Hellcat

Chapter Thirty

The next morning, I went out and bought coffee for everyone at the office. It was a treat since we didn't have any cream, sugar, or anything other than what amounted to dirty water. I held the drink carrier close to my stomach as I pushed open the office door with my free hand. The first thing I saw was Matt's face. "Matt. Uh, good morning," I fumbled over myself, images of our kiss last night popping into my head. "Hey, Allison," he greeted, the corners of his lips turning up.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked him as I closed the door behind me. "Uh, not so much. You?" he asked awkwardly. "Me? Yeah, sure. I mean..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say since I knew he could probably tell I was lying. "Is that coffee is smell?" he asked me, his smile growing. My own smile grew at that. "Yeah. Yeah, good caffeine for all," I said before looking around. Foggy was here, but Karen wasn't yet. I grabbed a coffee cup and handed it to Foggy before turning to Matt.

"Wow. Thank you. You're a goddess," Matt said as I handed him a cup. I felt my cheeks turn red, but had to play it off with a joke. "If I'm a goddess, does that mean you're leaving Christ behind and coming to worship at the Church of Allison?" I teased him. He laughed softly at my joke, shaking his head slightly. "If it gets me some good coffee every morning, I might consider it," he admitted. The blush on my cheeks deepened.

"Okay, you two," Foggy spoke up. "Let's talk business. Potential clients. Real ones. With bank in the bank," he continued as I went to Karen's desk. I set her coffee on it before taking a sip from the final cup. Before he could continue, the door burst open and Karen came rushing in. I had to jump to the side to avoid getting run over, and ended up right beside Matt.

"Hey," she huffed out in greeting. "Is that coffee?" she asked, pointing at the cups in our hands. "Yeah, some for you, too," I said, pointing to her desk. She let out a relieved sigh before going and snatching up her cup. She took a sip before taking some folded newspapers out from under her arm.

"Have you seen these?" she asked, holding them up. No one answered. "The press is still painting Castle like he's nothing more than some deranged lunatic," she said, dropping the papers onto her desk before setting down her purse. "Well, it's not like our boy was out collecting for the Red Cross," Foggy reminded her. "I know. I know, but –" she started when Matt cut her off. "You think there's more to the story." She nodded.

"Exactly. I mean, five different papers and not a word about the bullet he took to the brain, or his military record, or his family," she continued. My eyes snapped wide at her for a moment, but the others had noticed her slip. "Uh, his family?" Matt asked. "Um..." Karen started. I sighed heavily before taking my purse from my shoulder. I hadn't had a chance to set it down yet. Reaching inside, I pulled out the framed photo of the Castle family.

"We found this photograph. It's of him and his wife and kids at the carousel," I said, placing it gently on the desk we were surrounding. "You found it where?" Matt asked, head turned towards me slightly. "We sort of broke into his house," Karen admitted before I could try and spin it. "You did what?" Matt exclaimed as Foggy shared a similar feeling. "It was ill-advised, I know," I said when both Foggy and Matt turned towards me. "Not to mention dangerous," Matt scolded me. "And illegal," Foggy added.

"Yeah, it's all of that. But since when do I care about danger or legality?" I asked the both of them. Karen stood, biting her bottom lip, watching passively as the guys continued to stare at me with disbelief. "Don't even think about giving me a lecture, Murdock, cause I will take those coffees back, okay?" I snapped before turning my warning glare onto Foggy. Foggy scoffed before taking a sip of his coffee, staying silent. Matt didn't say anything, just focused on me, eyebrows crinkled in concern and his lips pulled down into a frown. I sighed, brushing my hair back before gesturing to Karen.