GOLDEN || S. REID

𝟷𝟼: 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝚈𝚘𝚛𝚔, 𝙽𝚈

To say that Eliza was livid was an understatement. She was absolutely fuming--Emily could attest to that. The fact that she can't leave her family alone for two seconds without them getting attacked or hurt really spoke levels about how badly someone out there wanted the Hamilton bloodline to end. It caused her blood to boil and, honestly, made her want to punch something. Or rather, someone.

If she didn't know any better, she would have thought it was some weird and twisted reincarnation of Aaron Burr come to take her entire family out. Now that would have been a story to tell. Maybe if she survived this entire ordeal, she'd capitalize on that idea. But now, that bestselling idea would most likely have to stay sat on the back burner.

Eliza tapped her fingers against the steering wheel anxiously as she waited for Emily and Spencer to finish their briefing with the rest of their team. All she wanted to do was check on her siblings and maybe go look at damages. She was almost one-hundred percent sure that she would be getting billed for this.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Emily and Spencer were walking back to her car. She opened her door, getting out of the vehicle in order to meet them halfway. Anxiously, she asked, "Can I go see them now?"

Emily nodded. "You can go check on your siblings, we'll all go up, and then you and Spencer can head back down to the lobby to listen to the recording that got sent to you."

"Are you sure we should be spitting up?" Eliza asked. "I mean, our rooms are on the top floor and if something happens, you guys won't be able to get down to us in time."

"The entire building is surrounded by FBI agents and local police," Spencer reassured her. "We'll be safe. The probability of a surprise attack is less than one percent. We'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Eliza resigned, moving forward and passed a group of police officers. She entered the building, which had been sectioned off. Most of the lobby was filled with angry hotel residents, all demanding to speak to a manager. About half of them wanted to know what was happening while the rest seemed to be angry just to be angry. The American Hive Mind was really astonishing.

They bypassed the angry mob, which seemed to spark a new wave of anger. Eliza held back the urge to flip them all off, instead ducking her head and allowing Emily to escort her into the elevator. Hotch was the last one in before the elevator doors closed, effectively cutting them off from the angry mob. Eliza let out a sigh of relief, slouching back against the elevator wall as she watched the numbers crawl upward.

"Can someone at least tell me if the twins are okay?" Eliza asked, watching the numbers intently. There were fifteen floors and they'd only just bypassed the first three. The elevator couldn't have been moving any slower. It seemed like it took forever to pass the next few floors.

"As far as we know, the twins are okay," Derek told her. "James took a bit of a beating but managed to subdue his attacker."

If anyone knew anything about the Hamilton family it was that every single one of them took some form of self-defense. The only one out of the four of them that kept up with it was James, so it was a really stupid idea to attack him first. Eliza was pretty sure that he had maybe five or so awards in the art of kicking ass.

The elevator doors opened and revealed a nearly empty hallway. The only movement was toward the end, where James's room was. Riley and Noah were outside, giving their statements to an officer while a paramedic made sure they were both okay. Eliza could only assume that James was still in the hotel room, though the limited FBI presence made her anxious. The cops of New York didn't exactly like the Hamilton family.

"Are you guys okay?" Eliza broke away from the group, practically running to Noah's side. Her younger sister broke away from the police officer's questioning and dove into her arms, whatever strong facade that she had up melting the second they connected. Eliza wrapped her arms around Noah, pulling her in close. She pressed a kiss into her hair, brushing her curls back.