Chapter 26

Hours after finding Leila in the woods, Jeremy was finally able to take a moment for himself. He needed to regroup. Being so careless enough as to let Robyn get away was a mistake- a mistake that could very well prove to be fatal. He knew that the BAU was coming for him. And he knew that after finding Robyn, it wouldn't be too difficult to narrow down his location. He wouldn't be surprised if they were already on their way. The thought didn't frighten him as much as he thought it would. Perhaps it was because he had been ready to die for years. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that he knew JJ would be with them. Regardless of the fact that she was no longer officially affiliated with the FBI, let alone her old unit, he knew she wouldn't be able to resist. After all, he had one of her most prized possessions. Turning his glare towards said possession, Jeremy couldn't help but roll his eyes. The idiot had gone and gotten herself an infection. He felt no pity for the girl but knew that it wouldn't do to have her die so quietly. Having learned his lesson from before, he bound her hands with the chains he had used on Robyn. Her color returned almost immediately after he had injected her with the penicillin he had brought in case of emergencies. She lay there, motionless, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. Jeremy narrowed his gaze at the girl, unsure as to whether or not she was faking sleep. With a shrug, he turned his back. It didn't matter anyway. This only ended in one of two ways: either he would take JJ and leave the rest of her pretend family to rot in the woods surrounding his cabin or they would all die. He felt an odd sense of calm envelope him like a blanket, protectively shielding him from what he knew he should be feeling. There was no fear or regret. He would either get what he's always dreamed of or take everyone down with him. Both options appealed to him greatly.

Suddenly an alarm started to go off upstairs. Jeremy rushed out of the basement, a grin making its way onto his face as he caught sight of the BAU on the surveillance cameras he had installed. The cameras surrounded the cabin, beginning approximately three miles away. They had just tripped the motion sensor alerting him to their presence. They knew where he was. But they didn't know that he was ready for them. Grabbing the rifle out of the closet, Jeremy struggled to load the gun. His giddiness was causing his hands to shake too much. Smiling, he knew that would go away once he had one of them in his sights. They best part is that they would never even know what hit them.

JJ's mind was racing with scenarios- playing and replaying all the ways this could possibly end. Most of them weren't pretty. She reprimanded herself silently for becoming such a pessimist but who wouldn't given the past year? The BAU and Agent Cavil had been retracing Leila and Robyn's footsteps for the past half hour and the former blonde was growing more impatient by the second. Her skittishness was clearly noticeable but no one said a word. Whether it was because they were wary of Parilla or of her, she couldn't be sure. With a dramatic sigh, JJ rolled her eyes at herself.

They're still your friends even if they're not your teammates. Plus, they're out here risking their lives to find your sister. Give them a bit more credit.

Morgan, having the best vision, was leading the group. He had found nearly every clue that was keeping them on the right track so far. Now, as he stopped and turned his head slightly to the right, JJ frowned. What was he looking at? Just as Morgan frantically motioned for them to get down, a bullet whizzed through the air and landed in the trunk directly where Reid's head had been.

"Shooter, two o'clock!" Morgan cried as everyone spun on their heels towards the designated direction. JJ ignored the slight gasp in her ear as Emily heard the commotion.

"He's moving!" Rossi shouted as another gunshot echoed across the mountain.

"Spread out!" Hotch ordered, knowing that having all six of them huddled together was a bad idea. "Find him!" The agents scrambled to move away from one another. JJ and Cavil found themselves taking cover behind a pair of thick trees no more than five feet apart.

"Behind us!" Cavil shouted as she caught sight of a quick shadow zooming past. A bullet landed less than a foot away from her and she returned fire, knowing that the others were not in the way. Three more shots from Parilla and the two women froze as a cry pierced their ears.

"Rossi's hit!" Morgan could be heard a few yards away. JJ's eyes widened, knowing from personal experience how dangerous it is to get shot even with Kevlar on.

"Go!" Cavil shouted, drawing the older woman's attention. JJ's confused stare made the Marshal want to roll her eyes. "We can see the cabin! Go find Leila. We'll hold him off!"

"But-"

"Now!" Needing no further prompting, JJ turned and began sprinting towards the structure. Branches snapped against her cheeks and arms as she ran faster than she ever had before. A part of her knew Parilla didn't want to kill her but she was still surprised when not a single shot was fired her way. She could hear the others shouting back and forth, trying to get a lock on the man who so clearly knew they were coming.

"JJ!" Emily's voice shouted in her ear. "What are you doing?!"

"I have to find her, Em!" she panted. "I have to make sure she's ok!"

"You don't know what's in that cabin!" Emily's concern for her, while touching, was also distracting. JJ resisted the urge to remove the earwig and toss it to the ground. Skidding to a stop, JJ took in the small cabin she had finally found. There were two entrances that she could see. One was the front door and the other was an open window that she would waste too much time squeezing into. Without thinking, JJ burst through the front door and heard a faint click. Taking in a sharp breath, the former agent stopped dead in her tracks. Turning slowly, she took in the tripwire she had so stupidly not accounted for. Wires ran along the wooden floor in every direction and JJ knew exactly what they led to. Resuming her marathon-runner speed, she bolted for the nearest set of stairs, searching for a basement. Her heart hammered in her chest as she searched for her sister, not knowing how much time she had before the cabin was undoubtedly blown to pieces. Room after room, door after door, JJ could feel the tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. Was this really how she was going to die? Would Leila have to follow her simply because she had been too careless? The thoughts bombarded her and before long, JJ stopped. She heaved deep breaths as she tried to regain the energy to push past the fear and keep searching.

"I'm not leaving without you." She mumbled, seemingly to no one. "I'm not leaving without you."

"Jay?!" a muffled cry from below had the woman upright immediately. "Down here!"

"L-Leila?!" JJ wildly looked around the floor for the slightest hint as to where Parilla could have hidden her sister. "I'm coming, Leila!" She could hear the girl crying and couldn't tell if it was because she was afraid or because she was hearing the voice of someone she buried seven months ago. Kicking back the carpet, JJ almost sobbed as she finally found the door. Yanking it open, she practically tripped down the stairs as she stumbled into the basement.

"You're here." Leila said in almost a whisper. "Oh God, you're really here." JJ rushed to her sister, dropping to her knees in front of her.

"We have to go." She said quietly, stroking her sister's cheek affectionately. "He's rigged the place to blow. I don't know how much time we have left." She filled the girl in as she struggled to pull the chains from the wall.

"They won't budge. Trust me, we tried." Leila shook her head. "JJ, you have to get out of here."

"There is no way in hell I'm letting you die down here!" JJ cried, tears now flowing freely as she tried and failed to free her sister.

"You came for me. Again." Leila tilted her head slightly, taking in the determined look on her sister's features. "That's all that matters."

"No it's not." JJ insisted, pulling and hacking at the chains as well as the wall they were attached to. "What matters is that we beat him together otherwise all of this would have been for nothing."

"Not nothing." Leila shook her head. "You'd get to live."

"Leila," JJ swallowed hard, searching for the right words, "I 'lived' seven months without you or Will or anyone and if there's one thing I learned is that that's not living. That's surviving. I don't want to just survive for the rest of my life. Now shut up and get down." Without ceremony, JJ whipped out her sidearm and took aim at the base of the chains. With one well placed shot and a hell of a lot of praying, Leila was free. With a gasp, the girl threw her arms around her sister, wincing at the pain it caused her shoulder but smiling nonetheless.

"We have to go. Fast." JJ pressed, urging the girl in front of her as they reached for each other's hands. Helping Leila up the stairs and out of the trapdoor, JJ could practically smell the accelerant Parilla's crude device had begun releasing.

"JJ?!" Leila's frantic voice called back, smelling the fuel as well.

"Faster Leila!" the older woman's cry was drowned out as an explosion large enough to engulf half the mountain range in flames catapulted them forward.