Light Of My Life

Daddy Dearest

Thanks for reading and reviewing! They were great last chapter, I always love the reactions to cliff hangers lol.

Words: 1,220

__________

When Devyn wakes, she feels disoriented. She groans while lifting a hand to her pounding head. A concussion, no doubt. Devyn blinks her eyes open before squeezing them shut in a poor attempt to clear her vision.

It doesn't take long for her mind - concussed or not - to catch up with what happened. If she wasn't worried and in pain, she would've scoffed. The fiancée of an FBI agent gets kidnapped. That's original, she thinks sarcastically.

Screw this entire thing, she was supposed to be curled up on the couch, watching tv with Spencer...Spencer, he must have noticed she's gone by now, right? It's definitely been more the twenty minutes.

"You always were a lazy kid," The voice pulls a gasp from Devyn. The young woman's head snaps up, sending pain shooting through her skull. She tries to back away from the person who spoke but the wall behind her stops her movements.

Elias sits across the room from his daughter on an old chair, leaned back as if he's the most comfortable person in the world. As if he didn't just kidnap someone. And his own daughter at that.

Devyn's heart rate picks up, the muscle beating heavily in her chest. She wants to look around at her surroundings but she finds she can't remove her eyes from her father.

"A whiny kid, too," Elias sighs as if it's such an inconvenience. "Though, I guess you were never too hard to shut up."

"Wh-what do you want?" Devyn winces when her voice cracks. She hasn't stuttered since she was a teenager.

"Hmm, not so brave now," Elias ignores her question and pushes himself to his feet. Devyn hates herself for flinching at the movement. "No gun to hide behind while you talk down to me."

"I stand by what I said," Devyn grits out, and though her voice is weak, she's proud that it doesn't break this time.

Surging forward, Elias grabs Devyn by her shirt and pulls her to her feet, glaring down at her. Devyn clenches her eyes shut and turns her head to the side, holding her breath when his own flows down the side of her face.

Releasing a deep breath, Elias relaxes, loosening his hold on Devyn. "You were always good at that. Sucking away all my patience." If she wasn't currently terrified, Devyn thinks she would've rolled her eyes. Her father is many things, but patient has never been one of them.

"You know, I had a lot of time to think in prison," Devyn releases a shuttering breath when Elias releases her. "It just confirmed what I already knew," Spinning on his heels, he points right at her. "You ruined my life. I never even wanted kids." Really? Never would've guessed that. "When your mother told me she was pregnant, I told her to get rid of it. Get rid of you." Devyn's always known that her father never loved her, that he never would. But his words still hurt.

"But she wouldn't," Elias shakes his head with a sigh. "She convinced me that a kid would be good."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't like you either," A sharp stinging in the right side of her face follows immediately after Devyn's words. The young woman's breath escapes her and she lifts a hand to her lip, her fingers coming back bloody.

"Oh, that mouth of yours. Always got you into trouble," Elias looks down at his hand as if searching for a mark on his skin. "You'd think you would've learned by now." Turning his eyes back towards her, Elias meets Devyn's unsteady gaze. "But don't worry, there's still time."

********

"Yeah, thanks," Morgan nods to the crime scene tech, his gaze immediately shifting towards his friend. Spencer stands by the alley he found Devyn's phone in, his back resting against the brick, head in his hand.

"I should've gone with her," He says as soon as Derek is close enough to hear him and the older man sighs.

"Reid-"

"She said no, said she'd only be a few minutes," Spencer continues, cutting Morgan off. "I should've insisted."

"Reid, this isn't on you," Derek says strongly, raising his voice to make sure he's heard. "There's nothing you could've done to prevent this."

"Isn't there?" Spencer mumbles, guilt lacing his voice. "If I had just gone with her." Gritting his teeth, Spencer pushes off the wall, his breath escaping him without his permission.

"Okay, kid, you need to calm down," Morgan holds out his arm, his hand hovering over Reid's shoulder. "Alright, Devyn needs your head to be clear right now. Has she mentioned anything about anyone lately? Anything that would suggest this?"

"No," Spencer shakes his head erratically. "It-it's Devyn," He says as if it explains everything and huffs out a humorless laugh. "I've never met anyone that doesn't like her." Sniffing again, Spencer rubs his face but he freezes, his hand slowly lowering itself back to his side. "Except..."

"Except who, Reid?"

"Her dad."

********

"Elias Merrick, sentenced to ten years for assault and battery in the 3rd degree. He was released nearly six months ago for good behavior." Penelope grimaces to herself. "Not sure what about beating your wife into a coma screams 'good behavior'."

"Is he still in town?" Emily's voice filters through the blonde's phone speaker, mixing with the sounds of her fingers typing faster than they ever have before.

"Yes," She nods in confirmation even though the others can't see her. "He has an apartment under his name downtown. Regular meetings with his PO every Thursday. He hasn't missed one yet."

"We need that address, Garcia," Hotch orders.

"Already been sent to your phones," Penelope says, all the normal cheeriness void from her voice. "Go get our girl back."

Nodding once, Hotch hangs up the phone and starts towards Spencer. "You know I can't allow you to work this case," He tells him, ready and expecting the reaction he gets.

"Hotch-"

"You're too close to this and you're injured," Aaron cuts the younger man off quickly but he offers him a sympathetic look. "I understand. And I'm not cutting you out completely. Go back to the BAU, help Garcia track down any other leads we have."

"But Elias-"

"We don't even know if he has her,"

"Who else would it be?" Spencer shouts but immediately backs down, pursing his lips.

Holding up a hand, Hotch waits until Spencer takes a breath before speaking again. "You know better than anyone the possibilities," He reminds the young genius. Their job is dangerous in many ways. Friends or family members of those they put away coming back for vengeance is a popular one. "So go back to the BAU and help Garcia. That's an order."

Clenching his jaw shut, Reid balls his hand into a fist but doesn't argue further. If he trusts anyone to get Devyn back, it's his team. And fighting them will only waste time they don't have.

_________

1. Spencer's love interest getting kidnapped is not very original, it's done so much, but I wanted to do it, okay!? I haven't in any of my other CM stories. And it's a better story line that the other options I could barely come up with.
2. Though only a few said it, I'm sure most were already thinking that it was Elias that took Devyn. And you were correct!
3. Poor Devyn. Elias is real dick, man. I wonder what's going to happen in the time it takes the team to find her...if they ever do...
4. ANYWAY, Spencer is struggling and he's blaming himself. Of course he is. The poor guy. No ones having a good time here.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading! I want to know your thoughts!

__

'-'