounge in the tented cabana. The luscious blonde strolled out while closing the linen curtains around Sloane and the redhead.
"I haven't seen her before, have you?" Hotch asked.
"No, me neither," Alex stared at her. "High heels and a hot pink string bikini?" She snarked.
"You're wearing a bikini," Hotch raised his eyebrow.
"I'm wearing a vintage style, and besides, you can practically see all of Malibu Barbie's assets over there. You can't even see my bellybutton," Alex quipped.
Hotch focused closer on the blonde, "but there is more there."
"Yes, I'm sure she has a great personality," Alex rolled her eyes.
"No, look at her hip," Hotch ordered.
Alex instantly recognized the Roman Numerals that were tattooed on her left hip. "You're right. I see X-V-I." She announced in a solemn tone.
"It looks like this confirms that he's still in business," Hotch assumed.
"It's possible. It could be an older one," she glanced back at the canopy that was still closed off.
Reid noticed the same girl and moved toward her. "I couldn't help but noticed your tattoo."
The woman stood proudly in front of Reid, "why thank you." She pulled up her strings to show it off better.
"The coloring has held up well, have you had it long?" He playfully brushed his finger down her inked skin.
"Actually, it's still pretty new, I hope it doesn't fade."
"Such an interesting choice, what does it stand for?"
"Oh, it's sort of like a club membership," she responded.
"What kind of club?" Reid asked.
The blonde leaned in close to Reid's ear, "an exclusive one." She smiled then returned to the closed off cabana.
Garcia approached the Tiki bar, a few seats away from Reid. The bartender noticed her and threw his towel over his shoulder. "What can I get you, sweetie?"
"I had something last night, but don't remember what it was. It was some sort of mango-pineapple concoction with a lot of fruit and rum in it," Garcia laughed at herself as she tried to explain.
The bartender nodded, "I got cha."
Garcia glanced at Reid as he kept an eye on the cabana.
"Here you go, miss," the bartender placed the blended spirit in front of her. "Compliments of the gentleman at the end of the bar."
Garcia looked to see one of the Australian volleyball players wink at her. "Well, G'day to me," she blushed as she made her way to him.
The canopy curtains opened and tied back at Sloane's private cabana as Alex stood at the Tiki bar and ordered a couple of beers. The bartender popped the tops from the bottles and placed them in front of her.
"As I recall, you preferred a darker beer than that," Sloane hissed in her ear.
"I still do, but unfortunately, this is the darkest they have." She painted a smile across her face, "and how are you doing today?"
"Oh, I am just fantastic," he turned to look at Hotch laying on the lounge chair waiting for Alex to return. "I trust the two of you had a restful evening."
"It was quiet enjoyable, thank you." She gritted her teeth.
"I am actually surprised to see you dating someone like Aaron," he focused on every inch of her.
"Someone like Aaron?" Alex questioned.
"I remember you telling me that you didn't date older men and your lawyer over there has a good ten years on you," he grinned.
"Actually, I told you that I didn't date men that I worked for," she corrected.
"Ah yes, my mistake. Please, don't let me keep you," he held out his hand allowing her to leave.
Alex returned to Hotch. He fixated on her with his steely eyes knowing that she was ruffled by their encounter. She handed him a beer and took a seat next to him on the same chair.
"What is it?" Hotch asked.
"I am not sure, but I think he might be doubting our relationship," Alex gulped down the cold suds.
"Well, we will just need to rectify that." He pulled her to lie down next to him in the lounge chair.
Alex placed her head on his chest as her arm wrapped around his body. "There's something else," she started.
"What's that?"
"He was obviously staring at the scar on my chest from when I was stabbed with the hot poker. I am not sure what he thinks about that."
"If he questions you, just say that you don't like to talk about it. That is a perfectly reasonable response."
Alex nodded, "you're right." She snuggled into his body, feeling more relaxed.
Reid watched as the two held each other and he ordered another round. He then turned his attention to Sloane, who was also focused on the couple.
Hotch noticed a shadow standing over them and quickly sat up.
"I'm sorry to startle you, sir. I was asked to bring these drinks to you, courtesy of Mr. Sloane." The waiter lowered his tray that held two bottles of Negra Modelo.
"Thank you," Hotch was confused as he grabbed ahold of the bottles then turned to Alex. "What's this?"
"He remembered that I liked dark beer. I told him that they didn't have any," Alex appeared hesitant and was emotionally distant from Hotch.
Hotch watched her and wanted to snap her out of her funk. "Hey, let's go for a swim," he suggested.
Alex smiled, "yeah, that sounds good." They walked over to the water and took a few steps in. "You want to make this interesting?"
"What do you suggest?" Hotch was pepped for a challenge.
"We swim to the other end of the pool and back, only taking one breath of air; the first one wins." She smirked.
Hotch grinned, "okay, if you're sure."
"You bet I am." She crouched down and placed her fingers onto the edge of the pool.
Hotch followed suit, "ready, set, go!"
The two leaped into the water and swam underneath like mermaids. They both popped out their heads before turning around. Each of them took the last few kicks and touched the wall.
"I won!" Alex threw her hands up in the air.
"No, I won," Hotch corrected. They both sat on the step and cooled down from the adrenaline rush.
"What's the longest you had to hold your breath underwater, when it counted?" Alex asked.
Hotch let out a quick breath, "a little more than a year ago. A man kidnapped a girl and drove his car into a lake. Morgan and I jumped in after them. I ended up firing my weapon at him while Morgan got her out. What about you?"
"This maniac had Charles tied up to a chair in front of a swimming pool. Hugh was lying unconscious next to him, we weren't sure if he was alive or dead. Suddenly Charles was kicked into the water. I jumped in after him while Spencer fought off the man. I had to work on picking the locks while under water."
"Never a dull moment with you," Hotch observed.
"I would hope not," Alex grinned.
Reid couldn't take his eyes off the couple as they laughed together in the pool.
Morgan parked the Jeep along the side of the road, then he and Prentiss jumped out.
"There should be a structure in that direction," Prentiss pointed.
"Okay, we will split up. You go that way and we will meet up," Morgan advised.
"Got it," Prentiss stepped into the dense jungle. Throughout her trek, she never noticed any tracks or footprints in the area.
She saw the old, wooden structure ahead of her and proceeded with caution. There was a dock close by that was decayed and broken into pieces. She stepped around the building and peeked into the door that was left slightly ajar. Prentiss looked back toward the dock and let out a blood-curdling scream.