Shattered Lies
Chapter 30
Shirtless, Castle pats the bed next to him. Kate requires no invitation. Baby-stepping on the trail to nailing Bracken has tightened every muscle in her body and left her nerves screaming for the kind of relief only Rick's ever been able to provide. But she needs more than sex. Seeing Bracken chilled her soul and everything she learns about him just deepens the frost. She craves the warmth of Castle's body against hers, encircled by his love in the embrace of his arms.
Kate presses her cheek against Rick's bare chest. The scar has begun to fade, but she'll never forget how it got there. He put her life ahead of his own. He's still doing it; hour after hour, sorting through paperwork, using his resources to further her ends.
What is she giving back? Sex, of course - and vignettes for his books. But she still hasn't committed. She wants to hear the words come out of her mouth. There are only three of them. It shouldn't be that hard. But they are trapped in the web of her obsession. Until Bracken is behind bars - or dead - she can only communicate the depths of her feelings by her presence and her touch. For now, that will have to be enough.
Kate runs her palms over Rick's pecs. They have a hardness gained through the resistance challenges in his physical therapy, but his skin is soft and enticing, courtesy of a spicy body wash. She circles a useless male appurtenance with her tongue before tasting her way down to her prize.
Rick gasps at the pressure of her lips around him and buries his fingers in her hair. She licks and kisses up and down his length, rubbing the focus of her own arousal against the firmness of his thigh, her own need more urgent by the second.
He reaches for her, his fingers finding the center of the heat sizzling through them both. The flaming tsunami overtakes them, the force of it knocking the breath from their lungs.
They lay quietly as the last waves of the fiery deluge fade, before Rick cups Kate again. She is still steamy against his hand; the inferno banked but primed to flash back. As he rouses her again, he can feel the resurgence of his own need, but they can go more slowly this time, savoring every sensation.
Rick rolls Kate beneath him, propping himself above her to flood her lips with kisses before taking a tender mouthful of the sensitive skin of her neck and giving her glorious globes their due. She arches against him, wild in her desire. Her legs wrap themselves around his waist, pulling him within her.
Their dance in full-hold begins, each thrust and breath in perfect rhythm. Every movement builds to the next, the intensity growing until the explosive finale. Through the night they lay entangled, oblivious to anything except each other.
Rick is shocked awake by a cacophony coming from the kitchen. Slipping into his robe, he makes his way barefoot around the enclosure that will be Custos' new playground. "Mother, what are you doing?"
"Juicing, Darling."
An image of an unnaturally muscled bodybuilder flashes through Castle's mind. "What?"
"Extracting the natural energy from the vegetable bin. I'm auditioning for a new role next week, so I'm cleansing my body to cleanse my spirit."
"Uh huh. And what kind of role requires this purge?"
"The Virgin Queen."
"The virgin part is a stretch."
"Watch it, Buster! From that dopey grin on your face, I suspect that you and Katherine indulged in your own delights last night."
"A subject I have no intention of discussing with my mother." He points to a glass partially filled with green liquid. "What's in that? Never mind. I don't want to know. I'll start the coffee. I can use the caffeine and so can Kate."
Martha flashes him a knowing look. "I wouldn't doubt it."
"When is Bracken's yearbook supposed to be arriving?' Castle asks as he and Kate step off the elevator at the 12th.
The school promised they'd send it by early overnight, so it should be here before 10. Any news on when Bowdry's book is supposed to be out?"
"I haven't heard from Missy Jensen, but there was a "Coming soon," blurb in the Ledger this morning, teasing previously unrevealed scandals about a rising political figure. I expect they'll either announce the release today just in time to make the late news or catch the start of the cycle tomorrow. If Bracken saw the paper this morning, he's going to be working on some kind of defense."
Kate flicks back an errant strand of hair attempting to make its way into her mouth. "He'll probably categorically deny the story and claim that Krepkin is putting word's in a dead man's mouth to sell books."
"I'm sure he will," Castle agrees. "but there is another witness - Bowdry's niece. She has a story to tell, and Bracken kept her from getting a hearing."
"And it's been simmering inside her ever since. Bowdry doesn't mention her by name, but that won't stop the press for more than about thirty seconds. They'll be vying to see who can get an interview first, which is why we'll need to be there, and someone from victim's services as well. When you scratch the scab of a trauma, the blood starts to flow all over again."
Castle unconsciously presses his hand to his chest. "I know. The nightmares still come, especially when you're not there to stop them."
"I'm sorry Castle, I didn't realize."
Rick reaches for Kate's hand. "Hey, it's all right. You're with me. We're here for each other, right? In every sense of the phrase." He grins. " Like we were last night."
A smile ghosts Kate's lips. "I'm not about to forget that anytime soon."
The elevator doors open and a brown-uniformed courier emerges carrying a thick envelope. "I'm looking for Detective Kate Beckett."
Kate waves as Castle points at her. She scribbles her signature on the tablet the messenger is carrying, and tears open a large padded envelope. "This is it! Coleman University, class of 1982." She flips through the pictures. "Bracken is in here. He was voted most likely to succeed. No surprise there. And Doof is here too, but with no predictions. They were both in the ski club and both members of Lambda Lambda Lambda."
"Isn't that the fraternity that got the better of the jocks in Revenge of the Nerds?"
"I don't think they modeled that frat on this one, Castle. You can see where these guys were headed. A lot of them were in debate club and various political groups."
"Doof doesn't seem the type."
"No debate club, but he was the head of an animal rights organization. From the story here, it managed to get a local ordinance passed against dog fighting. That would have been before it was against federal law."
"Obviously Doof's sympathies didn't extend to the most obnoxious of primates."
"I guess not. It looks like he got an assist from Bracken pushing the law through, but I can't see Bracken helping anyone just to do a good deed."
"Perhaps, Castle suggests, "Bracken knew about Doof's darker proclivities and expected him to repay the favor. From all appearances, he did. I wonder what happened? Could be that when he realized he needed to kill a fed, he had to use a pooper scooper on his own mess. Maybe that's why he's sticking to raising puppies now."
"There's no statute of limitations on murder, Castle. If we can prove Doof killed Armen, no amount of canine cuteness will be able to save his ass - unless of course, he becomes a witness against Bracken."
"Kate, if Bracken decides to start tying up loose ends, he could go after Doof."
"You're right, Castle. I should put Doof under surveillance. He could be the bait in a trap he doesn't even know exists."
"Just make sure nothing happens to the puppies."