Page 137 of Until the End

Castle reached out a hand that trembled and pressed it to her chest. Sought comfort in the rise and fall. Clung to the faint beat of her pulse. Focused on the sound of each shallow breath. Raw emotion welled in his throat, choking him. He clenched his jaw against it, hardened every muscle to keep from falling apart.

Ashley stepped up to the rear of the ambulance, her face grave, and gestured for him to come out. He gave a quick, reluctant nod.

“Is she going to be okay?” Castle asked the EMT.

“She’s not in cardiac arrest, but her vitals could be better.” He covered her with a foil blanket and started setting up an IV. “She might just need some air or more time for the nitroglycerin to take effect, but when the road opens, we should take her to the hospital so they can run a battery of tests.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Castle took Kit’s cold hand in his and kissed her knuckles. “I’m here, waiting for you to open your eyes, baby,” he whispered in her ear. “You’ve got to fight through this and come back to me. You’re my heart and I need you. Do you hear me?” He glanced at Ashley, not wanting to leave Kit’s side for a second, but Sanborn had opened Pandora’s box and Castle needed to know what was going on. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Kit-Kat. I swear it.” He climbed out of the ambulance and went over to where Ashley was waiting, collecting himself along the way. “Pomeroy and Senator Boswell?”

Ashley shook her head. “I couldn’t get them out of the room before the Z-1984 deployed.” She swallowed and folded her arms. “It was horrible. I’ve never seen anything like it. They turned into…I don’t know. They went completely feral. Attacked each other. Tore each other apart. They’re both dead.” She stared past him, her eyes haunted.

Sanborn got his vengeance, but the gamble he took, once again, simply wasn’t worth it.

“You contacted the CDC?”

“I shut off the jammers and called them. USAMRIID has contained the room they were in.”

“Bravo?” Castle asked and glanced back at the ambulance, wondering if Kit might still be in danger.

“Dead. I killed that son of a bitch. And Sanborn?” She looked toward the fiery wreckage out on the water.

His throat seized, going dry. He shook his head, and she caught his meaning without making him say it out loud.

Castle had killed Bruce Sanborn. Would he ever be able to say it out loud?

They both looked around at the commotion in the parking lot, the sea of white hazmat suits moving back and forth from the building, the police, firefighters, the FBI all in a frenzy. He thought about the dead terrorist out on the water.

With Sanborn gone and Knox deployed, this was Castle’s mess to explain and clean up. He didn’t even have the DNI to rely on for help, considering he’d turned full-fledged zombie along with Senator Boswell.

Helicopters from the media swooped in overhead.

“Someone has to take charge of all this, answer questions, give a story,” Ashley said as if reading his thoughts. “Especially if Sanborn’s body is going to be found. Not to mention Khan.”

What story to tell? The truth was too ugly and god-awful, and the Gray Box would never survive it. A lie, a well-crafted cover-up that was standard operating procedure in their business would protect the Gray Box and ultimately the country. But could he live with it?

“You want the job?” Castle asked her.

“No, thanks.” She raised her palms. “My debt to Sanborn is paid. And my husband will be here shortly to give me a ride.”

The burden fell to him. He looked back at the ambulance and then to Ashley. “Thank you for your help. I wouldn’t have been able to save her without you.”

“All in a day’s work.” She shrugged. “When Knox gets back, tell him to give me a call. We need to catch up.”

“Will do.”

They shook hands and parted ways.

As he reached the ambulance, Maddox and Reaper were inbound.

“How is she doing?” Castle asked.

“Her pulse is stronger and her BP has improved,” the EMT said. “Color is starting to return to her face.”

She was going to be okay. He exhaled in a quiet rush of relief.

“What the hell is going on?” Maddox asked, coming up beside him.

With Kit doing better, Castle stepped beyond the earshot of the paramedics. There wasn’t time to explain everything in detail, but he rattled off the CliffsNotes version—how Sanborn sold his soul for power and vengeance, the hijacking of the bioweapons, the black market auction, the stunt at the water plant, the fake chatter, bringing Khan on American soil to take the fall for it all.