Sorry it took me so long to update! But Chapter 7 is here, and I hope you enjoy it... As always I hope you take the time to review and give me feedback whether it's positive or not. I love to hear what you think of the characters and how well they're represented and how you think the story is progressing. I really hope you continue to be interested in this fic and that you keep reading!
-SEL
Chapter Seven
"Look, I know you two were friends with Detective Beckett. I know you worked together. I know you-"
"Yeah!" Esposito raised his voice at Shoney, gesturing to Ryan. "We were friends! We worked together! Do you have something to say, or what?!"
"You can't investigate on my case!" The paunchy detective spit at his colleagues. "I get it. I do. But it's put you in danger, and it's violation of every rule in the book!"
Javier stood up with a clatter as his chair almost toppled over. The grief he was feeling was like gasoline for the fire in his eyes. "Bro! I did not do any investigating on your case. You think I wanna get suspended again? Now you got us down here, and Gates is gonna be breathin' down our necks. This isn't fair, we didn't do anything. She was our friend, and if I was allowed on this case, I'd be on it and ripping up the goddamn thing! But I'm not. So lay off!"
The office they were in was silent for a moment, and outside they could hear the click-clack of keyboards, ringtones and anxious footsteps. For a moment it seemed like they were frozen in time. Esposito stood there, hanging on to his teetering chair, staring Shoney in the face. Shoney stared back, and Ryan sat down still with a grimace on his face, eyes on the floor.
"Javi, that's not exactly true." Ryan spoke, all eyes on him. "Castle called me... He wanted me to look into Kate's childhood, try to find something that she was involved with, a club or a class, that wasn't common knowledge. He thought that maybe she could have hid her baby with someone she knew then that now lived out of state. I'm... I'm sorry. It was-"
"Wait." Shoney held up a hand and turned his nose to the ground. "It was Richard Castle? The husband? He was investigating."
"Yeah, I-" Ryan began to reply.
"He, his daughter and his mother could be in serious danger right now."
"Bro, what are you talking about?"
"I got a threat. From the killer. It's too much of a long story. We just need to get over there, now."
Ryan and Esposito met each other's eyes. In unison, they said:
"We know the address."
Alexis Castle begged for her life.
"Please. Please..."
Adam Gonzales inched the needle closer and closer to her neck, taunting her, making her plead and shake. Her hands struggled and trembled in the duct tape. Her pointer finger itched, her feet were sweating and unable to move. "Please..."
She tilted her neck away from the tip of the weapon, the whites of her eyes clearly visible in the dark as she tried to glimpse it. When the tip of the needle finally met her skin, it didn't feel as she had expected. It didn't feel like cold metal meeting her neck the way it would if she leaned her cheek against a window in December. It didn't feel like a vaccine at the doctors office where there's a short sting and then it's over.
It felt like the needle was barely even there. The only reason Alexis knew it was came from the tiny prickling sensation she felt right below the soft curve of her cheekbone. And the slight amount of pressure as it pushed up below her jaw when she swallowed. She closed her eyes, waiting for it to pierce her skin and leave her lifeless.
But it didn't happen.
The smooth-as-porcelain voice of Adam Gonzales slid over every part of Alexis as he spoke.
"You know what? I don't want to kill you."
She clenched her jaw.
"Well, that's not true," he spoke again. "But not quite yet. I haven't squeezed all the juice out of you... And you're so bursting to the brim I think you'd be very tasty..." Adam put his syringe on the concrete floor and brought his hand up to Alexis' face. He pinched her cheek between his thumb and forefinger, then grabbed her face and pulled it to his.
"No, no! Stop it-" But Alexis was cut off, her mouth otherwise occupied. He felt cold and stoney against her and she couldn't do anything about it. Her hands and feet were bound tightly.
He moved downwards, kissing her neck sloppily. Alexis saw her chance.
She took a chunk of his ear in her teeth and bit down as hard as she could.
"Ahh!" He screamed falling backwards. "You crazy bitch!" He pushed her chair over and she fell sideways to the ground. One of the wooden legs of the chair cracked off during the fall and skidded behind her. As Adam felt the side of his head, assessing the damage, she took a chance and grabbed for it with what little range of movement she had.
The stick was sharp and splintered, but Alexis could tell it would make no headway as to ripping her bonds apart. She gave up on trying to reach it and lay panting on the ground.
"Oh, you wanna play games, do you?" Adam asked, the smoothness to his voice all but disappeared. Only the sharpness remained. "Well, you know what?" He picked his gun up from the floor.
"I can play too."
The door to Richard Castle's loft flew open. Esposito, Ryan and Shoney rushed inside and immediately began turning over books and skimming counters, looking for some sign of distress. There was none.
"Man, we don't even know if something happened to him. He could be out buying groceries." Esposito leaned against a table in defeat.
"You don't know that." Ryan said. "We called, he didn't pick up. We called again, he didn't pick up. I called Alexis, and she didn't pick up. Martha says she doesn't know where they are. Something. Happened."
Shoney froze. "Guys, this is it. They left a note." A piece of paper was tacked up against the back of the door.
Left for 344 Madison Avenue, if anyone's looking, should be back in an hour. If not,
please come check in. 12:34 pm, Saturday.
Ryan wiped his brow. "Javi, it's almost five. They aren't okay."
Shoney pulled the note off the door. "Then I say we take take a trip to number 344 on Madison Avenue. What do you think, boys?"
