Confession Chapter 34

"We won one!" Castle and Kate declare simultaneously when she shows up at the loft.

"You first!" Castle says.

"We got Maddox."

"Everyone OK?"

"I think Esposito might be a little disappointed that the takedown didn't require his marksmanship, but no casualties."

"That's great! Is Maddox talking?"

"The only thing he'd say when we arrested him was 'lawyer.' But he conferred with his counsel for a long time. They had to be talking about some kind of deal."

"Sounds promising."

"So what's your news?" Kate inquires.

Your dad's discovery, Sarah Brockman, got Tim Wheeler off completely. And apparently, she thoroughly embarrassed the prosecutor, Lutty, in the process."

"Lutty's a big gun. Rafferty – or Bracken – must have pulled some strings to get him in there."

"From what Tim told me, that may have worked against the prosecution. And Tim wants your father to help him sue Rafferty. I already called him, and he sounded like he was licking his chops at the thought of going after the sonofabitch. I always thought you take after your mother. You may look like her, but you also have a lot in common with dear old dad."

"I guess I do," Kate considers.

"Oh, and Brockman told Tim that Rafferty might also be subject to criminal charges for the false statements he made about Tim. That could give Weston something to hang her hat on to get Simmons. Everything is coming together."

Kate presses two fingers against her lips. "I hope so. But even if the FBI can arrest Simmons, he could refuse to talk. He knows what could happen if he does. But a lot will depend on whether Maddox flips or not and how much he actually knows about Bracken. If all his orders are coming through Carmack, it will be harder to establish the Bracken connection."

Castle's hand raises Kate's chin. "Hey, our parade's barely started. It's too early to rain on it. I've got Champagne in the chiller and the chicken filets you love marinating in the fridge. Tonight we can pop a cork and celebrate our considerable progress. Tomorrow we can worry about the next stops on the road."

Kate suddenly realizes the quietude of the loft. "Where's Alexis?"

"Ah. She has a prep session at Marlowe for a mathletics competition. It's going to be a long one, so she and the rest of the team brought sleeping bags so they'll be ready to go for class in the morning. I believe some brain-building snacking may be involved as well. Their coach, Dr. Bleetle, is very big on such things."

"Bleetle, I wouldn't want to be stuck with a name like that."

"It could be why he retreated into mathematics. Supposedly he's got a wall full of awards including one that came with a sizable check, for proving an obscure theorem. He could probably be at any university he wants, but he likes working with kids who have suffered the slings and arrows cruelly aimed at math nerds."

"Yeah, I knew a few kids like that at Stuyvesant. Even there, they weren't part of the in-crowd. But Alexis doesn't fit that profile. She has lots of friends and other activities."

"True, but she's always loved math – possibly because Mother and I don't. It gives her a lane of her own on the family's weirdly winding road."

"Yeah," Kate considers, "I can see how that would work."

Castle's eyebrows ripple. "It can definitely work for us."

Kate grins. "Yes, it can."

As the cork leaves his Champagne bottle with a satisfying pop, Castle can't help recalling when that same sound helped Beckett locate and take out a shooter, possibly saving both their lives. Back then she'd been bristly as a feral cat, her verbal barbs keeping him at arm's length. Somewhere in the back of his brain, he could see it was a defensive reaction, a wounded woman trying to avoid more pain.

Despite the grin he'd used to soften Beckett's blows, they'd stung, sometimes deeply. Beckett had often made liking her, let alone loving her, hard. And Castle hadn't been entirely convinced he did until the bullet hit her chest. In that moment he was sure. That surety hadn't wavered since. Even as he pours the cool sparkling liquid, he can feel the heat rising in his body. But he'd promised Kate dinner. Unlike the supermodels he'd occasionally had on his arm, or even both his ex-wives and his mother, Kate wasn't afraid that more than a bite or two would add an unwanted millimeter to her waist. She burns enough calories in her workouts to more than compensate. To Kate, good food can be foreplay. He will enjoy it with her until they make it to their next step.

As Kate licks the filling out of one of the tiny pastries that top off their meal, Castle hits his limit. With the sweet confection still in her hand, he sweeps her up in his arms. "I want to finish this," Kate protests, half complaining, half teasing.

"You can finish it in bed," Castle rasps, "while I get your clothes off you."

"And when do I get to strip yours away?"

"As soon as you possibly can."

As her feet touch down in the bedroom, Kate shoves the rest of the pastry in her mouth. She grabs at the buttons on Castle's shirt even as he mirrors her actions. They'll retrieve the garments later from their odd landing spots, but right now the disarray doesn't matter. Nothing does, except getting skin to skin, a mantle of growing desire surrounding them both.

Their mouths collide, tongues seeking and twining. Kate's breasts flatten against Castle's chest, the pink tips instantly alert and begging for attention. His hungry mouth provides it, before traveling lower to the epicenter of Kate's pleasure. She gasps, arching, as her fingers bury themselves in his hair, bringing his head even closer.

The backboard vibrates against the wall in time to dances as old as humanity itself, stopping only when the explosions of pleasure morph into waves that ebb into exhausted slumber.

The wake-up alarm from the automatic setting on Kate's phone shocks her senses. As she reflexively reaches for her cell, she realizes she doesn't know where it is. It had been in the slacks that Castle tossed somewhere last night.

Castle stirs from beneath the lone sheet that partially covers them "What the hell?"

"I'll find it," Kate promises, groaning slightly as she gets out of bed. She locates her pants across the room, lying beneath Castle's treasured lion poster. Its eyes seem to watch her as she finds her phone and turns off the alarm.

One of the weather alerts the NYPD puts out flashes across the top of Kate's screen. "Flooding expected from the incoming storm. All personnel prepare for weather-related extra duty."

Kate rakes her bed hair out of her face. "Great!"

"What's going on?" Castle asks.

"The department is in emergency mode. The hurricane that was headed for the Carolinas must be coming up the coast. I should get into the precinct as soon as possible."

"And Marlowe Prep will probably shut down for the day, or the length of the emergency. I'll have to go pick up Alexis." Castle shakes his head. "Not the way I'd hoped we'd start the day."

"Me either," Kate confides. "But duty calls."

"It always does."

Kate pads back to the bed and leans in for a kiss. "Not always. Hold my place."

"Bet on it!"