Chapter 3

He had seen it for himself over the years-the way his mother would sit on the couch with a glass of wine, fingers rubbing over the ticking numbers. Now it was his turn-two fingers of scotch flowing through his veins, the numbers ticking down toward their inevitable end.

"Do you think the universe, God, whatever mystical force created this tattoo, made a mistake?" The words were off his lips before his alcohol-addled mind could censor them.

"The numbers are never mistakes, you know that. Everything happens for a reason." His mother responded, bringing her glass of wine to her lips as she surveyed her son from her place propped on the leather chair next to the couch.

"Even with you?" His eyes fell to the 10.04.23 peeking through the stack of bangles on his mother's wrist. "One night, then he was gone, and you were left with a constant reminder of how long you have left to find each other again?"

"Richard, have you ever considered that staying with him wasn't my fate? That maybe he served his purpose in that one night that we loved fully?"

Rick's head cocked to the side, eyes squinting in question until his mother let out a huff.

"You, my darling stubborn boy. He gave me you. Fate can work in mysterious ways. I read once that soulmates are meant to make you whole. And your father made me whole by giving me you. There's a reason why you ran into this girl and why it happened now. So you can either sit around and continue to pout, wasting more precious time or you can seize the hours you have left and see what the universe has planned for you."

Martha downed the rest of her Cabernet in one swift sip. Rising from her chair, she dropping a kiss to Rick's head before sashaying over to deposit her glass in the kitchen sink. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have a date, don't wait up. Ta!"

She was out the door, fingers wiggling in a wave and Rick slouched further down into the cushions while he stared at the numbers on the inside of his right wrist.

A moment later he pushed himself off of the couch, snagged his coat from the hall closet, and was out the door without a second thought.


If ever asked, Castle would stand by his reasoning. The number of zeros behind the one on the check had been more than worth it when two hours later he found himself pouring over security camera footage from the coffee shop and the surrounding stores. A disgruntled barista leaned against the wall behind him in the back office of the shop- foot tapping with impatience. People scurried across the screen at hyper speed until he hit the pause button, the screen freezing on the frame where his shoulder collided with hers, her body jolting. A curtain of honey-brown hair hung around her face and he could see his own lips twisting around a hurried apology. Clumsy fingers fumbled with the knob, scrolling through the footage frame by frame as she turned, hair flipping over her shoulder and shouted back at him.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he snapped a picture, eyes never straying from the screen. He had to find her, if only to see her one last time before… to tell her he was sorry they had not found each other sooner, to let her know that he would find her again, if only in their next life.

She had paid with cash. It had taken him an hour of cross referencing receipts with the timestamp on the video footage but he found her. Grande skim latte with two pumps sugar-free vanilla for Kate.

Kate.

It's a beautiful name. Strong. Succinct. Elegant. Just like the woman in the video taking her coffee from the barista, the same barista that happened to be sitting in the room with him.

She huffed, and Rick turned to see the girl, who couldn't be much older than his daughter, sitting slouched in a chair mindlessly scrolling through her phone behind him.

"Do you know this woman?"

"What's it to you? It's bad enough I gotta babysit you after pulling a double, but I'm not gonna help you stalk some chick." The girl pegged him with a glare, the small patch of rainbow hair that was not shaved flopping down over her forehead.

"Look, it's not like that. She's-" Castle hesitated, one hand wrapping around the numbers on his wrist, and the girl leaned back in her chair, tattooed arms crossed over her chest in silent challenge. "She's my soulmate. I need to find her."

Precious seconds ticked by, his hands clenched in his lap as she studied him.

"Please."

"Fine." She relented with a roll of her eyes. "Tell you what I know."

Rick's hands moved up to thread through his hair as he breathed out in relief. "Thank you. Oh god, thank you."

"Name's Kate. She's a regular. Comes in at least three mornings a week. Some afternoons. Works around here, I think. She was upset this morning. Didn't look like she'd slept, and her eyes were puffy like she'd been crying. Normally she smiles, small talk, you know? This morning wasn't the same. Guess she was having a bad day." The girl shrugged before looking back down at her phone.

Rick turned to look at the monitor, studying the strained smile gracing Kate's face, the pain etched in her features. The small details he had shoved from his memory coming back. He could still hear the ring of her words in his ears, the scratch of her throat he had dismissed at the time.

"Do you have any idea where she works?"

The barista shrugged again, lips smacking in lazy contemplation. "She's a cop."

Rick's demeanor perked at the tidbit of information. "A cop? You're sure?"

"Ninety-nine point nine. Wears a badge. Either she's a cop or the world's hottest security guard." A smirk pulled at the girl's pierced lip, her eyebrows waggling at him and Rick couldn't help but smile back.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yep. Lucky bastard. First time I saw her I made sure our fingers touched when she took her cup, just in case. Alas, nothing. I can only hope my mate is as hot as yours." The girl winked then pushed out of her chair and slid her phone into her back pocket. "Sorry, that's all I can tell you."

"No, don't be sorry, you were great. Here, for your trouble."

The girl looked down at the hundred dollar bill between them, and accepted it with a shrug, shoving it into the stained pocket of her apron. "Hope you find her."

"Me too."

The sky was black when the manager let him out the locked front door, but it was far from dark. Neon signs and apartment lights lit up the city streets. Bustling groups of twenty-something's teetered on stiletto heels in and out of bars. A car alarm sounded in the distance and he shoved his hands into his pockets.

The humid night air closed in on him, suffocating, as he wandered aimlessly through the streets of the city he grew up in, the city he loved. The city of millions.

He had a name, a face, a profession. He could find her. He would. He scraped his palm down his face, scrubbing at grainy eyes and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Hey man. Yeah, I know, I'm sorry to wake you. I need a favor- a list of all the female cops in the city with any variation of the name Kate- Caitlin, Katherine, Kathleen, Katerina, etc. And I need it first thing in the morning. I know, I know, I'm sorry but it's literally life and death.

"Thanks, man. I owe you. Big. Like a week in the Hamptons big. I'll be at your office at eight. I'll explain then. Bye."

Rick glanced down at his wrist when stopped at a crosswalk. The world spun around him.

00.00.01