Except, I would never move on. This was the end.
“Chris, put your gun down,” Cap demanded. “We are not doing this. We are not going to fall apart over this. We’ll work together like we always do and we’ll find a way to get Reid back, but turning on each other doesn’t solve anything.”
“Florrie, I can’t allow you to leave with Reid,” Sean said calmly. “I really do understand why you want to run, but I can’t pretend that I haven’t seen him here. The social worker knows that he’s here. The whole business would be shut down and the entire police department would be called in to investigate the kidnapping. There is no way that anyone walks away from this with their lives still intact,” he said calmly.
“Listen to him, Florrie,” Cap urged. “There’s no way out of here, and I really don’t want to fucking shoot you.”
“Florrie,” Alec said quietly. “Please, don’t do this. We’ll watch over him. We’ll make sure that he’s safe, and if he’s not, we’ll fight to get him back. But if you do this, there’s nothing to fight to come back to.”
“I want to go,” Reid said quietly.
I turned to look at Reid, shocked at what he just said. “What?”
“They’re my family, Florrie. I love you guys, and I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done for me, but…I belong with them.”
My heart fucking broke. My eyes welled with tears and my whole body trembled. He didn’t want me. He wanted them. “Are you sure about this?”
Reid nodded and it broke my fucking heart, but then I saw him glance at Alec, and I knew it was all a fucking lie. He didn’t want to leave, but he knew there was no other way for this to end. He was trying to make this easier on me. He was trying to protect me like I was protecting him.
I pulled him in and held him close, giving him one last hug. A stabbing pain filled my chest, but I sucked it all in and pretended that I was fine, because there was no way I was letting Reid walk out of here feeling like he was hurting me. I would do anything I had to for this kid, including walking away so that he felt like he had won.
“We love you, kid. If there’s anything you ever need, just call and we’ll be there.”
He walked over to Alec and gave him a hug, holding him tight for just a few seconds. My hand flew to my mouth as a sob worked its way up my chest. It was so fucking unfair. I watched as he walked over to Sean and they headed for the door. He glanced back at us one last time before walking out the door and disappearing around the corner.
I fell to my knees, a horrible cry ripping from deep inside as I watched Reid walk out of my life. Tears tracked down my face as Alec raced over and scooped me up into his arms, holding me against him as I cried. I fought him, punching at his chest. I didn’t want his comfort. He had done this to me. He had taken away the one thing I wanted more than anything in this world and now there was nothing left.
“Get the fuck away from me! I hate you!”
“I know, baby,” he said, holding me close to him.
“How could you do that to me?” I cried. “How could you take him from me?”
I wiggled free from his grasp and slapped him hard across the face. He didn’t try to stop me, so I slapped him again, feeling the sting harsh against my skin. I pulled back and slapped him again.
“Florrie, we’ll get through this.”
“You asshole! I could have been gone already! I could have him still with me if it wasn’t for you.”
I swung hard, punching him in the jaw. His jaw snapped to the side as he stumbled backwards from the force of my blow. I pulled my gun and held it right in his face. My hand shook as I contemplated taking his life right then. I knew I would never be able to do it, but I felt unhinged and on the verge of a breakdown.
“Florrie,” Alec held up his hands slowly, letting me know that he was not going to do anything. “Put the gun down.”
A tear slipped down my cheek and I shook my head. “You took him from me. I’ll never forgive you for that. I hate you.”
“You hate me right now, but we’ll get through this. I swear to you, I will not stop fighting for him.”
“You already did,” I said right before I swung the gun down hard against his temple.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXCap
Reid moved across the room like he was terrified that someone was going to shoot at any moment. The kid had been through enough at his previous home. I was sure this was not helping to make him feel safe. He reached Sean and glanced back at the chaos, then slipped out the door with Sean. Chris had lowered his weapon as soon as Alec took off toward Florrie, so I was hoping that the threat was neutralized enough so that I could talk with Sean and Reid.
“Hey, Reid,” I said, approaching slowly as I put my gun away. “I know this really sucks, and I know we told you that you could stay as long as you wanted. I want you to know that we’re not asking you to leave, okay?”
“I know,” he said with all the maturity of an adult.
Sean led him back toward the front of the compound and I followed behind, shutting the door of the garage so that he could no longer hear anything going on in there.
“I don’t think I need to tell you how bad that would have been if other officers had been there,” Sean whispered.
“I know. Fuck, I
