Chapter 19

After the team had been briefed on the new lead- a hit on the APB of Parilla's car- Emily immediately sought out Hotch. The man was scanning over paperwork as everyone else filed out of the room to complete their new assignments. JJ, however, lingered at the door as she saw that her brunette friend had no intention of leaving with her. With an undetectable frown, the blonde left, opting to focus on finding her sisters rather than whatever private conversation Emily clearly wanted to have with their boss.

"Emily," Hotch noticed her as she waited for him to finish whatever he was reading, "what's wrong? Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." She tried hard not to be annoyed at the concern. "There's something I need to talk to you about, Hotch." The man noted the seriousness in her tone and sat down, giving her his undivided attention. "It's JJ. She's not…well."

"What do you mean 'not well'?" Hotch's frown deepened as Emily sat across from him. The brunette was clearly uncomfortable, like a child who was tattling on their friend.

"She said some things," Emily struggled to find the words, "things that were quite concerning."

"What sort of things, Emily?" Hotch's patience had been thin throughout this entire ordeal and with good reason. Despite knowing this, Emily still hesitated to explain.

"Things that make me think that she isn't capable of staying on this case." The woman swallowed hard. "Or any other case for that matter."

"Emily, you know how worried she is about Leila." Hotch tried to explain. "I'm sure whatever she said to you, she either didn't mean or-"

"She wants to give herself to him." Emily blurted out. Hotch lowered his gaze, having expected that reaction from the blonde. "She understands exactly what he wants from her- what he'd do to her- and she doesn't care. Hotch," the man looked up, seeing the unshed tears in Emily's eyes, "she's going to get herself killed… or worse."

"What do you want me to do, Emily?" his voice was low. "I can't force her to leave. You saw how well that worked last time. She won't-"

"But you have to." The brunette's voice rose in volume and pitch. "Hotch, we have to do something or she's going to end up trading herself for Leila and we're never going to see her again." Emily swiped a hand across her cheek as if her boss hadn't already seen the tears that had escaped. Hotch felt for the woman. He knew how difficult these past few months had been for her and how much she cared for JJ. Despite this, he also knew how powerless he was to stop JJ from doing what she wanted. The woman had been underestimated one too many times and was now known as a force to be reckoned with. She would get her sister back no matter what and there was no question in Hotch's mind that she meant what she had told Emily. The bodies of Parilla's previous blonde victims flashed in his mind- much like he was sure they had in Emily's. Their faces were replaced with JJ's and, recalling the details in the autopsy reports, Hotch had to fight hard in order to force the bile back down his throat.

"Emily," he began, "we're all powerless to stop her from doing anything. I could send her away, tell her that she can't help the team find Parilla, and we both know it wouldn't do any good. I know how much you care about her and, trust me, so do I, but we're not going to let anything happen to her." He ignored Emily's scoff as he continued. "We'll watch her, be with her 24/7 if we have to, and when the time comes, I'll personally handcuff her to a desk to keep her away from him. Other than that, there's nothing more we can do other than find Leila as quickly as possible and pray that they can both move past this." Emily's gaze seemed to darken as she stood slowly, her hands turning to fists on the table. Hotch looked up at her, waiting for a reaction, and wouldn't be surprised if she ended up hitting him from across the table.

"If anything happens to her," she spoke slowly, making sure that Hotch understood every word, "I'm holding you personally responsible. Do you understand, Hotch?" The malice in her voice was unmistakable and Hotch didn't dare think of what would happen to him if Emily had to carry out her threat. Not trusting what would come out of his mouth if he spoke, he simply nodded once and watched as the brunette turned and left. The unit chief ran a hand through his hair. His team was hanging on by a thread and he know, better than anyone, just how easy it would be for them to topple over the edge of the abyss they were standing on.

"I'm sorry." The girl spoke for the first time in hours. Robyn perked up immediately, having been driven almost mad by the silence after Parilla's exit. She took in the teen as she lay curled into a ball several feet away. Despite the small room, it was still too far for Robyn to reach.

"For what?" the older girl frowned at the apology. Leila made a noise, almost a chuckle if Robyn had to guess, from the back of her throat.

"Everything." The brunette shrugged, adjusting her position so that she was leaning against the wall of their prison. She drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, wiping away the stray tears she had failed to notice before.

"How can you possibly believe that any of this is your fault?" Robyn was somewhat baffled at the teen.

"You're here to replace my sister." Leila tried to explain her faulty logic. "A sister who, coincidentally, didn't need to be replaced in the first place. If it wasn't for my family, you'd be home, safe and sound, right now."

"If it wasn't for your family," Robyn sighed, "he would've found someone else to fixate on and torture and maybe then someone else would be in my shoes. You can't possibly blame yourself for his psychopathy."

"You sound like Emily." Leila would've smiled at the thought had she not been equally angry at the brunette in question.

"She works with your sister?" Robyn guessed and Leila nodded her confirmation. "I'm sure there's a reason they lied to you…about her death, I mean."

"Maybe," Leila acknowledged the thought, "but I can't think about that right now." Robyn let out a humorless laugh.

"What else do you have to think about in here?" the blonde looked around the empty room for emphasis.

"Escaping." The word came out low and quickly, as if the younger girl had been internally debating it for quite some time. Robyn swallowed hard.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" she hugged herself slightly. "I mean sure, things suck here, but at least we're still alive."

"For now." The finality of Leila's statement made the blonde shudder. "Make no mistake, Robyn, he's going to kill us."

"I thought you said that they would come for us?" Robyn frowned, unsure as to whether or not she could trust the girl's instincts.

"They'll try but there's no guarantee that they'll find us in time. Parilla doesn't exactly have a lot of patience and now that he knows my sister's alive-"

"There's no need to keep me around." Robyn finished the girl's thought, a chill running down her spine at the realization. Leila was right. They needed to get out of here. "What should we do?"

"If he comes close to you," the two ignored the fact that there was no doubt that he would, "can you fight?"

"I've never…I've never hurt anyone before." The blonde admitted softly. Leila waved it away.

"Trust me, when you're fighting for your life, it doesn't matter." She took in the chains around the woman's wrists. "You can use those. If you can get them around his neck, I can help you."

"Help me…strangle him?" Leila resisted the urge to snap at the woman as she nodded. "I-I don't know if I can-"

"Do you want to die in here?" Leila asked suddenly. "Because I guarantee that, if you sit around and wait to be rescued, you will never step foot outside this room again." The harsh truth caused the blonde to shrink back, swallowing hard as she spoke.

"No," she admitted, "no, I don't want to die." Leila offered her what could be interpreted as a smile.

"Good." The brunette sat up a little straighter. "You're going to have to make the first move. He doesn't trust me. He knows I'm more than willing to hurt him but if it comes from you, it'll surprise him. That means you can't freeze when he approaches you, understand?" Robyn nodded slowly. "Do you think you can do that?" Leila wasn't sure what the woman's emotional state was. She seemed alright but, given what Parilla had done to her, Leila wouldn't be surprised if the woman could barely even draw a breath in his presence. Despite her doubts, she saw the blonde nod.

"I can do it." Robyn insisted. "If it means never letting him touch me again, I can do just about anything." It was Leila's turn to pause, taking in the determination in those dark blue orbs. She couldn't imagine what Robyn had gone through and how strong she must be to want to keep fighting. Leila wasn't sure she would be able to in the woman's position. Shaking the vile thought, the younger girl approached and took the blonde's hand into hers.

"He's never going to hurt anyone again." Leila promised. "We'll make sure of that." The two women looked at one another for a long time, feeling a rather strong bond form between them as they plotted a murder. Leila steeled herself for what she knew was coming despite her fear. She had asked Robyn if she was willing to do what was necessary to survive but had never taken into account that, perhaps, Robyn wouldn't be the problem. When the moment came, Leila wondered if she was able to carry out the act of killing someone, even if it was to save her own life and the life of another innocent person. She thought long and hard about it, for the second time in her life, and still, could not come up with an answer. She supposed it was something a person found out in the moment- when two lives literally hung in the balance. Leila let out a trembling breath, knowing that if she couldn't do it, both she and Robyn would be dead in a few days' time. If she could, she'd have to live the rest of her life knowing that she had committed the exact same crime that Parilla had. Leila couldn't tell which fate she preferred. Feeling the blonde woman's tight hold on her hand, however, swayed her opinion. She had to do it. There was no question of what would happen to Robyn if they failed. For the beautiful, innocent, traumatized woman at her side, Leila knew would kill. After all, it was the least she could do for getting the woman involved in the first place, right?