6. What About Justice
6
What About Justice
H ER rapid breath came out one after another. Gale’s touch, his voice, the shadows, Ryu—Roselin’s eyes snapped open. A shadow knife, a scream, a body falling lifeless to the ground; her dreams still played before her open eyes.
Ryu’s fingers were wrapped around her naked breast. A hand that had hurt and killed people, yet touched her so gently. His warning kept replaying in her mind until her ears rang. ‘ You saved his life. His actions are yours. You made a decision, so live with the consequences ’. What about Ryu’s actions? Yet, she’d still ended up in his bed. He’d help her forget the terrible memories. His lips had burned on her skin, lower and lower. He hadn’t stopped until her toes curled and the words disappeared in moans of pleasure. Crap, she was selfish.
But Ryu had killed somebody. He hurt people. More than one? Probably. And now his hand was holding her breast. Her blood ran cold, a pressure building inside her chest. She couldn’t be here. Not with him.
Careful not to wake Ryu, she slipped from his embrace. Naked, she searched the floor for clothes in the darkness. A hiss pushed past her lips. Her feet stood on something sharp—her pumps. The same pumps she wore the night she met Ryu. Fuck, she should’ve burned them or left them on his table. They were bad luck. Yet, she took them from the ground.
She opened the bathroom door a tiny bit and put on the light. Enough to help her see and not too much to wake up Ryu. Her eyes fell on the dress. Was she really going to sneak out and through the darkness of the streets in a gala dress and pumps?
A walk of shame had never looked so good. Even so, no thank you. But this should do, she thought to herself, picking a white shirt from the chair, and joggers’ shorts.
He owed her new panties, but his clothing would be payment for now. Ryu stirred in the bed, and Roselin slipped into the en suite bathroom so she didn’t disturb him. Damn it , she actually was going to do a walk of shame.
She glanced in the mirror above the double sink. “Never looked better, Rose,” she whispered to herself. Shit, was she going to leave or take a shower in the to-die-for rain shower? Come on; priorities , she told herself.
Tiptoeing over the cold wooden floor, she sneaked to the stairs. Apparently, Ryu trusted her enough this time to take her to his house—at least, she thought this was his house. For all she knew, this was a cover-up. A gorgeous old-style warehouse cover-up. The upper floor hallway had an indoor balcony overlooking the spacious living room. The floating stairs ended in the open space between the living room and the dining area. And the kitchen! Roselin wasn’t much of a cook, but she’d learn if she owned a kitchen like that.
Roselin snuck along the wall of the living room under the balcony. Although she loved the open floor plan, it was terrible for sneaking out.
Something under a small light in what seemed to be an office caught her eye. Her painting. As if it called out to her, she inched closer to her grand artwork of loneliness. How fitting.
The art stood on an easel in the corner on the other side of the room, next to a chess set. The dark blue curtains were closed, and all Roselin had to guide her was the little light shining on the canvas.
She blinked at her artwork, waiting to let her feel something like it had when she painted it. Minutes passed. Perhaps an hour. She took in every detail and even stepped back to get a better perspective. The room stayed silent except for her breathing.
If art and she were supposed to speak the same language, why wasn’t it giving her the answers she needed?
Balling her fist, she prevented herself from screaming at the painting. At the blue colours that flowed through Roselin’s veins, and the lonely person standing there alone grabbing at Roselin’s soul.
An arm wrapped around her waist, startling her. A gasp left her lips as she half-twisted to the warm brown eyes of Ryu. She bumped into him as she turned, but he made her face the painting again. Her heart hammered against her rib cage.
He rested his hands on her stomach, leaning her back against his bare chest. “What is it saying?” he asked, his breath tickling her ear.
“Nothing,” she whispered. Roselin bit back the tears at the harsh truth. Why wasn’t it speaking to her? It was quiet inside her mind, her creativity gone like it’d never existed. It wasn’t the first time, and she didn’t want to return to that. She hated the silence it brought. “You were going to kill me.” It was no longer a question. She knew Ryu would.
“No, I wasn’t.” Ryu stepped away from her to meet her eyes, but she kept her glance on the painting. “Why would I kill you?”
“Because I saw you murder someone.” She forced herself to look at him, speaking the words she tried so hard to deny. Was she being foolish? Probably. But that hadn’t stopped her before. “I’m a witness to your crime.”
Ryu laughed, but his eyes said something completely different. Maybe he didn’t expect her to admit it. Maybe he hoped she indeed saw nothing. “I thought you hadn’t seen anything? Don’t tell me you’re a liar, keeper of ethics?”
Hugging herself, her nails dug into the skin of her arms. She wasn’t in the mood to play games anymore. Perhaps she should’ve, to keep herself safe, but she couldn’t. Ryu had murdered someone. He wanted to kill her, and if she didn’t stop him tonight, he would’ve killed Gale.
Ryu took her fingers from her arm. Red marks shone on her skin, and his finger stroked the back of her hand. “We should go back to bed,” he said, but she shook her head. He kept distracting her with sex, which she enjoyed, but she couldn’t keep doing this… right?
“Gale—”
A deep sigh rolled over his lips. “We already talked about this.”
“You killed.” She raised her voice before she stopped herself, stomping her feet on the floor as a child would do.
For a split second, his posture changed, the muscles in his jaw flexed, and she swore the shadow in the corner moved in a way it shouldn’t. Ryu took her chin in his hand. They stared at each other. An icy shiver ran down her spine, but she stood her ground.
He shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smirk. A voice in the back of her mind told her to be scared, but fuck the flight response. Let’s fight.
“You truly are remarkable, my Rose,” Ryu said, his warm voice taking her off guard. He folded his arms and leaned against the armrest of a couch. His eyebrows knitted closer together as Ryu was in deep thought for a second, his gaze to the ground.
“If I kill one murderer, the number of murderers stays the same. If I kill more than one, it lowers.” Ryu locked eyes with her, watching every little detail of her face, her movement, and the breath she drew.
“Gale didn’t kill anyone.”
“By your knowledge. How far was he willing to go last night?” He narrowed his eyes for less than a second. “The guy you saw the morning after we met did kill. A child, the mother and father… one kill, one murderer fewer.”
“What about justice? Law?” Roselin asked. She expected him to laugh at her again, but his face stayed solemn.
“They don’t catch them all.”
“The death penalty has killed people who were found innocent when it was too late.”
“I don’t kill innocent people.” Ryu gave his shoulders a light shrug.
“That’s what the judge who sentenced the innocent probably said, too.”
“Three pieces of different evidence,” Ryu said. Roselin tilted her head at him, not understanding what he meant. “The law to find someone guilty in our beloved city is three pieces of different evidence. They had five. One witness, but the judge didn’t believe him. One was labelled wrong and dismissed. One disappeared in police holdings. Now, there are two. The ruling, not guilty.” Ryu’s words sent a coldness to her skin. Memories from years ago pushed and locked away, tried to resurface. “What am I supposed to do, Rose? Watch while he keeps making more victims?” His voice lowered as she closed her eyes. “I don’t kill innocent people,” he said slowly to let every word sink in.
Her heart pounded in her chest like the one night she never forgot. The fear she felt when the police told her there was nothing they could do crept back up, filling her veins with cold dread. The gunshot still rang in her ears, followed by her mum’s cry. Blood, screams, Mum’s pale face, Roselin was helpless. The crying stopped, and her mum stared at her with glazed eyes, leaving Roselin behind. Alone.
Hot tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Rose,” he stroked her tears from her face. “You can leave if you want. No harm will come to you.”
Stepping away, she watched the painting again. It whispered as she tried to find sense in the situation. “I’ve painted this scenery before.”
“So I overpaid?” Ryu attempted to laugh the tension off, but it didn’t echo through his voice like normal.
Roselin shook her head, a piece of her hair falling in front of her face, and Ryu stroked the strand behind her ear. “I burned it. It was too happy… different times. I couldn’t stand it.” She muffled a cry.
Ryu reached for her, his hand soft against her cheek.
“Where were you before?” she said, looking back at Ryu to see his soft brown ones filled with confusion. “Why didn’t you stop—” Her voice broke into a sob. “Why didn’t you stop him? Where were you? He killed my mum. She’s dead, and I’m all alone now.” It all came out, her body shaking.
Ryu took her in his embrace, holding her head against his chest; his hands, arms, and body as a shield around her. “I’m deeply sorry I wasn’t there, my Rose. I’ll try my best to make it up to you.”
Roselin embraced his touch and the warmth of his close proximity. It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t there. They didn’t know each other. Yet, his apology made the ache in her heart a little less—even if it was only a bit…
Her hands rubbed his chest, and her kiss met his in a hungry comfort she needed. His tongue slipped past her lips, greeting her with passion. A soft moan escaped her as his touch moved over her figure. His fingers slid under her shirt, kneading her breast until she pushed her body up against him, craving more.
“My piece of art,” he breathed in her ear. “How come you look so stunning in everything you wear?” His hand trailed down and into her shorts. She was already wet for him. Roselin threw her head back. “Yet, you look best naked.”
Ryu pulled his hand back, but before he could, Roselin grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “Please don’t stop. Please don’t—”
Ryu’s kiss cut off her sentence, finding her clit again. Two fingers slid inside of her. His other hand dug into her hair as he kept her in place. She moaned against his mouth, her stomach clenching as she came on his hand. Ryu pulled away. Her cursing lips turned into a pout.
He stripped off her clothes, his eyes drifting over her curves in raw desire. He almost stumbled as he took off his joggers. She couldn’t help but peek, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering at his cock and what it would do to her. He laid Roselin on the ground, the wooden floor cold on her back. He filled her, the ache inside finally being scratched, and her toes curled. Tingles of fire spread through her body.
“Please, don’t stop touching me. Never stop touching me,” she uttered under her breath.