Time at the hospital felt like a vacation. I was kind of liking it, i.e. laying in bed, having the nurses bring the food (even though it was crappy), getting fussed over, and talking to the old granny, the one with the Alzheimer's who thought her son was still in preschool, and not having to constantly worry about how I was going to be tortured to death.

It was a good feeling.

But as they say, all good things come to an end and my fun little six day vacation in the hospital was over too. Time was running out and as much as I would have loved to sleep on this depressing but nice bed and sip on my non-existent Piña colada, we needed to move our asses out of here and besides; we were okay. There was no need for medical attention anymore.

I had bought a few burner phones from a nearby departmental store, which I'd been using to contact Theo. Our cellphones had already turned to dust in the crash, and if I wanted to play dead, it was convenient to not use our cellphones.

I told Theo where I wanted the cash to be delivered because getting a wire transfer was out of question. I also didn't need his cards to be traced, which would only cause more problems and give away our location.

Devin was smart, and I would be stupid to underestimate him. He'd done well making sure we didn't survive, and if it weren't for my decision to jump off a speeding car, Devin would have gotten what he wanted.

I made sure the nurse was nowhere in view and passed Castle some clothes that I had bought from the store. It wasn't his usual expensive designer stuff. This was a cheap t-shirt, and jeans the type you would get in a bargain sale, but he needed to make do with this. We didn't have the luxury to play Richie Rich, definitely not when I needed the money if we planned to drag the days with the five thousand dollars that I had.

I must mention though, Castle looked extremely hot in a hospital gown, it was loose yet I could see outlines of the hard ridges and the defined abs underneath.

I shook away from the cloud of lust that was trying to blind me as I watched him undress and then put on the clothes in front of me. I changed into a dress. It wasn't flattering, to say the least, but I wasn't exactly trying to impress anybody.

I placed a baseball cap on Castle's head and pulled it low. Looking up into his sexy golden eyes, I told him, "We have to be discreet about this as much as possible. We can't get caught, okay?"

Suddenly, I wanted that vacation to France to be real. How nice it would have been to sit in some café in Paris and stuff my face with éclairs. I didn't even have a passport until a few days ago, and I was about to die without having a stamp on it. It's hilarious how far Devin had gone to make this vacation ruse seem believable.

Castle nodded, and I loved that about him. He trusted me completely. I went up on my tiptoes and kissed him once before giving him a heads up as to what we were supposed to do.

He listened to me intently and allowed me to make decisions.

"Why are they calling us Mr...." he pondered for a moment, "Mr.and Mrs. Carter?" He asked.

"I have no idea. When I woke up, that's what they were calling us, Mike and Shelly Carter, and I didn't correct them because I realized it was best we take an alias. If we go by..." I looked outside, making sure no one was under earshot, and lowered my voice, "if we go by Montgomery, we'll easily get traced and we can't let that happen."

The name held power and it would be a lot messy if someone put two and two together and we were discovered.

"Where are we going, Millie?"

"I don't know, but we're taking the bus." I told him.

He didn't look so sure. I interlaced our fingers. "We'll figure this out, I promise."

I remembered my previous conversation with Theo, and what he'd told me.

"Do not go to the police. The department might have moles, and as soon as you report the complaint, Devin will know and he will turn this against you. Be careful, Millie. With the way Castle is right now, he might not be able to help you. You're in this alone."

We sneaked out of the back staircase, but we still had to pass by the main reception. There was no way around it.

"Okay, stay calm and walk normally. If they ask us something, we'll tell them we've been discharged from the hospital."

"Are we?" Castle asked me innocently.

"No, but we're going to tell them that."

"Why can't we stay here...for a little while longer?"

Because your half-brother is a fucking psychopath and wants to kill you.

"We can't." I said. He just kept looking at me in that usual way of his. I knew he had something on his mind that he wanted to say.

"What is it?"

"Millie..." he started, "you regret this, don't you?"

"Regret what?"

"Taking up this job..." he looked close to losing it, "getting married to me...being forced to...I wish so much that things were different..."

"That's not true." I said, "It's not something I wanted, but I don't regret marrying you. I'm actually glad I did."

Your family is sick, and they don't deserve you.

"Let's go." I said, hooking my arm with his and trying to sprint out of the hospital reception without being noticed. We'll have to figure out how to pay the bill later.

"Mr and Mrs. Carter, wait!"

Shit! Shit! Shit!

I stopped and turned around, plastering a smile. "Yes?"

She looked between me and Castle, "where are you going?"

"Just going for a walk outside. I changed for that reason." I pointed at my dress. I was completely bull-shitting, but I hoped my acting skills were good enough. This was our only chance. "We were coming back real quick."

"You have a phone call." She said. Her tag read 'Rachel.'

"Who's calling?"

"Your brother-in-law." She told me the receiver was at the side. "I was just about to connect the phone to the office upstairs. Good thing I found you here."

Why was Theo calling now? I'd promised him I would call once things were okay, and we had contacted each other only during emergencies.

I went to the desk to answer the call. "Theo."

"Hi Millie."

That voice.

Fear hit me like a bucket of ice water.

"You seem a little tongue tied." He chuckled, "trying to act a little smart, are we?"

"You tried to kill us! You expect me to say howdy?"

"Theo here thought he was being very sneaky, but the walls have ears." Devin said, "Now, listen carefully. I want you to take a cab and come home. Am I understood?"

"Go to hell." I said, biting back a few other choice words.

"You want to make this difficult for both of us, I see. Well, how about this..." I heard a loud scream coming from somewhere on the side. They were hurting Theo.

"Don't touch him!" I yelled into the phone.

"If you don't take the cab home right now, you will hear about Teddy's drowning accident on TV. I'll give you three hours. After that, I'll gather the media and tell them how you planned to murder my poor brother and when it didn't work out, you kidnapped him for a ransom. You're smart, my love, but I'm smarter." That said, he hung up.

How did he find out about the hospital? I didn't think Theo would give out the address. He wouldn't, unless Devin had done some sweeping, taken a wild guess about the hospital that was nearest to the location of the accident.

That could be possible.

"Is everything alright?" The receptionist seemed genuinely concerned.

"Yes, we're fine."

Not really. We're about to ride a cab to our deaths.

I could run, but run where? And could I stomach having something happen to Theo on my conscience? I was selfish to think Castle and I could just pack and drive into the sunset.

He would find us, and we would still end up dead.

We walked out of the hospital and I hailed down a cab. A woman was standing at the door, she was middle-aged, and well-dressed. When I looked at her, she gave me an eerie smile.

A cab stopped in front of me, and we settled inside it. I told the driver the address while my thoughts started scattering about, my mind was running through all the possibilities and how Castle and I could get out of this situation unharmed.

I didn't like the answer.

I think I was blank for the entire two hours that took us to get to the mansion because there was nothing I could do. We'd been so close to earning freedom...

Winston opened the car door, and I walked inside the mansion like I was a robot set up to do so.

Devin was in the den, Theo was nowhere in view. "Welcome home. I hope you had a great trip." The sides of his mouth turned in mock humor.

I sat down on the plush couch, and then I tuned him out because he was going on and on about how I had tried to escape his clutches.

Am I going to give up so soon?

Castle walked to the end on my opposite side and sat down on the single velvet chair. It always reminded me of a throne with its gliding golden frame and a tiger face carved into it.

I watched as he slowly crossed his legs, right to left. His arms resting on the sides, his fingers picked the crystal pyramid, and he swirled it between his fingers in deft, skillful motions. His expressions remained schooled, but there was a dangerous aura that was emanating from him.

And then his gaze met mine, and we remained transfixed. Something flashed in his golden eyes. It was all clear to me.

The playful innocent glint was missing, the softness no more.

He didn't recognize me anymore.

My Castle was gone!

For good this time and replaced by this man who was driven by vengeance.

Devin didn't see it since he was facing me.

But I did.

And god help me because I was absolutely terrified.

* * *

Please like and comment on the chapter!