Just want to thank guest Georgina for her sweet comments... I wish you'd sign in so I can thank you properly. ;)
….
Tyson glared with murderous rage as she dropped the blade to his balls and threatened, "Stop resisting or I'll make Gemma's dreams come true by castrating you."
"Kate."
She turned to the allure of Castle's deep voice coming from the corner of the room. "This one's for me," and he threw her the taser which she caught effortlessly with one hand.
"You heard my partner, Tyson," she declared before shoving the taser to his neck and shooting him with explosive jolts, causing his body to spasm. "This one's for him."
Tyson's eyes locked onto the 9mm handgun in Rick's hand and he heard his enemy's voice, dripping with revenge... "Death's too good for the bastard."
He sensed from the magnitude of Rick's wrath that there was nothing in this world that would stop him from pulling the trigger... Before unconsciousness claimed him, he heard a distinctive 'pop,' and felt the small-caliber bullet slice its way through his left shoulder, leaving shredded tissue and muscle in its wake.
….
Rick approached Tyson's unconscious body with menacing intent. He aimed the gun at his right shoulder saying, "He deserves to suffer first before entering Hell."
Kate wasn't surprised when he pulled the trigger again.
His lips quirked into a satisfied smirk as he watched the blood cascade onto J.T.s brown T-shirt, matching the damage he just inflicted on his left shoulder.
His hardened demeanor and cold, lifeless eyes sent fear washing through Kate and she stood up hastily, placing both hands on his chest.
"Rick," she pleaded, trying to reach him. "Stop. You are not a cold-blooded killer… He's not worth it. Put the gun down. He deserves to suffer the rest of his life in prison."
Panic gripped her as her words had no affect… His clenched jaw and trembling lips clearly indicating his troubled state of mind… She said fervently, "God, Rick. Don't stoop to that evil man's level… He's not going anywhere… You're safe. I'm safe. Please listen to me." As his eyes shuttered in contempt, she hurriedly continued, "Let other inmates punish him for you. Make him the bitch he deserves to be."
"As tempting as that offer sounds, I can't give him the opportunity to hurt anyone else. He's got to die." He raised his gun and pointed it directly at Tyson's head. "For Gemma."
Her hand immediately covered the piece and gently lowered it back to his side. She caught his eyes and cupped the side of his cheek before murmuring, "She's alive. She's alive. Agent Andrews saved her."
His eyes widened in surprise and his lips parted into a soft 'O', hoping that her words were truth.
She leaned into him with molten eyes and placed a kiss to his cheek, - trying to soften his anger, turn his dark thoughts upside down, - towards her… Her hands splayed over his shoulders as her lips found his nose and then his other cheek. "I'm so grateful that you're alive, Castle, - so thankful." She felt his shoulders slack as the rage suffusing his body started to melt away. She peppered kisses along his jawline, murmuring sweet nothings along the way. "Let me show you just how much."
His next move caught her completely off-guard… His strong hands were beneath her arms and in a split second, all the air whooshed out of her lungs as Rick growled savagely and lifted her willing body, slamming her into the door.
"You have no idea how fuckin' sexy you are when you're in your element, Detective, - attacking scumbags."
"Just sexy, huh?" she teased. "That the best adjective you got?"
"Sexy, gorgeous, desirable, titillating, smokin' hot, and - " his warm breath fanned against her mouth, "Utterly irresistible."
His lips were scorching as they claimed hers, - demanding, ravenous, plundering her mouth as if she were a rare, delectable dessert. His hands bunched in her hair, pulling on the delicate tresses as his tongue forced its way inside her sweet orifice, tasting the fire within… An unparalleled cry of desire burst from the back of her throat and he swallowed it greedily… His mouth capturing hers again and again.
She reveled in this, in them, that each and every time he kissed her felt new, exhilarating, mind-blowing, - just like the very first time. His heavenly smell of fine wine and antique books surrounded her senses, making her hyperaware of him, making her heady.
"Kaaate," he murmured in that delicious baritone and her nerve-endings spiraled into a jumbled mass of sparks, ready to ignite from his slightest touch.
Her bare leg inched itself up his muscled calf, over his thick thigh, finally settling on his fine ass. Her pelvis instinctively rocked into his manhood and she felt the muscle grow in girth as her hands fondled his ass.
As her fingers moved to the front of his pants, searching for his button, he ground out, "I'm sorry but I can't – " and the next moment his hands slipped from her hair and he swayed before her.
She swooped beneath his arm and held him steady, feeling terribly guilty that she'd gotten so lost in unfulfilled desire that she'd forgotten about his poor health.
"Come on, Castle, let's get you to the paramedics."
"Not with you looking like a Victoria Secret model." His eyes darkened as he lingered on the soft swell of her breasts. "I can't have the boys seeing you in a new light… Please put on clothes first."
She about put up a fuss, teasing him about woman's lib and such, but from the haggard look on his face she could tell he was losing steam fast.
"Alright," she grudgingly agreed, "but don't fade on me now." She led him over to the table and sat him down on the edge.
At that exact moment Espo pounded on the door. "Yo Beckett, let me in… What's going on?"
When she didn't immediately respond he bashed into the door at full throttle, trying to break it open wide.
"Hold your horses," she yelled, "Everything's alright. Give me a moment." She quickly found her camisole and pulled it over her head. Next, she pulled on the sweat pants.
A soft, distressing moan filled the room as Tyson began to stir. She quickly let Esposito in and stated, "Cuff his ass."
"He isn't dead?" Javier asked, disbelief coating his tone. "Thought you two wouldn't have that much restraint… Don't know if I would've been able to hold myself back."
"Believe me, it was extremely difficult," Rick eeked out.
"Andrews will be ecstatic to hear that he's still alive as he's itching to get his hands on him."
Espo's eyes landed on the Asian hair stick protruding from Tyson's groin. His lips turned up into a full-fledged-know-it-all smirk. "Compliments of you, Beckett?"
"Yes, - believe me when I say he deserved it."
"Way to go, but I would've made sure it was an inch over to the left."
"Duly noted."
"And the identical bullet holes?"
"Castle."
"Who would've thought Writer Boy had it in him?" He slapped Rick congratulatory on the back but when he didn't respond, Javi's brown eyes narrowed in concern.
"Jesus, you don't look so good," he droned before crouching next to Tyson and roughly shoving him on his side, not caring about jostling the hairpin and aggravating his wound further.
"We – lll, having a sociopath decide to play surgeon on ya would wreak havoc on anyone's body."
"Lay down, man. Paramedics should be right behind me."
Tyson's eyes sprung open just as Espo clasped his wrists together and slapped on the cuffs.
Kate worried her bottom lip at Rick's strained face, devoid of color, his eyes tinged with a grayish hue. She poked her head around the doorway and shouted down the hallway, "Medics, stat!"
Tyson's bold laugh caused the hairs on her arms to stand on end. "Looks like I'm going to win this after all. I'm betting that you're not going to make it through the night, Castle."
"You'd better pray that he makes it," Espo threatened as he hauled J.T. upright. "Or I'll personally see to it that you don't survive one night in the holding cell."
To punctuate the truth of his statement, Espo pressed his thumb heavily into the bullet wound on Tyson's right shoulder. He gloated at his hiss of pain and then shoved on his back, propelling him forward. "Now move that sorry ass as there's someone outside who's waiting to say, 'hello."
"Kate," Rick breathed as he lowered himself down onto the table… She was over by his side in a heartbeat, holding onto his hand, forest-green eyes filled with worry.
"Stay with me," she begged. "Don't you dare leave me now after all we've been through."
"You've made me happier than I've ever been in my, - " his eyes briefly closed, "entire life."
Kate frantically yelled, "Medics!" and she gripped his hand so tightly that she expected him to complain or tease her at any moment about her ninja strength.
"Rick, open your eyes and look at me," she pleaded, needing to see him fight for his life, fight for them. "You are NOT giving up, you hear me?"
When his hand became limp in hers she spoke to him in that authoritative Detective timbre that she knew he secretly loved... "I need you, God dammit! - Your son needs you. Did you hear me, Rick?" She placed his hand on her lower abdomen and choked out, "I'm pregnant with your child and we're having a boy."
The only indication that he heard her was a slight upturn of his lips and the next moment the paramedics rushed into the room with a gurney and medical supplies directing her to stand back.
"Detective Beckett, please move out of the way. We need to work on him."
She backed up into the wall behind her and wrung her hands nervously together, silently praying, "God, I can't do this without him. You have to save him."
….
Andrews was not leaving her side, determined to protect her until he'd heard about the final outcome with Tyson. Gawd, she looked so fragile lying there on the white sheets of the medical gurney, her dark purple bruises in stark contrast to the brightness of the sheets. He refused to dwell on the blood spatters painting her sundress.
He tried not to openly listen to her rambling off the heinous things Tyson had done, but there was no way he could completely tune out her melodious voice as the female Detective asked her questions. Her feminine voice rose above the hustle and bustle of the paramedics and other officers on the scene.
Malnutrition, withholding water from her and even worse, withholding bathroom privileges were the least of Tyson's infractions… Ramming her head into the bathroom mirror, multiple lashings and a couple of burns from an iron came next on the list but when she stated that he'd taken a hammer to her ankle, vile hatred churned in his blood and he couldn't stop himself from asking, "What hellish reason did he give for that punishment?"
"It, - it, -" and tears pooled in her enormous eyes. "wasn't a punishment. He used it as an incentive."
"An incentive?" His voice rose lividly. "To get you to do what?"
She cowered away from his broad bulk and the fury emanating from every pore. Her eyes darted between the female Detective who was interviewing her and Andrew's grassy depths.
"Umm, I'd rather not say."
"Shit Gemma, I apologise for prying," and the remorse in his voice equally matched the remorse in his eyes.
"Agent Andrews," the female officer piped up, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"If I promise not to open my mouth, Detective – ? " and the way he paused after the title let her know he was asking for her name.
"Officer Hastings," she said with a kind smile, reaching out her hand towards him. "Officer Ann Hastings." Andrews grasped her hand and shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you. I can see that Gates knows what's she's doing by assigning you to take Ms. Goodwin's statement. You're just the right person to be asking her such, - " his eyes fell to Gemma's once more. "delicate questions… If I promise to keep this loud mouth of mine closed can I please stand by and watch over her?"
Ann was impressed by his candor. "Honestly, it's not up to me. It's up to her… Ms. Goodwin?" and she turned to Gemma with expectant eyes, hoping to convey that she believed this man truly meant her no harm.
"I know that you mean well, Andrews, but - ."
"Brody. Call me Brody please as I'm officially off the case, - " he looked at his watch first before smiling at her, showcasing two deep, adorable dimples, "nine minutes ago."
"Brody it is then," and he wondered at the thrill of hearing his given name fall from her mouth.
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful for all that you've done, because I am… Truly I am, but I'd feel more comfortable if this was just between Officer Hastings and I."
His deep voice confirmed his sincerity, "I understand perfectly," but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Is it alright if I stand over by that lilac bush?"
"Honestly, I'm fine. I feel perfectly safe," but as his lips drooped at her words, she suddenly had the overwhelming desire to see those dimples again.
"Can I ask you a favor, Brody?"
"Yes, - anything."
"I'm anxious to hear about Ri, - Mr. Castle. Can you see if anyone has an update yet?"
"Sure, I'll be right back," and he turned hastily away from them.
Ann lightly laughed at his eagerness. "It must be nice to have a federal agent wrapped around your little finger."
Gemma looked completely surprised and thought for a moment before saying, "He's certainly wonderful when it comes to helping others, but he's just doing his job."
"Don't kid yourself... He's going above and beyond the call of duty, - for you."
As Gemma fidgeted on the medical gurney, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation, Ann got back to business. Her eyes softened as she said, "I know this is going to be extremely difficult for you but I need to notate each and every time Tyson raped you." She flipped through a notebook and asked, "You were kidnapped 6 days ago?"
"Yes, that's right," Gemma said softly, hating where this conversation was headed.
Hasting's empathetic nature came through as she asked the next question. "Did he rape you the first day?"
"No, the second day. After Madeline refused to show him a particular surgery technique, he said the penalty for that choice was she'd have to watch him, - umm," Gemma's eyes left hers and she fiddled with the hem of the sheet, "pleasure me."
"So please tell me if I'm wrong," her voice filled with sympathy, "but I get the impression that more than rape was involved."
"Yes."
"I need you to be explicit in all the details."
As Gemma breathed out a deep sigh, Ann continued, "Take as much time as you need."
She began giving Officer Hastings the details, devoid of any emotion…"He handcuffed Madeline to the bed frame and then duct taped her eyes open, ordering her not to look away… He'd assembled a basic block and tackle system in the room with a pulley hanging from the ceiling. He bound my wrists together in front of me with a thick rope and then attached the hook between the knot. He lifted me up in the air where my toes barely skimmed the floor."
God, she shivered in remembrance as the strain on her shoulders and arms had been almost as unbearable as what he did to her body.
"He took a scalpel and proceeded to cut the clothes off my body, inflicting minor cuts here and there to startle Madeline… He continually talked while working, saying things like, 'It's such a shame to mar such a beautiful body.' 'Such a shame to have to inflict unimaginable pain on someone completely undeserving, and it's happening because of the simple reason that you're unwilling to share your knowledge.' ... He reiterated it over and over again that it was her fault that I was suffering."
"Sick bastard," Hasting's whispered.
"He whipped me with his own creation, - a riding crop embedded with shards of glass." She left the part out about his lips cascading over her nude flesh, sampling her nipples, tasting her essence… "By the time he reached into the nightstand and pulled out the, - the dildo," by the way she hesitated over the word Ann knew that it wasn't that particular item, but something infinitely worse. "Madeline was begging him to stop, saying she'd teach him anything he wanted to learn but he only laughed, saying that he wasn't through with me quite yet."
She stopped speaking, biting on the inside of her check, uncertain how to proceed.
"I'm sorry to be putting you through this, but it's a necessity. Please continue."
"I honestly can't remember some of the more gruesome details… I blacked out."
"You blacked out?"
"Yes." She wasn't about to relay that her gift was linked to shocking or traumatic events. "The strain on my shoulders was unrelenting. I wouldn't have been surprised if my arms were pulled out of their sockets… I also tried to not make a single sound as I couldn't bear the thought of adding to Madeline's guilt. That, combined with the burning cuts and my throbbing head, plus the utter revulsion at his touch, rendered me unconscious."
Ann gazed into her lovely, forlorn eyes and knew that she wasn't telling the whole story, but she certainly couldn't call her out on it. The woman had just suffered a living nightmare and had the right to withhold any information she wasn't yet ready to share.
"Where were you when you woke up?"
"In the same room, on a wool carpet that was thrown on the floor and Tyson was, - " She swallowed heavily, "on top of me."
"Raping you?"
"Yes."
"As soon as we get to the hospital I'll let the nursing staff know that you need the morning after pill."
"Thank you. I'll need it because this last time, before he - " her breath caught, "tried to kill me, he didn't use a condom."
"So, he did use a condom during the previous assaults?
"Yes."
"Good to know. I'll have CSU look for that evidence."
As Agent Andrews jogged back to the two women, a wave of panic suddenly assailed her and she found it difficult to breathe. "Something's wrong with Rick. I can feel it."
"Gemma, please stay calm. Focus on your breathing. In and out, in and out," Ann coaxed. Her words only intensified the situation though and the heiress began wheezing as if she were having an asthma attack.
"God, what happened?" Andrews asked, eyes alight with concern for her well-being.
"I'm not sure... I think she's suffering from a panic-attack. I'm going to get an EMT," Hastings said before rushing off.
Gemma reached for Brody's hand and whispered, "Any news?"
He quickly relayed to her the information that had been given him... "They've arrested Tyson. Beckett is fine and the medics are working on Castle right now. I'm not sure how he's doing as they don't have an update on him yet."
In between struggling for breaths she managed to gasp, "Take me to him."
A young EMT arrived and quickly assessed her, pulling an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. "I'm going to give you a sedative, Ms. Goodwin, it will help to calm your nerves and open your airway."
"No," she vehemently shook her head and lowered the mask. "I need to see Rick right now." Tears welled into her eyes as she whispered brokenly, "I'm afraid… I - think - he's - walking - towards - the - light."
"Please keep the mask on," and the EMT put it back in place.
From the utter distress in her tone, to the heartache etched on her features, - the hollowness in her eyes, the worry lines creased across her brow, - Andrews knew that in her mind it was a matter of life and death. "I'll take you to him after the paramedic gives you the injection... I promise."
At her immediate rebuttal Brody hushed her, leaning into her ear and saying softly, "I'm a man-of-my-word, Gemma. Let me prove it to you."
She nodded in acceptance and then offered her arm up willingly to the paramedic.
Within seconds of the injection, her breathing stabilized and it was much easier for her to inhale. She removed the mask while gazing at Andrews with complete trust in her eyes. "I'm feeling much better now. I'm breathing okay. Please hurry. I need to reach him as soon as possible."
"She's not supposed to be moved," Ann said exasperated.
The EMT jumped in with his own two cents as well, "I don't recommend - " but Andrew's interrupted him with, "I'll take the heat for this one," before lifting her back into his arms. Her head lulled against his muscled chest, the rhythmic pounding of his heart making her feel secure in his arms.
As he walked steadfastly through the entrance doors, she noted once more how little effort it took for him to carry around a 117 pound woman.
She felt a sudden chill as they rounded the corner and headed towards the stairwell...
She didn't need to see his face, didn't need to hear his distinctive voice to know his dark presence was near.
She stiffened in Brody's arms. Her left arm clung tighter around his neck and her right hand bunched his shirt with shaky fingers. She buried her face into his collarbone refusing to even glance at the man Esposito was hauling up the stairs.
His voice sent her quaking in Brody's arms. "What a surprise to see you again, Gemma, and here I'd hoped you'd be my final masterpiece."
