Finding Her Hero
Chapter 1
Kate climbed into the back of the ambulance where Castle was gingerly pressing a cold pack against his swollen hand. "How are you doing, Chuck Norris?"
"I'll live," Castle replied. "I'll be going to the hospital for x-rays. Good thing Josh is in Africa. I don't think I could handle Dr. Motorcycle Boy's smirk right now. But what's important is we got that bastard before he could take out Ryan and Esposito or kill you. How are the boys?"
Kate took the cold pack from him and held it against his wounded knuckles. "Mild hypothermia and wounded pride. But Espo is already saying how he would have tackled his would-be killer if we hadn't shown up. And they're both bragging about how they trash talked while he was torturing them. By the time they get to the precinct tomorrow, they'll both be ready to take over from Bruce Willis in his next Die Hard movie. So is this episode going to transform into a Nikki Heat adventure in your next book?"
Castle shrugged. "If I can get it down. I don't think I'll be doing much typing for a while unless I do it one-handed."
"Listen, Castle; I'm going to drive you to the hospital," Kate said.
"You don't have to do that, Kate. The paramedics can drop me off."
"I want to do it," Kate insisted. "You had my back in there. Now I'm going to have yours."
Castle emerged from the treatment area with his hand encased in plaster. "Is it broken?" Kate asked, stroking his arm.
"In four places. The doctor said I was lucky that I'm not going to need surgery. Even so, I'm going to be in a cast for 6-8 weeks. And after that, I may need some physical therapy."
Kate winced. "And it's your right hand. Can you use it at all?"
"I can wiggle a couple of my fingers a bit, and it's supposed to get better as the swelling goes down. I'll be all right."
"I guess taking care of you will be keeping Alexis and Martha busy for a while," Kate guessed.
Castle shook his head. "They're already busy. Alexis is working on a big project for the model U.N."
"Oh, I did that when I was at Stuy," Kate recalled. "It's a lot of work."
"Uh huh," Castle agreed. "And she has a couple of AP classes on top of it. Mother has a new play, so she'll be in rehearsal, getting her costumes fitted, and generally executing her grand diva duties. She's going to have an out of town opening next month. Maybe I'll get one of those home health aides, although I have this scary picture in my mind of nurse Rached."
"You don't have to do that, Castle. I can stay with you."
"What about Josh?" Castle asked. "He won't be crazy about you being under the same roof with another man - especially me."
"We weren't exactly on the best terms when he took off," Kate explained. "He seems to think that it's no big deal that he just disappears from my life for months at a time. You know, one of the things that attracted me to him is that he is involved with so many good causes. It gave me a chance to have one foot out the door. But isn't it strange that the things that draw you to a person are the things that end up driving you crazy? Now I really want someone who'll be there for me, and I can be there for him, and we can dive into things together. Josh and I never had that. I don't think we ever will."
Warmth flooded Castle's chest. "You broke up?"
"More like drifted apart. But we're not together, Castle, and he has no expectations that we will be when he comes back to New York."
"Well, if the most beautiful and talented homicide cop on the force is willing to dwell in the Castle abode for a while, I'm not about to protest," Castle declared. "Thanks."
Kate stuffed clothes into her duffel bag. When she'd dropped Castle at the loft, he'd been alone. He'd said the housekeeper was due to come in for a couple of hours to vacuum and straighten up, but she still didn't want to leave him for long. He was pretty loopy from his pain medication. She'd tried to talk him into lying down for a while, but he'd insisted he wasn't sleepy. She'd left him watching an old Lance Delorca film, and she didn't want the kick-ass hero to give him any more ideas. The next time, he could suffer something worse than a broken hand.
Kate froze for a moment when the full realization of what Castle had done hit her. After he'd kissed her silly to fool an armed guard, he'd followed her into a nest of gun-wielding men. She had her weapon, but Castle had nothing but his nerve and his wits. He wasn't even wearing his vest, not that it would have worked in their drunken lovers' charade. Rick had launched himself at a stone killer with nothing more than his bare hands - and he did it to save her. She couldn't think of a cop who'd do that, let alone a civilian. She shook herself. "People do strange things in the heat of the moment," she muttered and crammed more underwear into her luggage.
Castle groaned in frustration. He'd managed his zipper - barely. He imagined himself sticking to sweatpants and T-shirts for a while. Even if Kate was with him, he couldn't ask her for that kind of help, although the idea did conjure up some exciting and arousing imagery. Much as he might wish otherwise, she was his partner, not his lover. But that kiss! Even with mind-deadening drugs dulling his senses Rick could still feel the touch of her on his lips and the taste of her in his mouth. It was a taste he wanted to experience again, but somehow, he didn't see distracting another gunman in the immediate future. Still, it would be nice to have her around. It would be better than nice; it would be incredible. He'd just have to get used to cold showers.
"What the hell do you mean that McAllister and Lockwood are both in jail?" the politician demanded. "I sent Lockwood out on a simple hit. He ends up losing five men and the police have two potential witnesses against me."
"Lockwood's not going to talk," Bill Moss assured his boss. "He knows what will happen to him if he does. And McAllister's kept his mouth shut all this time. No reason to think he'll open it now."
The pol jammed his hands into the pockets of his custom-tailored suit "We didn't think Raglan was going to spill his guts, either. But if Lockwood had been a minute later, Kate Beckett would have gotten the whole story. She's been kept under control so far, but we'll have to keep a close watch on her and that writer who follows her around. I don't want to have to take either of them out if we don't have to. There would be too much press. But if Beckett or Castle gets too close, you have a green light to pull in anyone we need, to take care of the situation."
Moss nodded. "Yes, sir. They'll both be under surveillance, 24/7.