Page 56 of Until the End

No. Oh God. No.

How in the hell was she was supposed to run and disappear without money?

At least her passport was still there. She grabbed it and stuffed it in her bag, along with some lightweight clothes: leggings, tops, underwear. Diving through the pile of stuff on the floor, she fished out shoes.

Castle met her on the other side of the bed and handed her the bottles. Thank God she had her meds. She popped one of each in her mouth and swallowed them dry.

He cupped her shoulders, bringing her so close they were almost nose-to-nose. “Where did you hide the hard drives?” His voice was low. “Please tell me inside a built-in biometric safe that requires your fingerprint to open.”

If only.

Dread as cold as ice water rushed through her veins. Not over the prospect of getting shot or falling into the hands of the vicious intruders in her apartment. But over telling Castle the truth.

In his kitchen, he’d gone from zero to ten on the Richter scale of temper when he figured out that she’d lied. His reaction would be off the charts once she told the truth.

She swallowed past the lump stuck in her throat. “The drives were never here.”

“What?” His fingers tightened on her arms. Understanding dawned in his eyes and it was like watching a flash of solar flares hot enough to incinerate the earth.

At first, she thought he was shaking her, but then she realized he was trembling with fury.

“Then why did we come here?” he asked in a harsh whisper.

“I have my reasons.”

He let her go and raised a finger to her face but stopped short of wagging it.

The entire time, she held her breath, waiting for him to explode.

If anyone was capable of a silent eruption of epic proportions while staying under the radar of the cold-blooded killers in the next room, she suspected it was him.

Castle brought his mouth close, his lips brushing the skin right below her ear. His next words sent a shiver through her. “If we make it out of here alive,” he said, his deep, gravelly voice scraping her senses, “I’m going to kill you.”

Then he pinned her with a glare so dark and ominous she was surprised it wasn’t accompanied by a clap of thunder.

Her belly curled.

He snatched her hand and hauled her to the door. She wished he’d unleash that volcanic wrath on those men skulking around in her apartment. They wouldn’t stand a chance.

Castle cracked the door open a fraction of an inch and peeked into the hallway. She braced herself, a calm resolve settling through her. Whatever awaited them out there didn’t compare to the fire Castle was going to make her walk through later.

Provided they survived.

He shut the door. “They’re searching the other bedrooms. In a gunfight, they’ll have the advantage.”

His gaze darted around. He pulled back the curtains, revealing the windows and door leading to the master suite’s balcony.

Without a word, he ushered her outside, drew the curtains behind them, and closed the door.

The chilly night air slapped her. “Now what?”

The small balcony didn’t lead anywhere. They were trapped.

Wasn’t this predicament worse?

Castle went to the end of the balcony that had a partition support wall and looked around it. “The living room balcony is on the other side.”

“And?” There were a few holes he needed to fill in for her in that Swiss cheese plan.