“Why would we need out of the city?”
“Violet missed her check-in and every villain in the country will be making their way here to tear the city apart to find her. We’ve already made arrangements to get you on a train to Thunder Bay. Your mother-in-law will be waiting for you at the station. So, do we have a deal?”
“What do you want to know?”
It turned out, he knew more than we thought. He absolutely hated his partner. They got paired together three years ago and there was an instant dislike. O’Neill was too chatty, always in his face, doing things totally and completely by the book. Castle said it felt like he was trying to distract from something, but he hadn’t known what.
He found O’Neill’s obsession with Violet really fucking weird. Especially after the first meeting. A call came in over the radio that there was an attempted mugging, the assailant was subdued and the victim was waiting for police to give a statement. He jumped on it, even though they were over ten minutes away. Castle tried to reason with him—just because the assailant was subdued now, didn’t mean it would stay that way. That was the first time O’Neill’s mask slipped.
After the fourth call, Castle started digging. He asked a friend in the RCMP to peek at his partner’s records. It turned out O’Neill came from a long line of senators. So why the fuck did he become a cop who appeared to have no political aspirations? Then people started going missing. A mugger here, a drug dealer there. And no one seemed to care. But Castle had been investigating off the books, even found some links to the O’Neill family.
“Wait right here.” Castle practically sprinted down the hall.
I followed him, taking the opportunity to put Juniper back in her crib. In the hour we’d been talking she’d settled back into a deep sleep. He didn’t notice me until we entered the bedroom. Abby was still sleeping peacefully, sprawled out on their queen sized bed as I set Juniper into the crib in the back corner.
“You’re good with her.”
“What?” I asked turning to the officer.
“Junnie. Usually it takes me hours to get her back to sleep without Abby.” He looked at his wife with a small smile before turning his attention back to me. “But you managed to keep her from fussing the whole time. You’re good with her.”
I looked back at the baby. It had only been two months since V came home with all those pictures and videos. I hadn’t considered a committed relationship, let alone marriage or kids, before her. But I’d realized in that moment I wanted anything and everything she was willing to give me.
Only two months ago. It felt like yesterday and years ago.
“You’ll get her back.”
I nodded once. I knew I would. I wouldn’t stop until I did, but I was terrified. Every second she was away from me, I was struggling to breathe. What were they doing to her? Was she scared? Was she in pain? Was she trying to escape? Was she waiting for me to save her? What condition would she be in when I found her? Would she lose hope? Would she hate me for leaving her alone? Would she remember how to laugh and smile? Would she lose the light in her eyes?
“She’s strong. Probably the strongest person I’ve ever met. She’ll be okay.”
I huffed. “I’m usually not this easy to read.”
Castle chuckled. “You’re not. I’m just saying the things I would want to hear if our roles were reversed.” He paused. “Sorry, I’m notjustsaying that because I would want to hear it. It’s all true. Youwillget her back and sheisstrong. I’m not saying she’ll be okay when you find her, but she will be eventually. Just don’t let her push you away.”
I snorted. “Not in a million years.”
“When you find her, know there’s a place for both of you in Thunder Bay. If she needs to get out of the city to heal, Abby and I will be happy to have you. And you can teach me how the hell you got my baby to sleep right away.”
He grinned when I laughed.
“You’re not worried about Violet stealing her?”
“Naw. At least not permanently. Now, should we get back to it?”
I nodded. He turned to the closet and pulled out a chalkboard—more accurately, a murder board. There were newspaper articles, police reports, and pictures on both sides, connected with green, yellow, and red strings.
“You’ve certainly been busy.”
“Oh, this isn’t all. Give me a second.”
He pulled out three more before he turned back to me.
“Holy shit, dude, do you even have clothes in there?”
He laughed. “Yes, to hide my investigation. Oh, speaking of observations, you know your friend out there is in love with your wife. Right?”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. We weren’t talking about observations, but sure, why not.
