Castle's partner

Remember

"I thought I told you to keep her off the case."

"I'm trying! She already knows who killed her family, how the hell am I supposed to stop her from going after them?"

"We made a deal. Stop her, or she dies."

The call ends, and the room falls silent, all eyes looking between Castle and I.

"What, the hell, is wrong with you?" I ask Castle, spitting posion with every word.

"Samantha, let me explain-"

"Explain what?! That you lied to me, betrayed me?" I yell at him.

"Please, let me tell you what happened first."

If looks could kill, Castle's ashes wouldn't even remain.

"You better have a damn good story to tell me."

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Castle pov

I fly to California, meeting Samantha's aunt at the airport.

"Hello Ms. Ross, it's nice to meet you."

On the drive to Samantha's old house, she tells me what Samantha was like when she was little. A happy, carefree girl that could read any book you put in front of her, oblivious to the life she lived. Her house is in the middle of a neighborhood I would be scared to live in. There are people walking around with their pants at their knees, and homeless people with carts of their valuables.

Ms. Ross lets me in with a key.

"Here, lock up when you're done." She sighs. "God, I haven't been here since my brother died. He left the house to Samantha in his will, care of me until she turns 18. I haven't done a great job, but it just hurt so much coming here. Too many memories of my brother and nieces and nephew and sister in law. You said you had a ride to a hotel right?"

"Yes ma'am. Thank you for everything you've done."

She smiles at me. She's slightly older than me, her long brown hair starting to gray at the roots.

"Please, it's Rose. Surely Samantha told you that."

"Of course." I return the smile.

"And promise me you'll look after her."

"I promise."

With a nod, she turns and leaves me alone on the front porch with nothing but the key, my phone, and my wallet.

I unlock the front door and walk inside, only to be met with dust.

I cough, batting my hand in front of my face to keep it away from my nose. It doesn't do much good.

A minute or two later, the cloud has settled to the floor.

I walk to the back of the house where the two bedrooms are. The three girls in one, and Ross's parents and brother in the other.

Out of her few possessions, I find a violin stowed away in the back of the closet. I take it out and bring it with me, moving on to the tiny living room.

There is a dusty picture of the Brooklyn Bridge on the wall, and I instantly know I'm taking it to her. I gently remove it from the wall and set it on the ground next to the door. When I reach into my pocket to get the keys out, I notice an extra set of footprints in the layer of dust.

Someone's been here recently.

And then a thought pops into the back of my mind.

Maybe they never left.

"Hello?" I call out tentatively, not sure who it will be, if anyone.

A man steps from the shadows, and I wonder how I didn't notice him before. He walks in such a way that his face is not revealed to me because of the dark.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"You don't need to know that. What you do need to know is that if you want to keep Samantha alive, throw her off the right track. She's getting closer to finding the truth, and that can't happen."

"Wait, wait. So you're saying you'll kill her if she gets closer to finding out who killed her family? How do I know it wasn't you? Why shouldn't I kill you now?"

He pulls a gun from his belt and aims it at my head.

"I work for him, Richard Castle. And don't you think he would notice if I went missing? Then he'd kill her. I told you. We won't touch her again if you stop her."

"You tortured her! She's a kid and you've broken her! Why didn't you take one of us? And how can I trust you?"

"Do you want to take that chance Mr. Castle? If you do then by all means, go right ahead. Nothing's stopping you."

Before I let my anger blow, which could end in her dead, I compose myself.

"Get out of her house. Now."

"Gladly. Who would want to stay in this dump?"

I clench my fists.

"Oh and by the way, we can do things to her that will never be traced back to us. Her kidnapping was just the beginning. We've got a whole lot more in store for her."

I raise a fist, but his words stop me before the impact.

"One wrong move and she's dead. Tread lightly."

His lips curl into a demonic smile before he disappears.

I shake in anger.

"What the hell did I just do? Did I just make a deal for her life?" I think to myself.

I did.

----------------------------------------------------

Ross pov

My eyes flash at him, and I lunge.
Espo grabs me and holds me back, so I can't reach Castle.

His face is covered in sadness, but mine is covered in anger.

I fight against Espo, trying to escape his grasp. I try not to hurt him but I'm desperate, and I end up scratching him.

"You cut a deal for my life! You stopped me from getting to Tyson sooner!" I yell at the top of my lungs.

"If I hadn't he would have killed you Samantha! I did this to protect you."

"I don't need protecting!"

"Yes you do, look what they've done to you already!"

"Castle you need to leave, give her time to cool off. I can't hold her for much longer." Espo says over my screams.

Castle nods solemnly, and leaves.

Espo waits until he knows Castle is gone before he lets go.

I pull away, and stumble, landing on the table.

I whip around.

"I do not need to cool off!" I yell at Espo.

"Go for a walk, but do not go anywhere near Castle's loft right now." Beckett says.

"Beckett-"

"Go."

I throw a glare in her direction before storming out of the break room and slamming the door behind me.