Author's Note: I feel like another apology is in order, for an entirely different reason.

Two weeks later…

Compared to the launch party for Storm Fall, the celebration of Heat Wave's official launch was a low-key, quiet affair. There was plenty of press, to be sure, and the fans were as numerous as before – there was a lot of buzz surrounding Ricki Castle's new character. But the music wasn't thumping quite as loudly, and though Ricki partook in her drink, she was neither chugging nor staring at the masses like a lion on the prowl.

Not that she wasn't trying to look her best, wearing a black button-down with royal blue and white striped tie, a brand-new pair of jeans and her best pair of boots. Ricki wore her hair down, wavy brown locks splayed out over her shoulders. She was dressed to impress tonight, but there was only one set of eyes she was hoping to please.

The man sitting with her at the bar was not that person.

"I don't think you've ever turned in a manuscript that quickly." Paul smirked and downed the rest of his beer. "Don't suppose that means Deadly Heat will be in by the end of the month?"

"I'm good." Ricki smirked. "But not that good."

"I'm serious." Paul scratched at his stubble, leaning in. "The last three Storm books, it was like pulling teeth getting you to turn in something. But with Heat Wave, you're handing in a draft when I didn't even know you were working on something. What happened."

Ricki shrugged, unable to keep the smile off of her face. "I've been inspired."

"Inspired." Paul shook his head. "What could've possibly—"

Seeing the subtle shift in Ricki's face, the awe pouring into her eyes, Paul frowned and let his gaze follow suit – until he saw a tall woman walk into the room, a blue dress stopping at mid-thigh and hugging at every possible curve. Brown hair spun in waves around her face, and for a second, Paul got lost in a pair of hazel eyes.

He swallowed hard before Ricki smacked him on the arm.

"Down boy." Ricki grinned and set aside her empty glass, leaving Paul alone at the bar and weaving her way through the crowd. The two women's eyes met, and Kate's smile broadened as she ducked her head. Ricki got to her, raising her chin to plant a long, soft kiss to her lips.

They heard camera shutters going off, knew what the accompanying flashes meant, but at the moment, they didn't care.

"Hi."

"Hey." Kate bit her lower lip. "Sorry I'm late. Couldn't get away from the precinct."

Ricki's eyes gave Kate a once-over, and the writer bit her lip for an entirely different reason. Trying desperately to maintain her self-control – for another hour or two, at least – Ricki brushed aside a strand of Kate's hair instead. "You look so fucking amazing tonight that I'm willing to let it slide."

"Good." Kate kissed Ricki again. "Because I have a gun."

Laughing and giving Kate's hand a squeeze, Ricki snuck in for another kiss, thankful for a night of nothing but smiles and fun. There hadn't been much of either in recent weeks – they had managed as best they could, but between Kate's shooting and everything surrounding it, the tension was beyond palpable.

A night out on the town, even if it was technically work for Ricki, was just what the proverbial doctor ordered.

"You haven't seen it yet."

Kate frowned. "Seen what?"

"The dedication." Ricki glanced back at the bar, rolling her eyes. "My publicist is summoning me again. Go. Check it out."

Kate smirked as Ricki returned to the bar, approaching a short man in wire-rim glasses who was just shaking his head at her. Tucking her blue pocketbook under her arm, Kate glanced over her shoulder before approaching a stack of Heat Wave hardcovers. She tried to ignore the cameras that were clearly focusing on her, fighting the urge to flash both badge and gun.

But she knew being with Ricki brought with it a certain amount of public persona – not to mention the fact that she was also known as the cop who was gunned down by a sniper but lived. Silently glad her dress covered her scar, Kate grabbed one of the copies of Heat Wave, her fingers trailing over the spine with reverence.

This wasn't just a new Ricki Castle novel. It was a novel about her. It was, for all intents and purposes, Ricki's love letter to Kate. She had been flattered when Ricki first admitted to basing a character on her, but after reading the advance copy, Kate was truly at a loss.

Her heart fluttering in her chest, Kate opened the front cover and flipped the first few pages. Her eyes found the two lines in the center of the page before the table of contents, and her breath caught in her throat.

To the extraordinary KB

Whose love and bravery make all things possible

So overwhelmed by her lover's words, was Kate, that she hadn't noticed Ricki at her side again. She looked at the writer with glassy eyes, smiling and placing the book back on its spot before tracing Ricki's jawline with her finger. "Castle, it's…" Kate shook her head.

"I meant it." Ricki gave Kate a soft kiss. "You are extraordinary."

The two women shared a long, tight hug – and predictably, the flashbulbs sprung to life again. Kate cursed under her breath and Ricki squeezed her before pulling out of the embrace. "Castle…"

"I know." Ricki kissed Kate's cheek. "My publicist already knows what to do."

Kate quirked a brow and cocked her head. "Meaning…?"

"Meaning that if anything they print isn't true, or doesn't paint our relationship in an accurate light, I pursue action. Legal, if necessary." Ricki locked arms with Kate, leading her away from the crowd. "Paul has already instructed the media to refer to you by your full name and NYPD rank, and that if they insist on remarking upon the nature of our relationship, they are to mention that we are exclusive and serious."

Kate huffed a laugh. "That'll put a damper in your bad girl image."

"I think I've outgrown that anyway." Ricki shrugged. "Besides…the cameras, the paparazzi? The constant attention? That's my world, not yours. I don't want this relationship to tarnish your reputation or hurt your career in any way."

Kate gave Ricki a kiss of gratitude, thankful that they had slipped into another room, away from the hustle and bustle of the book launch. Ricki's obligations for the night were over, and she could technically leave now without Black Pawn getting too uptight – well, aside from the inevitable call from George.

Kate's expression soured, and when Ricki turned around to see what made the smile disappear from her lover's face, a chill ran down her spine. The hand not intertwined with Kate's balled into a fist, and Ricki sucked in a deep breath.

"What is he doing here?"

"Hell if I know…" Ricki made a beeline for the door, stopping inches from the man who'd wandered through the threshold. "You've got a lot of nerve…"

Roy Montgomery sighed and shook his head. His dark eyes wandered to Kate, but once he saw the daggers her eyes were firing his way, he decided he was better off taking his chances with the writer.

"We need to talk."

"Do we?" Ricki's eyes narrowed. "What's the matter? Run out of shadowy, distant voices to call me in the middle of the night, telling me to back off?"

Ricki knew the man who had called her two nights ago was dead, probably murdered not long after the phone call in question. Kate hadn't shared many of the details with Ricki about it, but that was probably because Ryan and Esposito weren't sharing many details with her.

Given the connection to Johanna's murder, Ricki understood.

Deciding to ignore Ricki's anger, Montgomery shrugged and looked at Kate. "At the very least, I'm gonna lose my badge. Likely looking at jail time, too."

Kate folded her arms across her chest. "Good."

"I deserve whatever I get." Montgomery shrugged again before taking a seat in the far end of the room. Kate stood right where she was, with Ricki by her side. "I was a first-year when I got wrangled in with Raglan and McCallister. Way over my head, not nearly brave enough to stand up to them."

"So…what?" Ricki shook her head. "You started rationalizing it? Helped yourself sleep at night by thinking, 'Oh, it's just a few mobsters. Not like anyone'll miss them or anything'."

"That's exactly what I did." Montgomery scratched at his chin. "But then we offed Armen by accident…and things got a little too real for me."

Kate rolled her eyes. "And you were in so deep by that point, you couldn't get out."

"Once Bracken got involved, I was stuck." Montgomery stood and began pacing in front of Kate and Ricki, trying his best not to meet their scathing gazes. He deserved them – well, he deserved Kate's – but he couldn't bring himself to face that reality. "He threatened to publicize our scheme if we didn't cut him in on the money."

Kate shook her head. "Why?"

Ricki turned to the detective. "He was getting ready for his first run at Congress."

"I wish that was the worst thing we could say about Bracken." Montgomery approached the two women, stopping when Ricki stepped in between him and Kate. Ricki lifted her chin and narrowed her gaze, arms folded over her chest. "Look…everything was going fine until Pulgatti lawyered up."

Kate stepped forward, her fingers trailing along the side of Ricki's arm. Their eyes met, and the detective gave a single nod. Reluctantly, Ricki stepped aside.

"Roy." Kate's voice shook. "What happened?"

Montgomery's eyes darted to the floor, before he forced himself to look at the detective. He breathed in a heavy sigh, thinking back to the year he brought Kate Beckett to Homicide, thinking he could harness her tenacity and turn her into the best detective the city had. And he'd done just that – all while harboring this terrible secret.

"Three nights before her murder, Johanna came to the precinct to see me." A small grin crossed Montgomery's face. "Back then, your desk was mine. She said she knew about the scheme, knew that the three of us were in on it with Bracken."

Ricki shook her head. "And you fucking narc'd on her."

"No." Montgomery kept his gaze square on Kate. "She said she had evidence implicating Bracken and exonerating her client. Johanna said Bracken was all she cared about. She also said this evidence was a danger to her. She wanted me to have it. Kate…" Montgomery heaven another sigh. "She was supposed to give me the evidence the night she was murdered."

Kate took a step back, a stunned look on her face. Ricki grabbed her by the hand and soothingly ran circles over the back of the detective's hand with her thumb. Kate's lower lip quivered, her eyes turning glassy.

"I got to the scene before Raglan and McCallister." Montgomery stared at the floor. "I found the evidence and took it before anyone else could find it."

Ricki shook her head. "The file?"

Montgomery shook his head. "No. It was…it's a tape. Implicating the person responsible for Johanna's murder."

Kate swallowed as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Where is it?"

Montgomery approached the two women, leaning in to keep his voice down – even though they were the only three people in the room and the thump of the music on the other side of the door would've likely drowned out whatever he had to say.

"It's been right in front of you for years."

Before either Kate or Ricki could react, Montgomery turned and walked out of the room, turning to the right once he was on the sidewalk outside. Ricki gritted her teeth and shook her head, the hand not tangled with Kate's curling into a fist.

Kate sucked in a ragged breath, another couple tears falling from her eyes. "Castle…"

Without a word, Ricki bolted from the room, running purposefully onto the sidewalk in pursuit of Montgomery. She heard Kate call her name in protest, following as best she could in her heels, but adrenaline and anger combined to make the writer close the distance to Montgomery before grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around.

"Fuck you!" Ricki pushed Montgomery as hard as she could, tears in her eyes. "Who the fuck do you think you are, waltzing into our special night like this, dropping this bombshell on us! What did you think would happen? Huh?!"

"Ricki—"

"Did you think you could make everything right?!" Ricki grabbed the collar of Montgomery's leather jacket, tugging. "You leave Kate some cryptic-ass message about her mother's death, and all's forgiven?"

Kate gasped when Ricki slammed a right cross into Montgomery's nose, dropping the man.

"You're a worthless sack of shit, you know that, Roy?!"

"Ricki!"

The writer ignored her lover, dropping to a knee to grab Montgomery by his coat again. Blood trickled from his nose, and his eyes were full of remorse. Ricki gritted her teeth again, raising her right arm for another blow – only to have the commotion of the night interrupted by a silenced gunshot.

Ricki's eyes went wide. Her mouth fell open.

Before either Montgomery or Kate could react, Ricki toppled to her left, falling to the pavement as the few passersby on the sidewalk scurried for cover, screaming in panic. Montgomery leapt to his knees, eyes scanning the surrounding rooftops. Before he could roll Ricki onto her back, Kate pushed him out of the way, tears in her eyes, smearing her makeup.

"Ricki!"

Ricki cringed and gasped when she wound up on her back, a pool of red on the sidewalk. Kate loosened the writer's tie with shaky fingers, her hands and lower lip quivering. Unbuttoning Ricki's shirt, Kate fought the urge to vomit when she saw the hole in Ricki's left side, blood oozing onto her skin.

"Ricki, no!" Kate cupped the writer's face in her hands, trying to sooth away the fear in her brown eyes. Kate brushed strands of hair out of Ricki's face, crying harder with each ragged gasp for air.

"God, Ricki…please, just…please stay with me!" She gave Ricki a frantic kiss, biting back a sob as she heard Montgomery talking to dispatch to get police and medical personnel to the scene. Flashbulbs burst to life to Kate's left; the assembled media had gotten much more than they had bargained for that night.

"Ricki…" Another kiss. "Please…Ricki, hold on for me. Please, baby. Please!"

"Kate…"

Ricki looked up at her lover, her eyes glassy, her skin pale and clammy. She tried to smile, but the sharp intake of breath reminded her of the searing pain in her side, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

"Ricki!"

Once the sirens whined to life in the distance, Ricki's eyes fell closed.