Kidnapped Ch.14
Kate's nose wrinkled as she frowned intently at the pink book in her hands. Her head was leaning against Castle's shoulder and his hands were gently running through her hair.
Her mouth twitched as she flipped yet another page over, and to Castle, that was simply the most adorable thing ever. Not that he would ever do that himself. Oh no, if Kate knew that he thought of her as adorable, he would be dead before he even felt it.
'What are you thinking?' Kate asked suddenly, her eyes still scanning over the pages.
'How do you do that?' Castle asked, holding up his hands as if to surrender. 'Do all women have special tingly eyes at the back of their heads?'
'That is a very attractive image, Castle,' Kate snorted. 'And that is for me to know, and you to find out.'
'I'm just thinking how lucky I am,' Castle answered smoothly, his hand squeezing her shoulder. 'I've got you and cookie safe, here with me.'
Kate said nothing, but she leaned deeper into Castle, mentally pushing away the image of herself dead and Castle standing over her, his eyes dull. Brushing away a tear that was making its way down her cheek, she buried her face in his chest, taking in his familiar, comforting scent that was uniquely Castle.
'Are you ready to tell me about the nightmares?' Castle asked gently, and Kate looked up sharply.
'What?' Kate asked. 'I don't have nightmares.'
'Kate, I am your husband and partner-in-crime, and I know when you are having a nightmare. For the past few days, you've been having nightmares every single night,' Castle stated quietly. 'Don't lie to me, please? Not now.'
'It's nothing,' Kate started, but relented after a skeptical look came over Castle's face.
'I see him every single night, Castle. I am back there, in the warehouse, in the room. I see his eyes staring at me. Then if I'm lucky, I'll wake up, and I see the cut on my face, Castle, in the mirror. It's like he's looking back at me, taunting me,' Kate burst out, the fears and terror that have been haunting her at night bursting forth, like the crushing force of a river through a broken dam. She turned around to face Castle.
'And it wasn't just me, Castle. Sometimes, I see you there, and Alexis, telling me to come back, but there wasn't anything I could do. In the end, you two would just give up and leave me,' Kate finally admitted the most heart-wrenching thing she had dreamed of and kept to herself for days, and Castle immediately shifted closer to her.
'Kate, listen to me. Neither I nor Alexis will leave you, ever. Things will get better,' Castle assured her, enveloping her into a warm hug.
'Will it?' Kate asked, the young child in her emerging to seek reassurance. At that moment, the ghosts of her kidnapping were shining through in her eyes, and anyone could tell that a small part of her, buried deep under her façade of confidence and laughter, still feared the return of her captors.
'Yes, it will. I promise,' Castle told her.
He sat at his desk, signing boring pile after pile of paperwork that sat in front of him. However, his mind was a thousand miles away.
A smile curled up upon his lips, and he checked his watch. His plan was already in action, and if all goes as plan, in an hour, all his worries and troubles will be over.
His job had been fairly smooth sailing so far, and being a mole in a department was much easier than he had anticipated. No one had ever suspected him, and his position meant that he was aware of the latest news. This had been the first real challenge that he had met, and he believed that he had handled it expertly.
If all goes as planned, in an hour, he would be trouble-free. With this happy thought floating around in his mind, he went back to his paperwork, humming merrily.
His hands skimmed over the smooth edges of the gun before it rested on the trigger. He carefully took apart the gun and began to reassemble it, handling each part with care, inspecting each piece slowly and deliberately before putting them together.
His hand landed on the last piece of equipment he needed: the scope, the object that allowed him to become one of the best in the field. It had been his partner, his constant companion. It was to him what the husband was to the target.
Attaching the scope to the gun, he placed it on the edge of the railing and began looking for his target. It was not long before he found her, and with the scope's help, he could see her every move, every action.
His fingers wrapped around the trigger, ready to allow one single piece of metal to take away yet another human life. This was really too easy. She was just sitting on the bed, engrossed in a book that she was reading, blissfully unaware of what was to come. Perhaps that would be best for a person who loved life so much that she could not bear to let it go.
His shoulders relaxed slightly. His fingers began to tighten around the trigger. A bullet escaped from the clip, spinning through the air towards the woman.
Kate was so engrossed in the diary that she did not even notice that Castle had stood up and was looking at her with an amused expression on his face.
He loved to look at her when she was concentrating on something crucial, like a piece of evidence, or when she was looking at the murder board. There was something about her serious expression that made her hot as hell, and leave him needing a cold shower.
The inner nine-year-old in him decided that he wanted her undivided attention, and he decided to do something that would ensure that he got what he wanted. He took a step towards the window, blocking off the sunlight, and just as Kate let out an indignant squeal and started swatting him with the pink book, the sound of broken glass was heard, and Castle crumpled on to the floor, his mouth opened in a 'O' of surprise.
'Rick,' Kate yelled desperately, as blood began to pool around Castle. 'Somebody help! Rick, don't you dare go to sleep. Stay with me, please. Rick!'
A/N: I'm back with my tricks up my sleeve once again, people. Cliffhangers! Yes, they really so very nice, and I really love them, so what I do I do with them? I share them.
Seriously, though. A massive thank you to all those that reviewed/favorited/alerted this story. I had a really bad asthma attack this afternoon, and my medications make me really sleepy, but I am determined to uphold my end of the promise because of all of your support.
As usual, PLEASE REVIEW. Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please.
This chapter is dedicated to Bianca tabbycat, who, regardless of her complete and utter dislike for cliffhangers, betaed this chapter for me all the same, pestering me to reveal who happens in the next chapter. That is not happening, to her deepest disappointment. If you don't hear from me next chapter, it'll be because I've been kidnapped by her in an attempt to discover how Castle would survive. (According to her, I love Caskett to much to kill one of them off.)
Zoe tabbycat