Previously...
The moment he realized he'd lost her, fear and uncertainty took over, and, with absolutely no warning, she slapped him hard across the cheek. She hit him so hard that his body toppled to the side, his head crashing into the concrete floor.
He groaned, turning to catch a glimpse of her and, sitting back up, he ignored the slow stream of blood traveling down his face from where he'd hit the floor. He leaned toward her as he spoke, his voice breaking over her name. "Kate. What did she do to you?"
"She didn't do anything." Kate lifted the revolver, cradling it in both her hands and standing up before meeting his eyes once more. "You did. Now get on your knees."
"Kate. Wait. Please don't do this. What's going on? What did she tell you?" Castle was panicking. Something serious had happened here. Kelly had been successfully brainwashing his fiancée – that much was clear – but what was it that Kate believed he had done?
"That's it, Kate. Remember what he's done to you. How much he's hurt you."
What?! But he hadn't hurt her. He hadn't. He'd never... "No, Kate. No. I haven't done whatever she's made you think I did. Kate, you know I love you. I'd never hurt –"
"Shut up!" She roared. "Shut up, shut up! I won't fall for any more of your lies. Kelly has shown me everything. I won't be made a fool any longer!" Her eyes were blazing with heartbreak, her whole body thrumming with tension, and he was desperate to know what had caused it.
He caught sight of Kelly's smug smile over Kate's shoulder, causing his anger to spike, so he made a split second decision. He could buy some time and maybe get through to her if he could just get her talking. "At least tell me what I've done. Show me what she showed you. If you're going to convict me then show me the evidence, Kate."
She cocked the hammer on the weapon but he could see the war raging in her eyes, feel the hesitation in the air around her. "Why should I bother? I don't owe you anything."
Kelly stepped up behind her and rested her hands on Kate's hips. She stretched onto her toes to whisper in Kate's ear and Castle was left dumbfounded as Kate listed into her instead of pushing her away. Shit. She was deeper in this, whatever this was, than he'd thought and that fact made his blood boil. Kate turned her head to look at Kelly over her shoulder, their noses just inches apart, and said, "I know and it's okay. I need this."
Kelly's eyes cut to his, the hatred and distain she felt for him so incredibly obvious, and she held his gaze as she nuzzled her nose against Kate's cheek. "Okay, Kate. Do what you need to do but remember what we talked about."
Castle tried to keep himself under control, to get through to Kate, but the look on Kelly's face was one he couldn't ignore. "Get away from her you psychotic bitch! Get your hands off her! Kate, please. Let's just talk about this. I swear to you, I haven't done what she's said. What does she have? Pictures? Kate, there was a body in the loft. A man made to look…"
"Stop talking, Castle! Stop all the lies!" A tear dripped down her cheek and he longed to brush it away, to hold her once again.
"Kate, please…"
The fire flared to life in her eyes as she abruptly turned and pointed to a corkboard he hadn't noticed. "Castle. You cheated on me. If you didn't love me why didn't you just let me go? Why put me through all this?"
"No, Kate. No. I would never –"
She walked over to the board and pointed to the photos of him in bed. "You did! You can't lie to me anymore!"
"Kate that isn't me!" He tried to rise off the floor, needing to get to her. He just needed to touch her to make her understand.
"Don't." She was quiet, her tone low and hesitant, but when he continued his attempt to stand, she pointed the gun back at him, her voice growing louder. "Don't move!"
He dropped back to his knees, afraid of what she might do if he pushed too hard. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. But, Kate that isn't me. You know me. You know how much I love you. I would never ever do that to you." He shuffled forward on his knees, unable to stop his desperate need to get to her. "I can see it in your eyes. Some small part of you knows that isn't me, Kate. That dead body that you found wasn't me and neither –"
With no warning whatsoever, the taser leads connected with his chest, causing his back to arch as the electricity flowed through his body once more. He vaguely heard Kate's protest before the pain released and he crashed to the floor, his muscles convulsing with aftershocks.
When Kate realized what Kelly was about to do the conflicting emotions that suddenly invaded her brain were almost debilitating. She didn't know how to react so she did nothing. That is, until she saw his body tense and arch in a completely unnatural way, and then she couldn't ignore it any longer. No matter what he'd done to her, he would never deserve this.
She ran forward, screaming at Kelly to stop, to just walk away, and, pushing the woman sideward, she ripped the leads from Castle's body. He fell to the floor and she ached for him. The love she felt was still so strong no matter how hard she tried to let it go.
"Kate, you've seen what he's done! He doesn't love you. He'll never love you like I do. Never be worthy of you. Stop stalling. Just do it and you'll be free of him forever."
"I can't," she whispered, kneeling down next to him as she fought against the desire to reach out to him. That was when it hit her. "Kelly, why did you lie to me? He's not dead. Why did you tell me he was?" She turned to look over her shoulder at the woman that had become her pillar of strength.
"I had to. It was the only way you'd believe me."
"But if he's not dead…" She studied Kelly's face, trying to understand what was going on. The lying didn't make sense. There was no reason for it, for any of this. "If that wasn't him in the video then who was it? Why did he look like Castle?"
"Kate. Trust me, sweetheart. Why would I lie to you about his cheating?"
A pulsing vein appeared in Kelly's forehead, serving as a sign of her diminishing patience. Kate could see that she was trying to project an air of confidence and calm but her voice was too level, too controlled for it to be believable. Kate stood, placing herself between Kelly and Castle, as she thought back over all her time here. Her brain was still slow but the will to fight was returning and cracks were starting to appear in her newfound acceptance of this woman. "Why would you lie to me about him being dead? Why would you do any of this?"
"Just shoot him, Kate. Just do it and we can be free."
"And if I don't?"
At Kate's show of defiance, Kelly's mask started to fall. "Do it or I will."
"You wouldn't." Kate watched her carefully.
Kelly stepped forward, pulling a gun from a holster hidden behind her back, and set her sights right on Castle's forehead. "What are the rules, Kate?"
Kate put her hands out to her sides, attempting to shield Castle. Killing wasn't in her nature, so, despite everything, she had to find a way to talk Kelly down. A way to get her to walk away from him. "Please. Please, don't. There's another way. We can just go. Get out of here. Leave him. They'll never be able to trace us. Please, let's just go." She begged, desperate to avoid the bloodshed.
Kelly stepped in front of Kate, rage burning in her eyes, and Kate recoiled slightly. She cried out when Kelly reached up and grabbed a fistful of her tangled brown hair, jerking her head to the side, pushing the gun barrel into her temple. They were nose to nose as Kelly growled, "You know the rules, Kate."
Her face crumbled, tears burning as fear took over. "Please," she whispered.
Kelly snarled and tossed Kate to the side, her body slamming to the floor and knocking the breath out of her. "I'm disappointed in you, Kate. Guess I'll just have to do it myself."
Kate screamed as Kelly raised her gun to Castle again. He moaned and writhed on the floor, trying to crawl away, his wrecked body so slow to respond.
It happened in a split second. Kate closed her hands around her own weapon – acting on instinct alone – and aimed for Kelly's center of mass. The bullet found its target just as Kelly pulled her own trigger and the sound of both weapons firing echoed around the small space, ringing in her ears as she watched Kelly crumple to the ground, a dark pool of blood forming around her limp body.
The sound of the gunshots was enough to break Castle out of his stupor and to shock his body into action. He watched, helplessly, hands frustratingly bound behind his back, as his sobbing fiancée crawled over to her captor chanting "No. No, no, no." Her body bowed over Kelly's, hands shaking as she cradled the dead woman.
Castle forced himself up to a sitting position, calling to her, his voice hoarse and shaky. "Kate."
She turned to look at him over her shoulder, her eyes wild, almost feral as the storm of emotion crashed through her.
He started to shuffle over to her, desperate to get to her, to touch her and break her out of this state, when the basement door burst open. An entire SWAT team descended upon them, seeming to startle her so badly that she scooted away until she hit the concrete wall. She pulled her knees back up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face, her entire body violently shaking.
He ached at the sounds she was making, the sobbing, howling, and whimpering that she seemed to have no control over, when his arms were suddenly freed. He looked over his shoulder into a face he didn't recognize, silently thanking the man, before forcing himself up and stumbling over to her.
He fell to his knees in front of her, wrapping her up in his embrace, as she clawed at him, screaming for him to let her go. He just held tighter, whispering his love into her ear, and the fight slowly drained out of her. She clutched at him, crawling into his lap, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist and crushing his shirt in her iron tight fists.
"I'm so sorry, Kate," he said as he rubbed one hand up and down her spine, cradling the back of her skull in the other. "God, what has she done to you? I've got you now. I've got you. You're safe now." He tightened his grip, trying to heal her with his touch, to break through the wall of lies Kelly had erected between them.
She looked up at him, her eyes hazy, before running her fingers over his face. "You never loved me. I loved you and you never loved me."
"No! No, Kate. I've loved you every damn day. Every moment. I know you believe that. Somewhere in your heart you believe me."
Her face crumpled as her grip on him loosened. "I'm so confused, Castle."
"I know you are. I know, Kate." He pulled her closer, wrapping her back up and burying his face in her messy curls. "It's ok. It's over now. You're safe."
"It's over," she whispered, and then her body went limp in his arms, consciousness leaving her behind.
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