Chapter 5

*”Holy shit,” I muttered. “This is it. This is the break we needed.”*

I sent a quick message to Hotch and Morgan, letting them know what we found. We connected the dots between the two families—the camera was likely capturing their every move. Hotch told us to come back to the station so we could look into the electric company.

I turned to the group. “The same electrical company installed the lighting for both families. Arthur Rykov.” I looked at the receipt again. “This is our guy. The same man who found the Yamada boy’s body at the construction site.”

Garcia’s voice came through the earpiece seconds later. “I’ve got Rykov’s address. Sending it now.”

Without wasting any more time, we piled into the SUVs. I was driving the lead car with JJ, Reid, and Prentiss, while Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi followed behind. My heart was pounding, the adrenaline taking over. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my hand fidgeting on the middle console.

JJ noticed immediately. Her hand came down over mine, stilling it. I glanced over, meeting her eyes. She gave me a soft smile and exhaled, her voice calm as she said, “Breathe, Y/N.”

I nodded, forcing myself to take a steady breath. She was right. We turned down the long dirt driveway. I cut off the lights and siren, and everyone else followed suit. We all get out of the vehicles and race up to the front door with our guns drawn. Morgan kicks in the front door, we quickly search through the house in pairs. Prentiss and I found a door that seemed to be leading to a basement. We found the families mother on the ground.

“I shot myself.” She whispered to me as I examined her torso.

I look up at Prentiss “There’s no blood.”

Prentiss picked up the revolver that was next to the woman and opened the cylinder. “The bullets are blanks.”

The Acklins rushed to the mother, crying. We walked out of the house, and the air hit me in the face making me exhausted. The adrenaline that had kept me going for days was finally starting to wear off. Every muscle in my body screamed for rest.

We drove to the hotel to collect our things and then headed straight for the airport. I could already picture the plane ride in my head. A drink in hand, relaxing on the couch, and sleeping to block out the constant buzz of the case that had followed me around for the past few days.

Once we boarded, I settled into my seat, grateful for the brief moment of peace. As the plane took off, I leaned my head against the window, the exhaustion pulling at me. But before I knew it, I found myself nodding off.

The vibrations of the plane lulled me into a daze, and I subconsciously leaned into Emily’s shoulder for support. It didn’t last long.

“Y/N, you have a fucking pillow. Use it, not me. Personal space,” Emily said, half amused, half exasperated.

I blinked at her, grinning. “Boo, you’re no fun.”

She rolled her eyes, but I could see the corners of her mouth twitching. “I’m a ‘no cuddling on flights’ kind of person, Y/N. You’ve been warned.”

I laughed softly, too tired to argue. “Fine, fine. I’ll use my pillow. But you’re missing out, Em.”

She just shook her head, and I finally settled back, pulling my pillow into place. I noticed Morgan smile before I closed my eyes, the quiet hum of the plane was enough to lull me into a much-needed sleep.

Once we landed we headed back to base. We get off the elevators to see Garcia standing with a tray of drinks.

“Welcome back my family. I would like to say that I love each and every one of you, even you Dr. Y/N L/N. It’s a new love, but still. and I am never going to take any of you for granted ever.” Penelope said with her cute grin.

“Ohh. We love you, too, Penelope” JJ said with a tired look on her face.

We all raised our glasses in a quick toast, and I headed back to my office. I checked a few emails, wrapping up some final paperwork from the case so I could coast through Monday and Tuesday. Thankfully, Hotch had given us both days off, recognizing the weekend we’d just had.

With the weekend ahead of us and nothing pressing to do, I was looking forward to some much-needed downtime. I could catch up on sleep, maybe relax for once without worrying about the next crisis. It felt good to know I’d have a couple of days to just breathe.