Page 6 of Reid's Fixation
Nikolai was breathing hard and before Reid could talk to him, another swarm of cops made their way to his side and Nikolai was on the ground, his hands behind his back.
It was shocking and Reid’s heart broke knowing that Nikolai had no reason to shoot the innocent man and with great sorrow, Reid was the one to actually put the handcuffs on Nikolai’s hands, and he arrested his dearest friend.
Nikolai had been angry that he had been here only as an undercover cop but had tried his best to talk to him, to tell him this wasn’t right.
That nothing was as it seemed, and Reid wanted to listen, but Mark had come then and took Nikolai away, not letting him speak to him at all. Not only that, he wouldn’t allow Reid anywhere near his friend.
Mark said that he was too close to the case and that his notes and things he had kept during his time with Nikolai had been enough to get them the warrant they wanted.
But Reid didn’t understand that. He had never found anything to call for a mass arrest like this, to have the cops come in shooting when they had no reason to do so.
It had been a confusing time and Reid hated it. Tried for weeks to wrack his brain to understand it.
Mark would reprimand him for trying to look over any of the notes the other cops had written, and he had to let it all go.
He moved forward with a heavy heart and his mind still trying to make sense of that night and went back to being a detective.
Until Kian had come to work with him. Then they became partners and Reid did his best to put Nikolai out of his mind.
Or tried to do so. It wasn’t easy and he fell asleep most nights with that night on his mind.
He remembered every single detail, but he was missing something, he just didn’t know what.
For months he would wake in a cold sweat, knowing his friend was behind bars and that he had put him there.
He would go through the motions at work, not wanting to call attention to himself and not going over any of the old cases again.
He didn’t want to be asked to do any more than he already had. It had left a stain on his soul and he hated it.
He and Kian worked together well, and he started to like his job again. Started to appreciate being a cop and being able to protect the city in his own way.
Then they had found that woman in the dumpster it was something that sent him over the edge.
He thought he was built for this life as a cop, but because of his photographic memory and the ability to recall each detail in vivid colors, it was harder on him than most.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to do it much longer. That while he had loved it once upon a time, remembering the bad things and seeing them whenever he shut his eyes was not something he wanted any longer.
And after their grandmother was stabbed, Reid knew it was time to give their notice.
Their friends were sad that they were moving so far away, and with both of them hurting from the decision as well, they left with heavy hearts.
When they got to Silver Springs, and it seemed like it would be the perfect place for them to start over. That is until they found out that their sister had been kidnapped just the day after their arrival, it was a hard pill to swallow.
Reid knew that they needed to find her. And they had lucked out. But it wasn’t what it had seemed.
Trace had accidentally stepped on a bomb, and it would blow with any movement from him.
Seeing him in that precarious situation, knowing that Trace only wanted to save the love of his life and doing his job to protect her, made Reid make a snap decision.
He hated that they would lose their love so quickly after having found it.
He refused to let them give up their love and he had no one and nothing left for him, so he had tackled Trace to the side as the bomb’s timer counted down to zero and the brunt of the bomb had hit him in the side like a Mack truck.
He was grateful it was homemade, and not as powerful as normal bombs could be or he knew it would have killed him right then.
But feeling his skin burn and blister and his shoulder dislocate from his socket and knowing something tore deep inside was more painful than he had known.
He'd lain there, in those woods drifting half in and out of consciousness and saw his sad and lonely life flash before his eyes, until he finally blacked out from the pain of it all.
