"Not so fast." He said and pulled her closer to him with his hand on the trench coat. "What are you wearing?" he asked, her face flushed. She folded her hand across her chest to prevent him from taking off the coat.
"Nothing special." She muttered. He let go of the coat.
"I want to know what you are wearing." He said and yanked her hand away from her coat and opened it, gazing at the black lingerie she was wearing inside that showed her boobs. His eyes widened, and he quickly let go of the coat.
"What the heck are you wearing?!?" he asked in a rumbling tone. Her face reddened. She avoided his gaze with her lips trembling.
"Didn’t you say I was an a-a adit adout..." he cut in.
"Adult." He said.
"Yes, that word." She replied, twisting her lip.
"What are you up to, Melody? Look at me when I am talking to you." He said, lifting her face. She gazed into his eyes with an indifferent expression.
"Nothing... I am just going to work, that’s all, or aren’t I allowed to wear what I want?" she asked with wide eyes.
"What kind of job are you going? That you have to wear something so revealing?" He questioned.
"It’s a it’s a…" She pursed her lips, lost for words. She couldn’t come up with a possible explanation to give to him. She couldn’t tell him that she was a whore. He would chain her to her bed and prevent her from going out, she thought.
"Speak Melody! I can see it in your eyes. There is something you are not telling me." He said, grabbing her shoulder with his gaze fixed on her.
"I am working as a waitress in a bar." She lied, looking down, so he couldn’t read her expression because he always knew when she was lying. He was about to speak when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He let go of her and took out his phone from his pocket. He stared at the caller. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"Shit, my boss is calling." He said, panicking. Melody took the cue and ran out of her room to avoid further questioning.
"Melody, wait..." he muttered, staring at the ringing phone. "Sheesh," he groaned, and picked up the call.
"How did the investigation go yesterday?" his boss asked. He pursed his lips into a line and the memory of what happened at the strip club came back to him.
"Gosh, I uh, couldn’t find the culprit." He responded, squeezing his eyes shut.
"You are useless! I thought you were detective material, but you aren’t! and I think you will be a cop for the rest of your life!" His boss reprimanded him over the phone.
"Boss, I am..." He hung up on him before he could speak.
"Fuck!" He cursed, kicking the air and running his right hand through his hair. He had let himself down by having fun in the strip club instead of doing his job, and he was robbed by a stripper. He moved closer to the bed and fell onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.
*********
Ashley found herself in the hospital where her father was, with Noah's men still holding her hostage. Her hands were tied behind her back, and as they hauled her with them towards the emergency room, all the patients made their way for them, terrified of the men. Noah was walking ahead of them with a leopard-like thread.
"Why have you brought me to the hospital?" Ashley inquired, staring at Noah in front of her, but he didn’t respond to her question. He just continued walking. Noah pushed the door of the emergency room open Ashley gasped as she saw her father sitting on the bed with a thug pointing a gun to his head and Kendrick close to his bed with his right hand in his pocket. Lugard saw his daughter and sat up on the bed with his gaze fixed on her. His eyes were still red.
"Welcome, son." Kendrick said as soon as he sighted his son.
"I hope I am not late." Noah said smiling at him, and Kendrick returned the smile.
"No, you aren’t." Kendrick replied, the man holding Ashley pushed her forward she tripped over unconscious Chris on the floor and was about to fall when Noah caught her in his arms, looking down at her.
"I will always be there to break your fall." He said, grinning.
"So cheesy, what do you guys want from me and my father!" She roared, glaring at both of them.
"I want death. I want your father’s life. That will be the only thing that will bring me joy," Kendrick replied, with a tight-lipped smile.
"You bit my dick the other day, and ever since, I've been on drugs and couldn’t have sex." Kendrick said.
"I highly don’t give a fuck!" Ashley replied, and Noah scooped her up in his arms and slapped her across the face.
"How dare you speak to my father in that tone?" He asked. Her cheeks were on fire as she glared at him with her teeth bared. She was red in the face.
"I can speak to anyone the way I want, if my hands weren’t tied, I would have sent you to your grave." She said, swaying her hands in the huge ropes that were used to tie her hands. Noah chuckled.
"I love your personality; so arrogant and feisty." Noah remarked and wrapped his hand around her waist, holding tightly to her.
"Now let’s get down to business." Kendrick said.
"Let my daughter go, she has nothing to do with this!" Lugard yelled and started coughing out blood in his blanket. His pores rose seeing his own blood, but the cough didn’t stop.
"Take a look at your own blood, Lugard. Do you want this?" Kendrick asked.
"W-What have you done to me!" Lugard asked angrily.
"How could I say this? I poisoned you." Kendrick replied with a solemn expression.