The Female Unsub

Chapter Sixteen: Spencer's POV

I enter the room but Sloane keeps her eyes on the clock above the mirror. She looks like she hasn't moved an inch in the past hour and she's completely focused on the countdown.

"Sloane," I say, sitting down in front of her, she doesn't react. "Sloane, I wanted to apologize for last night. Not only was it completely inappropriate but I also kissed you without your consent, which isn't okay." She drops her eyes from the clock and looks at me. Okay, progress is being made.

"I mean, just because I wanted to kiss you, didn't automatically mean you wanted to kiss me," I tell her, trying to convey my genuine apology. "I shouldn't have grabbed you like that and forced that on you. I should have asked you first and that's on me. I am sorry."

Her eyes narrow, probably trying to figure out if I'm being honest or not. "Do men actually do that?"

I'm taken aback by her question, "ask for consent? They should."

She lets out a defeated huff and drops her gaze, "most don't."

"Then those aren't real men," I tell her, I angle my head so I can see her eyes. Her emotion is coming through and I can see the sadness in them. "They are selfish boys who never learned to take no for an answer." She keeps her eyes down, she's probably trying to regain her composure before looking at me.

"Stop trying to act like you get me, Spencer," her eyes flick up for just a moment and I see the anger behind them. "You're just saying these things because you want something from me. You're no better than them."

I sigh, she's not wrong. While I am apologetic about what happened last night, my intentions were to use the attraction between us for my own gain. Even now, my words are calculated in a way to get her to feel comfortable with me. Maybe I need to stop acting like I care and be genuine with her. Maybe then she'll want to open up to me.

"Sloane," I say softly, "I know what happened to you. I didn't last night, I just found out this morning." She bites her lip and glances at me quickly before returning her gaze to her hands. The anger in her eyes is still there but not as prominent. "I can't express how angry it makes me that you went through all of that to not have justice be served. It probably made you doubt everything you knew, right?"

This catches her attention, she lifts her eyes to mine and I can see the tears starting to form, "you were always told that if something bad happens, the police will take care of it. But they dropped the ball on this one. You gave them all the evidence they needed but they still let the monster who took advantage of you walk free. It makes sense why you wouldn't trust the justice system to do its job. That's why you've taken matters into your own hands." A tear falls down her cheek, but she doesn't wipe it away. She keeps her water filled eyes on mine, still not speaking.

"You trusted Jerry Robinson. He was a father of two young daughters. He had marital problems, but who doesn't. You never thought he would turn out to be the type of guy to cross the line with you," I tell her, keeping my tone soft, not accusatory. "So when he told you he wanted to take you somewhere special, and drove you out to Joe Pool Lake, you thought it was safe. When he laid out a blanket for you two to sit on, you sat down with no hesitation. But you started feeling uneasy when he sat down and your legs were touching. When he brushed the hair off your shoulder and you felt nauseous. But it wasn't until he tried to kiss you that your fight or flight instinct kicked in."

"What do you know about sexual assault, Dr. Reid? Have you ever been raped? Or made to feel disgusting because of someone else's actions?"

Her words are sharp as knives. She's angry and rightfully so.

"Nothing personally. But I was held captive by a man who suffered from multiple personality disorder a few years back. I was tortured by two of his personalities and when the true personality came out, he would drug me with dilaudid," I tell her, "I know it's not the same, but I do know how traumatizing it can be to have something happen to you that is against your will."

She doesn't say anything but she's searching my face, looking for even an ounce of dishonesty on my part. The tears have stopped, but the sadness in her eyes remains.

"I get it, Sloane, I really do. You were scared, you didn't mean to kill him." She scoffs and shakes her head. "You panicked and made a mistake, if you tell me what happened I can tell the court that you cooperated." She rolls her eyes again and looks away from me.

"After what you did, you didn't know what to do. All you did know was that you couldn't call the police, because they had betrayed you before and you weren't going to let them do it again."

"Spencer," she says cooly. I know she's serious by the lack of her using the nickname she gave me.

"You have less than thirty minutes to get me my deal. I am not going to tell you anything about that day until I have some reassurance. So, instead of wasting your time in here telling me how much you relate to me, how about you go help your team get me what I want."