JJ approached the Tiki bar as Garcia giggled with her Australian bloke and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay."
"Oh, JJ! I want you to meet my new friend, or mate, as he would say, Lachlan."
"Nice to meet you," JJ extended her hand.
Lachlan turned toward the other man who came toward the bar, "and this is my friend, Ethan."
"And where is that brunette I saw you with the other day?" Ethan asked with a grin.
The two girls smiled at each other.
"Oh, she took a daytrip but I'm sure she will return later on today," Garcia started. "I would be happy to introduce you.
The group watched as a disheveled couple emerged at the pool looking as though they just rolled out of bed.
Ethan tapped his mate, "did you see that?"
"Like a mad woman's breakfast," Lachlan replied as he shook his head.
Garcia beamed at him, "I have no idea what you just said but you can say whatever you want with that accent."
Alex stepped off the elevator after coming from her hotel room and walked back toward the pool when she was grabbed by the arm and pulled into a nook. She quickly turned around to see Reid standing in front of her. "Spencer, what the…"
He placed a finger over his lips as he pulled her deeper into the alcove. He looked around to make sure that they were alone. "I saw you coming back and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to speak with you."
"What did you find out when you were talking to that blonde?" Alex asked.
"Oh, you mean Malibu Barbie?" Reid replied.
Alex smirked knowing that they had the same thought.
"I asked her about the tattoo. She said that it was new and when I asked what it was for, she said that it was like a club membership."
"What an interesting way to describe it," Alex was curious. "At the strip club, there were some girls who were proud and showed it off, but I don't think they realized what it actually meant."
"I noticed Sloane was talking with you at the bar, anything new?" Reid asked.
"He was questioning my relationship with Aaron, so we have been kicking up the PDA," Alex explained.
"Yeah, I've noticed," Reid's eyebrows creased.
"We will be taking a walk along the beach soon," Alex responded, oblivious to Reid's reaction. "Have you heard from Morgan and Prentiss yet?"
"Not yet, they are out of range for our radios, but we are not scheduled to check-in for another hour," Reid checked his watch.
"I am sure they are fine." Alex stepped closer to Reid and put her arms around his neck, "I've missed you."
Reid pulled her in closer to him, "I've missed you, more."
Prentiss had thrown her arms up into the air as a large man approached her while holding a shotgun.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" He angrily questioned.
Prentiss acted terrified and stuttered her words, "I—I'm sorry. I got lost and I—I tried to find where I was going."
"Emily!" Morgan called out from deep in the brush.
The man pointed the gun in Morgan's direction then looked to Prentiss. "Who is that?"
"Tha—that's my boyfriend. We got separated," she replied with her arms still above her head.
Morgan appeared and quickly discovered what was happening, "Emily, sweetheart. What's going on?" He, too, appeared scared.
"You are trespassing on my property," he growled.
"Listen, I am sorry, we got a little lost and are just trying to find our way back to our hotel. I am sorry that we bothered you." He steadily made steps toward Prentiss.
The man pointed his hand back the way they came, "go!"
They took off running back toward their Jeep.
"Well, that was close," she remarked back in her normal voice.
"You're telling me. Did you find anything?"
"I didn't get a chance to look inside the building, but there was a dock nearby, they could be still using the facility."
"I noticed some tire tracks. Given the size and how deep they were; I believe they belonged to trucks and traveled down a small backroad. But I didn't get a chance to find out anything else."
Prentiss let out a sigh, "we can't go back there again. Neither can the others, that would be too suspicious."
"Exactly. Let's get back and share with the team." Morgan turned over the Jeep and turned the car around back toward the hotel.
Alex walked across the pool deck to the empty chairs where Hotch was seated earlier. She placed her hand above her eyes blocking the sun trying to locate him.
"I saw him head out to the beach," Sloane announced.
"Oh, thank you," Alex replied and started in that direction.
"You still hate me, don't you?" He stepped toward her.
"I don't hate you," she lied.
"I want you to know that I have changed. I am not the same man that you knew all those years ago," he sincerely proclaimed.
"I know that people can change, especially over a long period of time."
"That's a safe answer," he smirked.
She looked out toward the waves, "I'm sorry, but I don't have time to talk about your redemption; Aaron is waiting on me." She turned and walked away.
"You will see how much I've changed soon enough," Sloane said to himself.
Hotch stood a few feet from the water gazing at the sunset.
"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" Alex asked as she approached him from behind.
He turned and smiled when he saw her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Sorry I'm late, I ran into Sloane," she said gravely. They held hands and walked along the wave's edge.
"What did he want this time?" Hotch was concerned.
"He wanted me to be aware that he has changed."
"Why would he care what you think?" Hotch was suspicious.
"I have no clue."
"I think we should talk to those girls he was with today, perhaps we could gain some useful information from them," Hotch suggested.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Alex appeared uneasy.
"Why not?" Hotch stopped their stroll and glared down at her.
"It was obvious from Spencer speaking with the blonde this morning that they are just airheads that don't care about a tattoo that is on their skin."
Hotch's eyebrows furrowed, "you are getting really hostile about this. Am I missing something?"
"I just think that it is a waste of time. In fact, I'm not sure this whole charade is worth it anymore. I—I just can't right now." Alex threw up her hands then stormed back up to the hotel leaving Hotch alone on the beach.
Alex rushed toward the elevator and frantically pressed the button several times. She let out a huff with her arms folded across her chest.
"Penny for your thought." A familiar voice asked behind her.
Alex was relieved to see Rossi next to her. "I honestly don't think you could afford it."
"Don't be too sure," he leaned in close to her, "I have a lot of money."
Alex let a light chuckle escape.
"Come on, you'll talk, I'll listen, and we can go from there," Rossi remarked as they boarded the elevator.
"It's something I haven't told anyone," Alex confessed as the doors closed.
Back at the beach, Hotch ambled to the deck area just as the lamps came on. He took a seat in the empty lounge chair next to a man reading a newspaper.
He replayed the conversation he had with Alex a few times in his head trying to figure out what happened; why she got so upset.
Hotch then heard the pop of the newspaper coming from the chair next to him. He looked over and was surprised to see Reid sitting there.
"Just let her cool off a bit, she will be back," Reid announced while keeping his eyes on the text in front of him.
"Does she usually get this emotionally invested in a case?"
"It's a rarity. This was the longest she'd been undercover before. She was also alone. It took a toll. I think the worst thing was when she helped this girl named Jackie after four months in. It was pretty common knowledge that the girls who stripped at his club would also have sex with Sloane. Unfortunately, this happens all too frequently in that industry. Jackie was just barely eighteen and Alex said she was a sweet girl."
"What happened?" Hotch asked with concern.
Alex was closing the club and went to the dressing room to make sure all the girls had gone home for the night. She could hear someone whimpering and then saw Jackie crying in the corner.
"Jackie, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing," she pepped herself up and dried her tears with the used tissue in her hand.
"I can tell it's something."
Jackie started to explain through her sniffles, "Julian said we were going out tonight. I know what I have to do, I just don't want to go through with it."
Alex took steps closer to her, "then don't do it."
"But I have to. I need this job. I'm crashing on my friend's couch just trying to save up for my own place but I never make enough."
"You don't have any family who can help?"
"I have a cousin in Michigan, she said she would take me in but I would need to get there on my own. The whole thing is impossible."
Alex reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. She held it in front of Jackie. "Here, this is fifteen-hundred. I want you to take the first flight to Michigan and get your fresh start."
"What? I can't take this."
Alex placed the money into her hand and folded her fingers over it. "Yes, you can. Get out of this place."
"How could I possibly pay you back?"
"By not wasting this opportunity. Succeed. Never let someone push you around or force you to do something you don't want to do, especially have sex."
Jackie was flabbergasted by the sum of money in her hand and what Alex did for her that she threw her arms around her and this time crying happy tears. "Thank you, I will not let you down."
She grabbed her bag and ran out of the door.
An hour later, Alex was wiping down the bar when Julian Sloane enter the building, "Your usual Mr. Sloane?" She asked.
"No, thanks. I'm here for Jackie, could you tell her I'm ready?"
"Oh, um, she went home."
"What? He shot daggers with his eyes."
"Yeah, she said she wasn't feeling well and I sent her home."
Sloane approached and smacked her across the face. "Who in the hell do you think you are sending my girl home?"
"I'm sorry, sir."
He smacked her again, forcing her to fold over the countertop. Alex restrained herself from fighting back knowing she needed to stay undercover. He grabbed her hair and slammed her face down onto the wet bar-top. He stood behind her grinding himself close against her, "do I need to teach you a lesson in authority?"
"No, sir. I'm sorry. I was out of line." Alex replied. Feigning terror in her voice.
He released her and took a step back. "Good."
Hotch was starting to understand where Alex was coming from. "She stayed in that assignment for another two months?"
"Yeah, if anything she wanted to work harder to get him arrested after that."
"You superiors allowed her to stay in?" Hotch questioned.
Reid let out a sigh, "she didn't tell anyone until after the case was over, even me."
"Under other circumstances she would never work a case regarding Sloane again. She's too emotionally involved."
"She is," Reid confirmed.