Chapter 59 A Flutter in My Chest
Chapter 59 A Flutter in My Chest
Morrison's POV
Ashley slammed the door in my face. The sound echoed through the narrow hallway. She was furious.
I didn't fully understand why I'd said those words. But knowing she'd just had sex with Julio made my blood boil.
She'd called me here to help her escape his imprisonment. Yet she was still sleeping with him!
I was a joke to her. A fool.
I leaned against the door and lit a cigarette. The flame flickered briefly, then steadied. I didn't take a single drag. Smoking usually calmed me when I was this agitated. Now even that wasn't working.
Footsteps approached. Cecilia appeared at the end of the hallway, her expression tired but alert.
She patted my shoulder. "Morrison, we searched the entire ship. Besides Julio imprisoning Ashley, this is just a casino. But we're in international waters. You know what that means. No country has jurisdiction here. Even if it's a casino, we can't touch it."
I understood what she was saying. We had nothing except the imprisonment charge against Julio. Just that one crime.
The Adam family could make that disappear easily. They had enough money and power to bury far worse.
"Fuck!" I slammed my fist into the wall.
The door opened at that exact moment. Ashley jumped, startled by my outburst. She glared at me with those fierce green eyes.
"Officer Morrison, I won't joke with you anymore. You don't need to threaten me with violence!"
"Ms. Ashley, that's a misunderstanding. You just happened to come out at that moment." Cecilia rushed to explain for me.
"OK! If it's a misunderstanding, that's fine!" Ashley cut Cecilia off mid-sentence.
She clearly didn't believe a word of it.
My head felt like it was about to explode. Everything around me was chaos. Catching Julio should have been satisfying. Somehow it had all gone wrong.
This entire day was a disaster.
There was no point staying on this ship. We couldn't find any other evidence. I decided to take everyone back to Los Angeles and interrogate Julio in a proper interrogation room as soon as possible.
Ashley would need to come with us as a witness. She refused to speak to me. I could only walk behind her, watching her back.
I saw the collar around her neck. She hadn't been wearing it before. Julio had put it on her. They'd been playing those kinds of games together.
I also saw the kiss marks on her neck. There were so many. Julio was marking his territory.
Damn it! Why did I have such good eyesight?
"Go to hell!" The curse escaped before I could stop it.
Cecilia looked at me strangely. "Morrison, you're being really aggressive today. What's wrong with you?"
I took a deep breath. I knew I wasn't acting normal. I couldn't execute a mission in this state.
"Nothing. Probably didn't sleep well last night." I gave her some random excuse.
I watched Ashley's back as she walked. She moved quickly, not caring about me at all.
I felt deflated. What was I even doing? I forced myself to focus.
We reached the deck. My other colleagues had already brought Julio here to wait. He wore handcuffs.
The moment Julio saw Ashley, his face lit up with that twisted smile. The sight made my skin crawl.
"Ashley, if this is what you want to see, I'll satisfy you." His words were arrogant.
As if being reduced to wearing handcuffs was just him playing along with Ashley's game.
This murderer was too cocky. Too sure of himself.
I wanted to punch him in the face. But I was a cop. I couldn't do that.
So I looked at Ashley instead. I wanted to see how she'd respond.
Ashley reached into her pocket and pulled out scissors.
Terror seized me. I lunged forward.
"Ashley! Stop!" I shouted.
She was going to stab Julio! Kill him right here!
My God! Why did that psycho have to provoke her?
If he died now, all my efforts would be wasted. Coming all the way to international waters to arrest him. Everything would be for nothing!
I rushed in front of Ashley and grabbed her. Then I watched her aim the scissors at the collar around her neck and cut down hard.
I froze. Ashley froze too.
"Ah, those scissors are sharp. Be careful." I coughed, trying to diffuse the awkward tension.
I'd thought being kicked out of the room was embarrassing. This was worse.
Today was officially the worst day of my entire life.
Ashley burst out laughing. She laughed loudly. My face burned with shame.
"Morrison, you thought I was going to kill Julio?"
How was Ashley so perceptive? I looked up at the sky. I missed God right now.
"Don't worry. I won't make myself a murderer!" Ashley patted my shoulder.
While I stood there awkwardly, Julio couldn't contain himself any longer.
"Ashley, what's your relationship with this Morrison?" Julio demanded.
What did he mean? Was he suggesting Ashley and I had some kind of romantic involvement?
That was impossible!
That was my first reaction.
But then a voice in my head whispered back. Why was it impossible?
Ashley was beautiful, strong, and kind. She attracted me in ways I couldn't fully explain.
That's when I finally understood why I'd been so angry earlier.
I liked Ashley.
But this definitely wasn't the right time to say anything. I shifted my position to put Ashley behind me, shielding her in case Julio got violent.
"Julio, you have no right to ask me that question." I heard Ashley say.
My heart sank a little. Ashley clearly didn't have romantic feelings for me yet.
But that was fine. Once Julio's case was handled, I could start pursuing her properly.
"Another pest! Ashley, you're surrounded by pests!" Julio glared at me like he wanted to devour me whole.
"The biggest pest is you!" Ashley had real talent for getting under Julio's skin.
I watched Ashley cut through the leather collar with determined force. The damaged collar emitted a sharp warning beep. But Ashley's movements never hesitated. Her gaze stayed focused.
Finally, the collar broke. Ashley threw the ruined thing into the ocean.
"Julio, you'll never control me!"
The setting sun cast Ashley in golden light. She looked decisive. Brave.
In that moment, my heart pounded wildly in my chest.
I knew then. It was beating for Ashley. I'd fallen in love with this woman.