Why did this keep happening to him?
For the second time in a little over a month, Castle found himself handcuffed, with a blindfold over his eyes, in the back of a van, with no idea who had abducted him, where they were taking him, or why.
He had been walking to his Ferrari in the garage near his building when he'd felt a gun at his side and heard an ominous voice telling him to "Make this easy." He had been heading to the precinct to surprise Beckett, and his heart was more crushed at the fact that his abduction was foiling his anniversary plans than at the distinct likelihood that his life was in danger – again.
Sure, his wife had moved out and was giving him very little explanation for her sudden withdrawal from their marriage. But it was their first anniversary, and damned if he wasn't going to acknowledge it. If what his "nosey" friend Mia had said was true, then he had reason to believe Beckett wouldn't be able to resist. He trusted that she still loved him. Now it was time to bank on it.
So he was dressed in her favorite red shirt and charcoal sport coat. He was wearing her favorite cologne, and in his pocket was the diamond bracelet he'd originally given her on that first, ill-fated day as captain. He had his favorite dress of hers in a garment bag (the red one from the Poe's Pen banquet), with an assortment of accessories so she could change at the precinct. Then they had an eight p.m. reservation at their favorite restaurant, Per Se.
Everything had been planned meticulously.
Except being kidnapped.
Seriously!?
Castle dropped his head back against the side of the van in frustration and closed his eyes under the blindfold. His wrists ached, and the metal floor of the van was not very comfortable on his tailbone.
He so did not need this right now, especially given that he had no idea who could want him snatched – again. It wasn't like he was working any cases at the moment. He had to convince and contrive at every turn just to get into the 12th these days.
As far as he could tell, only one person had forced him into the van, and there was no conversation coming from the front. Not to mention, of all the times he'd been kidnapped over the years, this was probably the most casual job he'd experienced. He still had his cell phone, even though he couldn't reach it in his front pocket. His hands were cuffed behind him, which limited his mobility, but knowing there was only one other person in the van gave him hope of escape. Not to mention, he hadn't been drugged, punched, shot, or covered in spiders. Maybe his anniversary plans could still be salvaged after all.
Finally, he focused his attention on where his abductor might be taking him. He was certain they were still in the city. He was a native of New York and knew the city's sounds well, even from within a van. He was confident they had neither gone through a tunnel, nor hopped on the expressway; their pace was too stop-and-go for them to be anywhere but Manhattan.
After about thirty minutes of driving, the van came to a stop at the end of what Castle guessed was an alley they had turned down. The road had turned bumpy and uneven, and the sounds from the street had become noticeably muffled.
The side door of the van opened, and again, Castle felt the nose of a gun prod him forward. A hand took his arm as he stepped onto the street, but the kidnapper said nothing to Castle's litany of questions about where he was and who was behind this. He was just tugged forward with a gun in his side and a hand firmly clamped on the links between his handcuffs.
Until his hands were free and he could remove the blindfold, escape seemed unlikely. Damn. Getting shot in a blind scuffle was not on his agenda.
Castle immediately concluded he had been ushered into a building. The sounds from the streets were completely cut off, and the silence was almost eerie.
A moment later, the ground shifted underneath him, and he realized he was in an elevator, going up. And up. And up father.
When they came to a stop, the doors opened, and Castle was once again directed forward and to the left. They wound their along several narrow corridors, which he knew only because his shoulders would occasionally bump into the walls to his left or right as he was steered along.
Finally, they stopped, and Castle heard a door open. He was pushed inside, and the door closed behind him.
Silence.
"What the hell is going …"
Before he could finish the sentence, he sensed another person step close to him, and then felt soft, unmistakable lips on his. His whole body leapt with sharp, instinctive need and recognition as he pushed forward into the kiss. For a moment, he was incapable of doing anything but relishing the long lost sensation. Then he pulled back, straining his eyes futilely through the blindfold. "Kate?"
The covering was removed, and she stood before him with a shy smile.
"Hi, Castle. Happy anniversary."
He had a million questions, but they all dissolved as he plunged forward and captured her mouth again. After six weeks apart, one kiss was not going to cut it.
She responded in kind, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close.
Their lips danced and plunged, parried and swept. They drank all they could of each other, hearts breaking and mending at the same time.
Finally, Castle couldn't stand his limited mobility and pleaded, "Please tell me you have the keys to these handcuffs."
"Of course," she said quickly, reaching toward the little table behind her and returning with a small, silver key. In those few moments, he saw that she was dressed in the sexiest, smallest, black cocktail dress he'd ever seen, with a wide, deep V in the back to match a smaller, but even more alluring one in the front. His mouth went dry at the sight.
The four-inch heels put her nearly eye-to-eye with him.
He also saw they were in a hotel room, and a pretty luxurious one at that. The view out the expansive picture window of the skyline and Central Park told him they were on the Upper East Side – maybe at the Sherry-Netherland or the Pierre. A table with a white cloth and candles was set up in the room, just waiting for the entrees to be delivered, and he could see a king-size bed through the double-doorway, with an ornate "SN" carved into the headboard. The Netherland it was, then.
When his hands were free, he brought his fingers reverently to her temples, framing her face before combing gently through her hair. His eyes roamed her face, taking in her every feature as if she were a new species he'd never seen before. He drew her close, tucking her head beneath his chin and wrapping his arms around her.
"I've missed you so much."
"I missed you, too," she murmured.
He didn't think he'd ever get his fill of her, but eventually, his curiosity got the better of him.
"What's going on, Kate? As happy as I am to see you, is now really the best time for a practical joke like this?"
His voice carried a bite that she couldn't deny was justified.
"I wish it were a joke, Castle. Believe me I do. But tonight was about precautions, not jokes. I can't be seen in public with you; it's too risky now. So I had Vikram bring you in the back entrance and up the service elevator."
His eyes widened at that information. "Vikram? You had him snatch me from my own garage?"
"Castle, it was the only way. I needed to see you today, to let you know I still love you."
"Kate, please tell me what the hell is going on." His voice was hard, but his eyes were pleading. He was desperate for some kind of understanding.
She looked down at where she was fidgeting with her wedding and engagement rings, twisting them around her finger.
"I can't tell you everything, but please, just trust me a little longer. I'm not doing this because I want to. But I have to."
Suddenly a light dawned. "Does this have to do with LockStat?"
"It doesn't matter, Castle. Tonight is about us. Please just let us have tonight." Her voice was small and pleading.
She pressed her mouth to his, and he fell into her once again. The allure of her was too strong. He wanted answers, but he wanted his wife more.
The fire erupted between them and consumed them both.
Clothes and hands went flying as they stumbled toward the bedroom. The mattress was soft and welcoming as Castle fell back upon it, pulling Kate on top of him. He rolled them over until he was poised atop her. "You're lucky I love you so much," he growled as his mouth plundered hers again.
"I know I am," she confessed, dragging her lips along the cut of his jawbone until she could nip at his shoulder, shuddering as he drew his mouth across her skin.
When at last they joined together, it was as if the Earth stopped rotating. Time stood still as they held fast and finally, slowly, frantically, desperately began to move.
It was the first time all over again, or at least as close as it could ever be. It was explosive and wondrous, but still familiar and solid. He knew where to touch and how to move, but the sensations were once again raw and unpracticed.
The effect was humbling, and left Castle struggling to hold on. When he felt Kate flutter and contract beneath him with a cry of release, his control shattered around him as he fell with her into oblivion.
The air in the room was warm without being stuffy. Still, Kate burrowed under the comforter, her cooling, sweat-slicked skin chilling quickly against the air.
Castle dragged her against him.
"Happy anniversary," she whispered again.
"It's the happiest day I've had in six weeks," her rejoined sincerely. "How long will this reprieve last," he asked.
"Till morning," she answered, "I have to be at work at eight."
He nodded his acceptance. "I'll take what I can get."
His words cut deep, even if they didn't mean to. She didn't like forcing him to settle for crumbs, but there was nothing she could do for it. The closer she got to LockStat, the riskier her quest became. She couldn't drag him into that. But hopefully, it would be over soon.
"I'm so sorry, Castle." She hoped the words didn't sound hollow.
"I know you are. I wish I understood what was going on, but I told you I'd trust you, and I do. I don't like this, and I wish you'd let me in, but I'm choosing to trust you."
"Thank you. Thank you for that."
He squeezed her tight, then decided a change of topic was in order. "Okay, so you kidnapped me, seduced me, and confirmed you will be leaving me again in the morning. I think the least you can do is feed me."
"That, I can do," she confirmed, reaching over and dialing the number for room service. Apparently, their meals had been pre-ordered, since she only asked that it be delivered.
"Food will be here in a few minutes," she told him as she wrapped a robe around her gloriously naked form. "Would you like some champagne?" she asked.
He bobbed his head in assent and followed her to the table after donning his own robe.
"This is definitely better than my sedate plans to court you with dinner and maybe steal a chaste kiss at the end of the night," he conceded.
She smiled over her shoulder at him as she popped the cork on the bottle of Dom. "I've had enough of being chaste," she retorted.
"Me, too," he said hungrily, sliding his hands inside her robe just as a knock sounded at the door.
"That kid is so not getting a tip," he muttered when Kate stepped away from him.
The meal was divine. Pasta and scallops in a white wine sauce, steak tartar, Caesar salad, and raspberry tort for dessert.
They took their time, sharing food, laughing like children, but kissing and playing like adults. Not a morsel was left when Castle placed the lid back on the serving trays and set them outside the door.
When he returned, Kate was already making her way into the bedroom, but detoured away from the bed and into the bathroom where an enormous jacuzzi tub waited. They soaked and massaged, kissed and made love in the bubbling water. Their skin smelled of lavender oil and felt soft and pliant after an hour or more in the steaming bath. Until, finally, the bed beckoned.
Languid and warm, they crawled beneath the covers, wrapping themselves in a cocoon of their own making. Nothing could get to them here. They were the last two people on Earth.
When morning came, they greeted it groggily, having accumulated little more than three or four hours of sleep. Through the night, they had talked and made love over and over. They had recounted their wedding day, sharing the details they held closest to their hearts. They talked about their weeks in the Maldives over the summer, finally getting the honeymoon they had been denied the previous fall. And of course they laughed over their week at the Diamondback Ranch and the hijinks they had endured on their first "non-honeymoon" honeymoon.
All night, they had dozed and talked, savoring every moment of the reprieve from their life. But dawn could not be held back, and as the sky lightened, the specter of their impending departure and continued separation wedged itself between them once again.
"When will I see you again?" Castle asked.
"Whenever you stop by the Twelfth," Kate answered. "You know where to find me."
But he shook his head. "When will I see you like this, as my wife? When will you come home?"
She cupped his cheek and met his eyes, "As soon as I can, I promise."
"And until then, I'm just supposed to let you go, with no idea of what you're doing or why?"
She couldn't deny his words, but couldn't bring herself to confirm them either. She just reached out and took his hands in hers. "Thank you for staying last night, for not walking out on me like I've done to you."
He leaned down to kiss her once again. "Kate, I love you, and I promised to be your partner until death do us part. But whatever is going on here had damn well better be a one-time thing. You can't think that what you're doing is okay."
She rushed to assure him, "I don't Castle, believe me. And I know it's going to take a long time to make things right. But it has to be this way for a little longer, until I know it's safe."
"How will you know –"
"Shhh," she put her fingers to his lips. "It's time to go. Vikram is in the back ally and will take you home. Wear this hoodie so no one can see you," she said as she handed him the black garment.
"Why didn't you just tell him to give me this in the first place, instead of abducting me a gun point?"
"I didn't think you'd cooperate," she said with a mischievous smirk. "Besides, it was a squirt gun."
With a bemused shake of his head and last long gaze between them, Castle opened the suite door and stepped out.
"Castle …" she called after him, her voice breaking on the syllables.
He turned and met her eyes, as seven years of patience and determination coursed between them. "I know, Kate. I know."
And once again, they allowed themselves to be swallowed up by the daunting reality of their separate lives. For now.