Castle skided around the corner, blood pouring from the gunshot at his shoulder, close on Beckett's trail but not quite close enough to anticipate her next move and as such, runs past her when she veers hard left.
"This way!" she called after him, allowing him a second to correct his path and catch up to her. "Just a little further Castle, stay with me."
Though he was in huge amounts of pain and extremely nauseated from blood loss, the sound of her voice was soothing enough to keep him calm. He knew, however, that if they didn't reach safety soon, he'd be in serious trouble.
How had it all gone so wrong? How had a simple, fact-finding mission left Esposito dead, Ryan missing, and the two of them running for their lives?
It was his fault, he thought when he stopped to catch his breath and retighten the crude tourniquet on his upper arm. Beckett crouched next to him, taking in great gulps of air as sweat poured down her face. Her hands shook violently, causing her gun to knock against the wall behind her with a cheery clatter.
"We have to keep moving," she breathed, wiping her forehead. "Castle, come on, we have to keep mo-"
He hit the ground with a dull thud before she could finish the sentence.
