A/N: Wow, do I ever owe you guys an apology!! It's been so long that you probably all forgot what's going on in this story. I wouldn't blame you, because I kind of did too...I have excuses (like life getting in the way) but I'm sure you don't really care. Just know that I am REALLY sorry!!! I hope you like this chapter and forgive me. Maybe? :)
Castle and Ryan were out of the car before Esposito even came to a full stop. The two of them entered the hotel, Esposito jogging to catch up.
"Rick!"
Castle saw Melissa, he even made eye contact with her, but he just kept walking. He wasn't in the mood for her right now, and his first priority was finding Beckett.
"Ricky?"
Castle heard her call after him, but he continued to ignore her. He entered the elevator with Ryan and Esposito and, unfortunately, Melissa decided to follow them. She squeezed herself in right beside Castle, and he felt her hand grasp his.
"Is something wrong?" She asked innocently.
Ryan and Esposito looked at each other. Castle sighed.
"This really isn't a good time."
"Why? What did I do?" She asked.
"You didn't do anything." Castle replied. He pulled his hand away from her, as the elevator dinged to tell them that they had arrived at their floor, and breezed past her and out of the elevator. Ryan and Esposito followed him and Melissa stood in the elevator, an angry expression on her face and her hands on her hips. The doors shut and she disappeared.
"Clingy much?" Esposito snorted as the three of them walked briskly through the hallway.
"You have no idea." Castle replied.
The three of them each spotted the murder scene at the same time, and each of them noted that the door was hanging open. Beckett had to have been here, along with the person that kidnapped her.
"Castle, take the left. Ryan, check the bedrooms. I'll check the rest." Esposito ordered, kicking the door open.
As soon as they were in the room, Castle began searching the left side of the main room, while Esposito checked the right side and Ryan disappeared into one of the bedrooms. They searched quickly but efficiently, determined not to miss anything. It was Esposito who found the flashlight.
"She was definitely here." He said, holding the flashlight up. "This is a flashlight from the precinct."
"We knew that she was here anyway. We need to find out where she is now." Castle said. He was unable to keep his frustration out of his voice. He wouldn't lose Beckett. He couldn't. But he didn't know what to do. They had no leads and no clue as to where she was.
"I'm going to talk to the doorman. See if he saw anything." Esposito turned and left the room, leaving Ryan and Castle to continue ruffling around trying to find something, anything, to lead them to Beckett. They needed a clue, even if it was a small one.
They continued looking until they had turned the entire apartment upside down.
"There's nothing else to find here."
Castle glanced at Ryan, who had entered the room without him noticing. He nodded slightly.
"The doorman said that someone matching Beckett's description entered around three last night." Esposito's voice wafted in from the door. Castle and Ryan both looked at him.
"But they didn't see her leave?" Ryan stated the obvious. Esposito nodded.
"So," Castle began to pace. "That means the kidnapper either took her out of a window, emergency exit, or…or she's still in this hotel."
Esposito and Ryan looked at each other.
"Melissa." Esposito said slowly, and Castle stopped in his tracks. "You think she's capable of something like this?"
"Melissa?" Castle gaped. "She's…she wouldn't…I don't think she knows how to kidnap someone." But the scenarios ran through his mind. "Kate would've been able to take her."
"Not if she was hit from behind." Ryan said. "Or wasn't expecting it."
"I think we should take her down to the precinct." Esposito suggested. "As of now, she's our prime suspect."
"No!"
Both of the cops looked at Castle, who was pacing again.
"What do you mean no?" Esposito stared at him. "We're wasting time, Castle. Just because you don't want to believe that it was your girlfriend who—,"
"No!" Castle spat again. "That's not what I meant. Take her to the precinct, I don't care. And she's not my girlfriend. But if Kate is in this hotel then let's go get her instead of waiting until you question Melissa!"
"We have to wait for back up." Ryan said. "It's protocol. Plus we don't even know if she's actually here. We're guessing, Castle. It's better to get the facts before we jump to conclusions."
"Haven't you ever heard of an intuitive leap?" Castle looked at both of them. "And besides, I'm not NYPD. I don't have to follow protocol."
"Castle—,"
He was out the door before Esposito or Ryan could say anything.
"Follow him." Esposito ordered. "I'll find Melissa."
"How's it going, boys?"
Beckett was in the middle of trying to free her hands from behind her back when she heard the voice. She froze immediately, cursing herself for not noticing the door open.
"Fine." Ben's gruff voice answered. "But babysitting her is getting boring. Can I have the money now?"
"You'll get it when you get it." The voice of the third person snapped. Kate's brows furrowed. She knew that voice.
Then her eyes widened and she gasped against the duct tape Ben had placed over her mouth. Melissa. It was Melissa.
"Katie." The stunning blonde walked around the bed and looked down her nose at Kate, who glared up at her. "I guess you see who wins now, huh? Who's the better woman now?"
Beckett tried to speak but the duct tape made that difficult. Instead she just glared.
Everything was clicking in her mind. She didn't know how she didn't realize it at first. Melissa said before that she was staying at this hotel. Kate knew she should have realized it. The 'boss' that the two idiots she'd been stuck with were talking about had to have been Melissa. She set the whole kidnapping thing up, but was too afraid to break a nail and do it herself. So she hired help.
It all made sense. Everything fit.
The only question was if Kate would get out of this alive.
"Hand me that gun, sweetie." Melissa smiled at Ben, who rolled his eyes but handed over his weapon nevertheless. Melissa turned her gaze back to Kate. "It was nice knowing you, Detective Beckett. Well, actually, that was a lie." She laughed.
She raised the gun and pointed it at Kate.
Castle glanced behind him, weaving quickly in between the people in the lobby. There were two security guards after him, and they were gaining speed quickly. He clutched the key tighter in his palm. After he found out what room number Melissa was in, he distracted the woman at the front desk and stole the key to Melissa's room. She realized about fifteen seconds later and called security on him.
He was really hoping that he ran into Ryan or Esposito some time soon. Otherwise this could end badly.
As luck would have it, Ryan stepped out of the elevator just as Castle ran into it.
"Caste? Wha—oomph."
The two security guards crashed into Ryan. They all fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs.
"Thanks Ryan! I owe you one!" Castle called as the elevator doors shut and he began his ascent to the floor Melissa was staying on.
He sprinted out of the elevator and down the hall as soon as he arrived on the correct floor. His eyes scanned the room numbers as he ran, and skidded to a halt in front of the correct one. Without even a second of thought he shoved the key in the door and entered.
"Hey!
"Beckett!?"
"Ricky!?"
All of the yells erupted at the same time. Castle's eyes widened as he spotted the gun in Melissa's hand. Without thinking, he lunged at her, tackling her to the ground. Melissa yelled, and the two other men threw themselves towards Castle.
A gunshot rang through the room.
A/N: I'm going to apologize one more time for taking FOREVER to get this written. I don't like it all that much but I figured it was better than nothing, right? There's probably going to be one or two more chapters...I'm not sure yet. I'll try to get the next one up soon, but it may take a few weeks since school's back in session and I have tons of homework and band stuff going on. Please review if you think I'm worth it :)
Oh! Who's excited for the Castle season 2 premiere tomorrow?? I am!!
