Finding the Fit Chapter 53
Unlocking the door to his loft is usually almost an unconscious act for Rick, performed rapidly and efficiently. Tonight, with Kate waiting on the simple procedure, his fingers fumble. After finally pushing the door open, he flicks a light switch. The carefully engineered illumination is momentarily shocking after their evening walk from the precinct. In the light, all the scenarios Rick had whirling through his brain while Kate was beside him suddenly flash away, leaving him uncertain of his next move or even his next step.
"Are you all right, Castle?" Kate asks.
"I think so. I was just wondering…I mean, I don't know how to…"
"Castle, I've read your books. Remember? Unless you were using a ghostwriter, you have the how-to down just fine."
"Not that how-to, Beckett. I know where everything is supposed to go."
Kate fingers his firm buttocks. "And some very creative ways of getting there."
"Thank you for that. But what I don't know how to do is proceed with you. The culmination of over 10 years of your life is finally coming to fruition. I don't know whether to treat this as a heat-of-the-moment celebration or the emergence of more deeply held desires. What do you really want, Beckett?"
Mouth open wide, Kate stretches up to meet his in a deep kiss. "You, Castle, I want you."
Like a starving man who's been forced to stare at a banquet he was forbidden to taste, Rick suckles the soft flesh of Kate's neck. Unbuttoning her blouse, she pulls it open, displaying a lace-edged bra with a tiny tattoo of a strawberry peeking out from one pale breast. Rick licks it, before undoing her bra's front clasp. "Your favorite flavor? It's about to become one of mine." Rick's kisses blaze a fiery trail down to Kate's waistband. As she tugs at the pants clasp imprisoning her, he scoops her up in his arms. "I have a better place for that."
Rick kicks open his already slightly ajar bedroom door and lays Kate on the comforter topping his high thread count sheets. He lowers himself above her, supporting his weight on his arms while his kisses reach ever lower. Kate kicks her slacks away, revealing a triangle of black silk to match the unexpected frilliness of her bra. Rick kisses through the already-dampened fabric before pulling it aside. As his lips find their new target, Kate moans and arches to meet them. For the first time in a decade, her mother's death is banished from her thoughts.
Eyes closed, Rick feels the bed beside him. It is too cold and very much too empty. He springs upright, bracing himself against his bed's checkered leather backboard, and gazes around the room. The rays of the early morning sun skirt the edges of the drapes, revealing Kate, who dressed only in the shirt Rick wore the night before, appears in the doorway carrying two mugs. "I thought it might have been a dream," he murmurs.
"No dream," Kate says, extending one of the mugs. "I thought you might like a coffee."
"You made the coffee? Are you sure I'm not dreaming?"
"I'm sure. I've been watching you all this time, Castle, and I am a detective. I had to learn something."
Rick takes a sip from his mug. "Mmm, my Arabica, a well-instructed choice."
"Glad you…." A buzz sounds from the floor where Kate's hurriedly discarded slacks still lie. "Damn! It's not even close to the start of the day shift yet." She pulls her phone from the pants' pocket. "This is Beckett." The glow on Kate's face fades. "Are you sure? OK."
"What happened?" Rick asks.
"Elmont Speelman was found dead this morning. Supposedly, he lost control of his car and smashed into a pole."
"Supposedly? You don't think it was an accident? He was on some ecstasy-like drug, Beckett."
"Maybe it was an accident, but the timing is very convenient for Bracken. That's one hanging thread snipped. And with Coonan in custody, if Bracken is responsible, it means he's got himself another hired killer."
"Or killers," Rick says grimly.
"Right," Kate agrees. "Who knows who he has out there? I need to get dressed, get to the Precinct, and start checking on our witnesses."
"I'm going too," Castle declares. "I'm in this almost as deeply as you are. We can take my car and swing by your apartment just long enough for you to get fresh clothes on. The upside is that by the time we get to the precinct, your French doughnuts should have been delivered to your desk."
"We were together all last night, Castle. How did you manage that?"
"Mental clock. I woke up briefly at three a.m. and called in the order before coming back to enjoy snuggling into the heat of your incredible body."
"That was sweet, Castle. But we need to get going."
"Roger that."
"Velda Brown's disappeared from the radar," Kate reports, dropping her desk's landline back in its cradle.
"That's two witnesses, both connected to Petrovich." Rick realizes. "He and his bagman Abdulov may not be Re-emergence's only connections in New York. Bracken may not be the one cutting threads."
"Or not the only one," Kate offers. "We need to get up to the Harlem house and see what's going on. I'll call in for a warrant and grab the boys as backup."
Hunt's assigned attachés are showing a marked increase in activity, and not just in Dungeon Alley. One booked a trip up to Albany "coincidentally" just before Elmont Speelman had his "unfortunate accident." The other made a visit to the house in Harlem that had been supplying female companionship to the gamblers at the mansion in the Westchester Woods. Observing from the outside, Hunt couldn't tell what was happening inside, but after the attaché re-emerged, no one else came out, and no additional lights came on. Hunt continues his surveillance, with a feeling that nothing good happened in that house.
Kate parks on the street down the block from the Harlem brownstone with Ryan and Esposito pulling in behind her. When her sharp rap receives no answer, she reannounces herself and knocks louder. After waiting for a response, she pushes on the door, finding it unlocked. "Not a good sign?" Rick queries.
Kate pulls her weapon and signals to Ryan and Esposito to do the same. "Stay behind us, Castle."
"The place smells weird," Castle notes as chemical sniffing alarms on the detectives' belts start going off.
"Get out of here, fast!" Kate shouts. She slams the door behind them as they rush toward the street. Kate grabs her radio to call dispatch. This is Detective Kate Beckett, badge number 41319. I suspect the presence of toxic gas with possible police and civilian victims. Request special services." She jams her radio back in her pocket. "Do you guys feel all right?"
"Fine," Castle says. "If there is toxic gas in there, it probably had time to disperse. He gazes toward Ryan and Esposito. "You?"
"I feel OK," Ryan says.
"I don't know. I feel a little sick," Esposito complains.
"We should all get further away from the building. As soon as Special Services gets here, the medics can check us all out," Kate declares. "But who knows what they'll find inside."
After watching his son and the cops come rushing out of the location visited by the suspect attaché, Hunt activates his IR scanning unit to check for signs of life inside. No red blobs show up on his screen. If more cops arrive, they may find the place empty – or worse.