Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Chapter Text
Two sides of the same coin
Chapter 1
When Morgan heard Adam Karadec’s voice on the other end of the phone, relief filled her veins. She couldn’t explain it but for some reason knowing he was out there and on her side, even though he wasn’t there physically, helped to bring her back down to Earth after seeing the playing cards with ‘Game over’ sticker on it from the Gamemaker, aka David, that he had slipped into her purse. It was one thing when it was just her dealing with the shady characters, and having her LAPD as her backup, but this time the ass hole had gotten far too close to just brush things aside.
“Morgan did you hear me?” Karadec questioned, seemingly baffled by Morgan’s silence.
Morgan was about to tell Karadec about her recent discovery, that David was now stalking her and likely her family when she heard what sounded like gun shots on the other end of the phone.
“Karadec? Are you there?” Morgan probed.
When she heard no reply and only what sounded like grunting, groaning, and a scuffle and then a clamoring sound of metal Morgan’s panic truly began to set in. “Adam???”
She looked over at her infant Chloe who was playing with her cheerios knowing she had to protect her children first and foremost, but she also had to make sure Karadec was okay, and so she did the only thing she could think of, she had Ava get her phone out to call their boss, Lieutenant Soto, and then she dialed 911.
----
A few hours later it was determined that Adam Karadec had been ambushed by an unknown shooter. Morgan was beside herself when she heard what happened. She couldn’t leave her children alone, even though Soto seemed to believe David was no longer in California due to the camera footage they caught of him at the supermarket matched facial recognition camera footage at the airport, and he apparently had hopped on an airplane to South America, but Morgan didn’t want to take the chance, she brought her children with her to the hospital.
When they found Adam Karadec’s room a young handsome orderly was just leaving, and he smiled at Ava who was holding a bouquet of flowers. Morgan tried not to go overprotective mama bear not wanting to embarrass her daughter, but she also gave the orderly a pointed look that said don’t even think about it pal.
Morgan was the first to enter pushing the stroller with a cooing Chloe inside and her eyes locked with Adam’s.
He looked weak, pale, and tired, but he was alive. Apparently, he had lost a good amount of blood too. Morgan was at the very least eternally grateful that he was here in the flesh and breathing. But she wasn’t going to pretend it wasn’t hard to see him in this weakened state, her eyes softening with concern, although she tried to cover up her worry with a light statement.
“You’re always saying you need to get more rest, but I don’t think this is the way to go,” Morgan stated in attempt to lighten the mood.
There was a hint of a smile that formed across Karadec’s lips, and then Ava set down the small vase of flowers.
“They are from all of us,” Ava declared.
“Yeah, we picked them near the beach on our way here,” Elliot explained proudly filling in the details because the flowers looked a little more on the wild side.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Karadec answered glancing towards Morgan with a knowing glimmer in his eyes, on account of the fact that several of the flowers that they selected in the arrangement looked like protected state wild flowers that were illegal to cut, and then he added looking first to Ava and then Elliot, “And thank you for the flowers.”
“You’re welcome,” Elliot replied with a smile oblivious to the questionable nature of the flowers they had given Karadec and then the young male orderly from earlier came in pushing a cart of food.
Ava’s smile brightened and she pushed her hair back behind her ear, clearly happy to see the cute young boy again.
“I hope you’re hungry for lunch,” the young man stated moving the plate onto the tray table to slide over Karadec’s lap.
“Ooh, what did you get?” Elliot asked trying to catch a peak of the food that was hidden under the plate cover. The smells were inviting, with a hint of dill, over what looked like a salmon filet and then some cooked vegetables, and a baked potato, and a chocolate chip cookie, plus a cup of pudding.
“If you don’t want anything, Id be happy to help you finish it,” Elliot offered.
Morgan looked at her son with a bit of irritation, thinking as much as she loved and adored him, he was being quite rude. And then she saw Ava over chatting the male orderlies ear off as he got all the food off his cart and set onto the tray next to Karadec’s bed, and Morgan realized she had to intercept because she did not want Ava getting involved with yet another boy who was older than her.
“Okay Ava, you and your brother can go to the cafeteria to get a snack,” Morgan stated.
“I’m not hungry,” Ava replied with a smile.
“Then just take your brother!” Morgan ordered with her stern mom voice, so Ava knew she was serious.
Ava tossed her eyes in the air and Morgan handed them a little cash, and she added, “And then come right back here please.”
That resulted in a full eye roll and Morgan took Chloe out of her stroller to hold her and sat down in the chair next to Karadec’s bed, her eyes softening, and he smiled gently.
“Looks like you have your hands full,” Karadec observed.
Morgan tossed her eyes and gave a nod, “Don’t I always?” She placed her hand over his and asked him with a new concern, “But enough about me and my crazy crew, how are you?”
Karadec tried to sit up a little in the bed and it was clearly a struggle; his one arm was in a sling and there were bandages around his shoulder and chest. In fact even though Morgan would have preferred to catch a sneak peek at his collar bone and a small triangle of his pectoral muscle covered by a small patch of dark hair under different circumstances since, at work and even when they pulled all-nighters he wore his shirts buttoned up to the neck, she wasn’t going to complain.
“Well, the good news is the bullet went straight through my shoulder. But they said it may take a little longer to heal due to the damaged muscle tissue.”
Morgan winced and then asked, “Did you see who did it?”
“Unfortunately, I was unable to identify him because he was wearing black hooded sweatshirt and a ski mask. I did get a few punches in though and think possibly I broke his nose.”
Morgan grinned proudly. “Well, that’s something to go on then,” she stated.
Karadec grabbed his fork with his left hand and made a few failed attempts at trying to stab at the salmon filet.
Morgan realizing that Karadec was struggling to eat his food with one hand, stood up and set Chloe down on the bed next to Adam for a moment and then she grabbed the knife and put out her hand in gesture for him to hand her his fork.
“I can help,” Morgan offered.
Karadec looked annoyed not liking to feel helpless, and then Chloe startled him by leaning on his leg and she found a remote to play with.
“Hey,” Morgan tried to get his attention again and she asked him, “You want to help me by keeping her busy, and I can help you by cutting this food up?”
Adam seemed to tone down his irritation a bit more, seeing through Morgan’s strategy to trade off for control, but instead he turned his attention to the gurgling and cooing infant beside him, and he offered her his strength ball as a tradeoff, which Chloe was very excited to touch and put in her mouth, and she cast a toothless grin at Adam.
“Okay, all set,” Morgan announced displaying a plate of cut up bite size pieces of salmon and baked potato, and she passed the fork over to Karadec.
“Thanks,” he replied taking a bite of the salmon, which was much easier to eat now. Although Adam felt a little odd eating in front of Morgan, since she had no food herself.
“Are you hungry?” he asked her.
Morgan eyed the chocolate chip cookie, smiling she swiped it and then broke it in half. He didn’t have to ask her twice.
“Thanks, just don’t tell the kids,” Morgan said with a mischievous grin taking a bite.
Karadec smirked back and once Morgan finished her cookie she pulled Chloe back on her lap, sitting in silence while Adam finished his meal, enjoying the few moments of peace.
Morgan thought about telling Karadec about her brush with the Gamemaker, but she decided against doing so, and she would check in with Lieutenant Soto about Roman because she wanted Adam to dedicate all of his energy to healing.
“Mom you are never going to believe whose down in the hospital lobby right now!” her oldest child came back into the room with a large grin on her face and Morgan shook her head.
“I wouldn’t dare to even try,” Morgan stated in disbelief.
“Rosé!” Elliot blurted out.
Morgan frowned and shook her head still not having a clue who that was.
“She used to be in the K-Pop group, Blackpink!,” Ava explained.
“Still no idea who that is,” Morgan stated glancing back at Karadec with a look of perplexion, who appeared sympathetic to her plight.
“Well, that’s great. Or maybe not great, depending on what brings Rosé to the hospital today,” Morgan added.
Just then a nurse popped her head in and when she saw Morgan and the kids, with a smile she stated apologetically, “Adam, Im sorry to interrupt your family time but the Physical Therapist should be up here in about 10 minutes to start working on your exercises.”
Karadec looked to the nurse with a nod and he thanked her, deciding not to bother correcting her about the ‘family time’ comment.
“Well, we should probably get going then,” Morgan stated.
For a brief moment Adam looked slightly down.
Morgan handed Chloe to Ava and she asked Ava and Elliot, “Would you mind putting your sister in her stroller and waiting in the hall? We just have a couple last minute work things to talk about,” Morgan explained.
Karadec cleared his throat, stating awkwardly, “Um, hey Elliot, you want my pudding?” He noted that Morgan’s son had seemed hungry earlier and he figured the boy might enjoy the pudding far more than he would.
Elliot’s face lit up and he took the cup from Adam happily.
“Thanks.”
Morgan cast Adam a grateful look and then she watched her children push Chloe out before coming back to Karadec’s bedside and she promised him with an earnest gaze, “I’m going to work on finding whoever attacked you. And Id like to help you with your recovery too. But for now you just need to focus on your health okay?”
She put her hand over his again causing him to feel warmth radiate throughout his body.
“Morgan, I intend to make a full recovery and then I will return to helping my partner work on finding whoever attacked me. But please promise me you will act with caution okay?” He asked her. His eyes pleading with hers.
Morgan gave a nod and she answered, “I will.
She continued, “After your physical therapy, make sure to get some rest detective,” Morgan said playfully.
“You too partner,” he said with a smile.
Leaning in Morgan planned to leave a quick goodbye peck on his cheek, the kind she had given to relatives and dear friends many times before, and she considered Karadec a dear friend whom she held in high esteem, even though sometimes he annoyed her to no end, but still, she could admit they had become friends.
Morgan spoke lowly in her attempt to be funny she stated, “don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she got closer to Adam as her lips were just about to make contact with the small patch of cheek above his beard, and then Morgan was accidentally ambushed when Karadec turned his head towards her instead causing his lips to inadvertently press against hers at precisely the same moment.
The suction motion of Morgans mouth caused a vacuum seal effect sealing their lips together in a pretty dead-on the bulls eye kiss, as if their lips were opposite magnets drawn together. It took a second to react due to the shock causing them both to have a little out of body moment, one that caused Adam to respond in kind, he couldn’t help himself, at least for a second or two. Morgan was the first to realize that she had kissed the wrong body part, peeling her lips away from his like tape.
“Mom?” Ava was in the doorway
Morgan’s blue eyes widened and her face turned a strange hue of pink, unsure she could look at Adam in the eyes, her lips were still tingling and her body was humming. What the hell had just happened? But more importantly, she wasn’t sure what her daughter had just seen.
“Yeah sweetie?” Morgan asked trying her best to keep her voice level and cool. She glanced back at Karadec who was also reluctant to look directly at Morgan and appeared to be pondering something himself.
“I think Chloe’s diaper needs to be changed,” Ava stated dryly.
“Okay, Ill be right there,” Morgan replied straightening up and gathering her purse. She glanced back over her shoulder one more time at Adam.
“Ill check on you later,” Adam stated awkwardly.
Morgan gave him an odd look and then she corrected him, “No, I'll check in on you later buddy. Now you just gotta focus on your recovery.”
Morgan patted Adam on the shoulder once before she left the room leaving him alone with his very confused and bewildered thoughts because he had no idea what the hell had just happened or why his lips were still pulsing, and his heart was suddenly racing.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Chapter Text
Chapter 2
Morgan sat across from Lieutenant Selena Soto at the station as they went over the footage of the video at Adam Karadec’s apartment complex. Morgan combed her brain for all possible clues and hints of the shooters identity but she was coming up with nothing yet. She knew she needed to get some new leads and fast.
“Listen Morgan, I know this is not going to be an idea you’ll likely love, but I don’t want this case to go cold. Someone attacked one of my people and we need to find them. And since Adam is still recovering in the hospital, we need to get another detective to work the case with you.”
Morgan’s face fell because she knew what Soto was going to say before she said his name.
“He agreed not to call you the cleaning lady. I told him if he does you’d quit and with both you and Karadec out, there’s no way he’d be able to keep up with the case load”
Morgan peered at Selena Soto clearly not amused since she was definitely not a fan of Detective Melon who was not only a jerk but a male chauvinist as well, but she realized she needed to get to the bottom of this-for Adam.
“Fine. On one condition, I get to consult with Karadec when he’s feeling up to it,” Morgan argued.
“Well of course, I would expect as much. Thank you Morgan!” Soto concluded, and she turned back to her computer signaling to Morgan that their meeting had ended.
Morgan got up about to leave tucking her long blonde hair behind her ear, when she remembered she needed to ask about Roman.
“What about Roman? Do you know anything about that? Karadec was calling to tell me that he had found evidence that Roman was still alive and moments later Adam got shot. Do you think that could be connected?” Morgan questioned.
Selena appeared to think things over for a moment and then she explained to Morgan, “Adam is the only one who can tell you about Roman, because it was his contact and he called you before he recorded anything, a clear sign you have been rubbing off on him. But that said, its very possible they could be connected. I think its pertinent you talk to Adam and find out everything he knows first and foremost.”
Morgan appeared reluctant and distraught for a moment and then she glanced back to Soto.
“You don’t want Melon to know about your personal life is that what’s bothering you?” Selena questioned hitting the nail on the head.
“Look, if I find out that Karadec was shot because of his choice to help me find my missing husband, Ill move heaven and Earth to find his shooter,” Morgan appeared distressed. “But I’m wondering if I could talk to him first?” Morgan plead with Soto.
Selena was empathetic, but she also was a Lieutenant, who needed to keep things moving along for the sake of the safety of her people, and so she offered a compromise, “What if I came with you to talk to Karadec instead?”
Morgan’s lips curved into a small smile and she gave a nod in agreement.
“When are you free to go?” Morgan asked.
---
A little while later Lieutenant Soto and Morgan found themselves at the hospital. They were able to call ahead to give him a little heads up so Karadec was able to arrange for them to commandeer a meeting room. Morgan was happy to see this time Adam was looking much more alert and the color had returned to his complexion, and the sparkle to his eyes. Not only that but he just happened to be wearing a loose vee neck tee paired with his hospital drawstring pants and an arm sling.
Which may have seemed like harmless attire, but his well-defined pectoral muscles and biceps pressed through the thin fabric of the white tee giving a preview of what was underneath caused Morgan to use all the strength she possessed not to stare.
“Thanks for meeting with us,” Lieutenant Soto began.
“Yes of course,” Adam replied.
“How are you feeling?” Morgan asked him, knowing she was asking a loaded question and she waited on bated breath for his reply.
“I’m feeling better thanks to the painkillers. They said if the PT team signs off, I could be discharged tonight,” Adam answered meeting Morgan’s gaze. His words keeping things friendly and cordial, but his sharp eagle eyes saw through her façade, seeming to peel back each and every layer one by one.
“Well, I’m sure you know why we’re here,” Soto explained. “We need to know what you remember, and also what you know about Roman.”
Karadec’s eyes darted back from the Lieutenant’s to Morgan’s and then he explained, “I found out that he’s alive and may be working as a double agent.”
Morgan tried not to gasp. Until now she hadn’t really allowed herself to process the news of Roman being alive, but it just all seemed so surreal.
“Would you be able to elaborate on that?” Selena Soto asked.
“Ronnie wasn’t able to provide specific details, but Roman Sinquerra has been in a deep cover operation assisting the FBI on a highly classified case involving black market trade when his handler Lyla Flynn was killed. We think he may be continuing her work.”
Selena Soto frowned, and Morgan seemed to lose some of her coloring.
Just then Selena’s phone rang and she excused herself.
“Sorry, I have to take this.” Selena stepped out into the hallway leaving Morgan alone with Adam for a moment.
“Are you doing okay,” he asked Morgan noting her complexion grow paler and Morgan took a deep breath and then made her best attempt at a smile.
“Well, despite having a 160 IQ, I don’t think I know what direction is up or down anymore, so I guess I don’t really know how to answer that question,” Morgan stated truthfully.
Adam softened his gaze, feeling empathy for Morgan and all that she was going through.
Just then Morgan’s phone pinged and she looked at a text she just got and then breathed a little sigh of relief. It was a text from Ava and she sent a picture of her and Elliot together.
Morgan couldn’t help but smile faintly.
Adam looked at her with curiosity and Morgan explained, “I just asked the kids to check in.”
Then Morgan realized she had put her foot in her mouth because Adam didn’t know about the other issue she had been dealing with. Her little dilemma with David the Gamemaker.
“What mother doesn’t love to hear from her children right?” Morgan asked trying to brush aside the text, because she didn’t want Adam to worry about that too. She was already concerned that she may have been linked somehow to the person who shot him.
Adam studied her knowing immediately that something seemed off but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Just then Selena came back in the room, her face looking quite grim, and she announced, “Well I have some unfortunate news.” Selena paused for a moment waiting until she had their undivided attention, and then she explained, “Gio was found dead today.”
“Oh shit!” Morgan blurted out.
“Yeah,” Selena agreed.
Adam all the sudden appeared troubled and he shook his head and cut to the chase, “You’re not going to have Morgan go out and investigate Gio’s murder on her own are you?”
Selena cast Karadec a glare and she shook her head.
“No actually, I was thinking perhaps we need to shuffle things up. Since you need to focus on your recovery, I was going to suggest Morgan partner with Melon.”
Morgan was unable to keep from scrunching her nose.
“But with this new development, I’m thinking I may need Melon to investigate Gio’s murder independently and Morgan, can work in tandem with Daphne and Oz in the field during the day to find your shooter.”
Karadec seemed to relax a bit more after hearing that, but then the Lieutenant decided to add a final edict.
“However, since you are still recovering, and are also likely motivated to find the person who shot you, and that person may also be motivated to target others on my team.” Selena didn’t say Morgan’s name specifically, but she implied it by flicking her gaze in Morgan’s direction. “Id like to propose that Adam stay at Morgan’s house to both work together on this case once you are able, and to keep an eye on things when Morgan’s not able to.” She looked at Morgan and asked her, “I know it’s a bold suggestion, but what do you think?”
In truth Morgan’s head was spinning. She was still grappling with the information she had just learned about Roman and Gio being killed. And now Soto was suggesting Adam stay with her. She wanted to say it was a crazy idea and she would be just fine by herself, but part of her didn’t hate the notion, in fact part of her felt relief and comfort at the thought of Adam staying with them.
Morgan looked over to Adam and she asked him, “That depends on how Karadec feels. He is welcome to stay in my home if he doesn’t mind living inside a three-ring circus.”
Adam grinned.
“Adam?” Selena asked him.
“I suppose I’ve stayed in far worse conditions,” Adam joked.
Morgan swatted his arm playfully and he smiled at her.
“Great, then it’s settled. Morgan can pick you up once you are discharged to grab your personal things from your apartment, and then you two can move in together.”
Morgan gave Selena an odd look before meeting Adam’s gaze.
She knew having Adam around would be good for the well-being and safety of her family, as long as he didn’t drive her bat shit crazy both in arguing nonstop over every little thing she said and did, and in that other awkward issue that had bubbled up, more recently between them. But she hoped they could just ignore that silly little kiss because it obviously didn’t mean anything. It was simply an accidental encounter. Morgan had already planned to put the entire event behind her, despite the fact that every time she thought about Adam Karadec, she couldn’t help reminiscing about the way it felt when his lips locked with hers, warm, tender, completely unexpected, and for some reason when they were in the same space together, her skin felt like it was on fire.
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Notes:
This chapters has a little bit of the domestic stuff to get through and then we'll be getting into more action among other things (for those who are action fans.) And also just wanted to say thanks to those who have left kudos and a special big thanks to those who took the time to leave reviews. You are the fire under my fingers. <3 Thank you! :)
Chapter Text
Chapter 3
Morgan waited for Adam to get through the front door with one of his bags. Despite her insisting she and her children bring in his things, he seemed especially possessive of his small carry-on sized bag.
When he entered her home Adam walked over to the couch and set his bag down and surveyed the space thoughtfully.
“If you have a pillow and a blanket I can make up the couch after everyone turns in for the night and fold up everything before breakfast,” Karadec offered.
“Wow you’re going to do all that with one arm?” Morgan asked appearing impressed and clearly teasing Adam.
Adam tossed his eyes at her and she smiled smugly and then walked towards him and grabbed his wrist.
“Too bad at Chez Morgan we don’t let our guests sleep on the couch, especially wounded guests. So would you like to see your room now?” She asked to cut to the chase.
Sighing Adam realized he was going to have to pace himself, and pick his battles because Morgan was just being her usual charming and slightly annoying self.
“Sure, why not.” He answered figuring the sooner he got through the tour the sooner he could get back to focusing on his work.
Morgan grinned and led the way into the hallway. Adam followed her expecting to be staying in one of the children’s bedrooms, likely her sons. But then to his surprise Morgan led him through a doorway and he saw a queen-sized bed and pictures of Morgans children and family framed on the dresser. Doing a double take at the dresser again because the top drawer was pulled out a bit, and Adam couldn’t help but notice the lacy black bra sticking out.
Morgan must have spotted it at the same time and she quickly stepped over and snatched the bra away, wadding it in a fist in her hand and hiding it behind her back.
“It was a busy morning,” Morgan muttered with a blush in an attempt in excuse for forgetting to put away a piece of her underwear.
“Morgan, I’m not sleeping in your bedroom. I can take the couch,” Adam insisted.
He hated the idea that now he knew exactly where Morgan’s underwear drawer was, and not only that but he could have gone without the visual of seeing her bra, that image now burned in his mind, which would probably now make its way into his dreams.
Morgan shook her head and she asserted, “No you don’t want the couch, trust me. I run a tight ship and make my kids clean up after themselves, but even I wouldn’t sleep on that couch overnight, who knows what you might find under those cushions.”
Morgan scrunched her nose as if to suggest there may be some things Karadec, a known clean-freak may not want to discover.
Adam glared at her in frustration, and he shook his head. “I’m not kicking you out of your own bedroom,” he declared placing his palms out in full resistance mode.
“There’s a futon bed in Chloe’s room. I’ll stay with her,” Morgan explained.
“What if we brought Chloe’s crib in here and I took the futon?” Adam suggested, needing to find an alternative to what she was proposing immediately.
Morgan smirked and she shook her head.
“Oh my God, you were just shot! Take the bed Karadec! The futon is perfectly comfortable. Plus Chloe’s crib is far too heavy and complicated to take apart and move in here.”
Sighing Adam looked around Morgan’s room and she shrugged her shoulders because it was apparent at that point that Karadec was all out of arguments.
“Don’t worry, we’ll make you earn your keep here Karadec,” Morgan promised with a wink and a nod, trying to lighten the mood, noting that Karadec appeared to have been both outwitted and seemed to be looking quite helpless in this moment in time.
---
“I’m going to start working on my quantum physics puzzle,” Elliot declared a few hours later, excusing himself from the dinner table.” He had helped to cook dinner so Ava was up for clearing off the table tonight.
“Okay bud, you enjoy,” Morgan replied calling after her son.
“So the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree it appears,” Karadec observed picking up his plate and carrying it over to the sink, noting that Morgan’s son was also likely a high-potential intellectual.
Morgan smirked and she walked over to her daughter and playfully bumped her in the arm, and replied, “Yes some of us are nerds and some are cool cats, like my little artist over here.”
Morgan went to clean up Chloe who made quite a mess with her dinner.
Ava cast her mom a mock eye roll and she glanced over at Adam for a moment.
“So, you like art huh, do you have a favorite medium?” Karadec asked Ava while attempting to help her towel dry a cup she had just washed and rinsed.
Ava smiled and she shrugged her shoulders as she placed a clean rinsed off plate on the dish rack and answered, “Um, I guess painting and drawing.”
“You should see her work,” Morgan chimed in. “She is so talented.”
“Mom, please. You’re so biased,” Ava declared setting another clean dish in the other sink.
“Id love to see it sometime. That is if you want to share,” Adam stated.
Ava blushed clearly not liking to be the center of attention.
Karadec didn’t appear to notice Ava’s discomfort instead continued the conversation and he explained, “I have a friend from high school who is a professor at the California Institute of Arts. I used to tease him in school about spending so much time in art class. He was into sculpture and pottery, and at the time his pieces looked pretty strange, but after he got into a real art school and started to work around like-minded artists, his work evolved, and he’s actually pretty successful now.”
“That’s cool,” Ava replied.
“Not sure if you have any interest, but if you did, Id be happy to set up a meeting with him, and/or a tour of the school,” Karadec offered.
Ava glanced at her mom.
Karadec’s gaze flicked with Morgan’s briefly for a moment, suspecting that Ava was likely hesitating to respond due to her family’s financial situation, and he knew if she was at all interested, he would make sure that his friend was able to get Ava information about some scholarship programs or grants in which she could apply.
“I’d love that,” Ava finally replied.
“Consider it done then,” Karadec smiled and then he accidentally dropped a bowl he was trying to dry. Thankfully, it was plastic so it didn’t break when it bounced on the floor.
---
Later that evening after the children had turned in for the night and Morgan had put Chloe to bed, she peeked her head into Karadec’s room, aka her old bedroom noticing that he was just standing there in the middle of the room shirtless and wearing a pair of easy to get on (and off) jogger pants, the pants she imagined he wore when he went to the gym, where he must have spent a considerable amount of time when he wasn’t investigating cases because his body was in peak physical form. The vision of shirtless Adam was doing all kind of crazy things to Morgans insides.
After taking a moment to appreciate the anatomy of the human body and specifically male human body, Morgan returned to Earth and realized Adam was actually struggling to pull on some sort of a waterproof plastic covering over the bandages taped around his shoulder and neck region, which left Morgan to assume he must have been preparing to take a shower, and she asked, “Do you need help?”
Adam turned away suddenly feeling self-conscious and he shook his head, “I got it, thanks though,” Adam replied focusing again on attempting to pull a piece of the plastic covering up over his shoulder.
Morgan ignored his refusal of her help however, noting his stubbornness was probably just as bad as hers and she stepped closer and pulled at the edge of the cover and straightened it out over his back. Thankfully he didn’t seem to mind, although he was struggling to meet her gaze.
“I wanted to thank you for offering to connect Ava with your friend at the art institute. She is truly gifted, but I’m always encouraging her to express herself through her art,” Morgan stated with a smile, clearly proud of her child.
“She’s a good kid,” Karadec offered, noting that Morgan was still fidgeting with the edges of his wrap, her fingers causing ripples of heat to run up and down his body.
“I think I’m good,” Karadec stated bluntly, stepping away from her suddenly, noting that he needed to nip whatever it was he was feeling in the bud stat.
The moment Morgan stepped back Karadec made a bee line for the bathroom as if he couldn’t get away from Morgan fast enough.
“You sure, you don’t need help in there?” Morgan called after him, noting that he was probably still going to have some challenges in the shower with just one functioning arm.
Adam chuckled and shook his head and called back. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for your help earlier. Get some rest.”
“Okay, but holler if you need me,” Morgan insisted as he fumbled to close the door quickly behind him.
Morgan closed her eyes, shook her head and muttered to herself one of her favorite Jane Austen quotes, from the book Pride and Prejudice from the character Elizabeth Bennet to Mr. Darcy.
There is a stubbornness about me that can never bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.’
Smiling smugly Morgan decided to get ready for bed, but it was only a few minutes later she heard a loud hiss followed by a thud coming from the bathroom, and she felt compelled to head over to check things out.
The room was filled with steam but Morgan could see a large hunched over shadow behind the shower curtain.
“Hey buddy, you okay?” She asked.
“Morgan you DO NOT need to come in here! I’m fine. I just dropped the soap and then slipped on it. Everything’s okay.”
“Adam, you are clearly not okay. You need help.”
“Things just take more time.”
Morgan dared to poke her head behind the curtain to Karadec’s horror and although he was still hunched over, he rushed to cover his private area with a washcloth.
Morgan tried to stifle a snicker and she explained, “I can pick up the soap, and I’d be more than happy to help you wash your back.” Morgan tried once again, not to stare at his perfectly chiseled chest and those muscular thighs although she was failing miserably.
“MORGAN KEEP YOUR EYES UP HERE!” Karadec barked.
Morgan flipped her eyes up thinking this was ridiculous, and she turned back into the bathroom area to grab Karadec a large towel handing it to him through the crack and making a large display of showing that she was not peeking, Morgan instructed him, “Just turn off the water for a moment, grab the shower bar to your left over there to pull yourself up, and put this towel around your waist. Then Ill reach in and grab the soap so you don’t slip on it again, alright?”
Karadec huffed and muttered what she thought were curse words, but to Morgan’s relief she heard the shower nozzle squeak off.
“Okay, towels on.” Karadec started after a few long moments.
Morgan peeled back the curtain carefully once again smiling like a Cheshire cat, but she chose to say nothing because she could tell Adam was out of his element, and so she focused on finding the soap which had fallen right next to his heel. Crouching down, Morgan reached into the shower and fished it out, unable to resist one quick glance up because she happened to notice he didn’t successfully tuck his towel in all the way at his rear leaving a lovely, slivered view of his sculpted buttocks. Sculpted to perfection like a Greek statue. For some reason she felt the sudden desire to strip off her own clothes and step in the shower with him. But Morgan resisted, and instead she stood back up turned over Adam’s hand, and placed the bar of soap in his palm.
His coffee brown gaze flicked with her sparkling blue eyes for a moment, and it was clear Morgans was concerned for his well-being, and she explained, “None of this would have happened if you would have accepted my help in the first place, so please do me a favor and try to be more careful. We don’t want you going back to the hospital…”
Adam nodded understanding her concern and he knew she was right. He would have to be more careful and ask for help if he needed it even if that was hard for him to do.
But unfortunately their serious and genuine moment was short-lived because seconds later, Morgan dropped her eyes down suggestively, to alert Karadec to the fact that he was not totally covered and she concluded before exiting the bathroom, “Oh and thanks for the lovely sneak peek!”
Karadec glanced down realizing what Morgan was referring to and as her blonde mane of hair disappeared behind the steam and the door of the bathroom, he closed his eyes, hating that on his road to madness in the few fleeting seconds before she had turned on her heels and left him to finish his shower, he had actually fantasized about pulling Morgan in with him and kissing her senseless. It was surely a sign that he was starting to lose it.
----
The next day Lieutenant Soto asked Morgan to assist Daphne and Oz with their investigation in the field. They wanted to follow a lead on the bullets shells that were left behind at the scene where Karadec had been shot. Even though the bullet had gone straight through Karadec’s shoulder, they were able to narrow down where the ammunition may have been purchased, since it was a special style of ammunition. Mid-day Morgan convinced the duo to break so she could drop off a bankers box filled with case files for Karadec to go through at her house.
She had never seen Karadec look so happy to receive that box, it was like Christmas morning. Morgan only wished she had thought to add a bow before she gave him the box to be funny.
As Morgan was leaving her house she was reminded of something that they had missed earlier at the ammunition store. They were having trouble finding the buyer of the bullets because the receipts just weren’t matching up with the timeline, but Morgan wondered if it was because the bullets had been a gift and therefore the buyers name could have been reflected on a gift receipt instead.
When she was back in the car with Daphne and Oz, Morgan shared this information with them, which broke open everything and they were able to return back to the ammunition store to find the correct receipt and then track down the actual person who had shot Karadec. In fact Morgan had even pinpointed the suspects favorite hangout location, which happened to be an old, abandoned warehouse, so they decided to conduct a reconnaissance mission. Morgan remained in the car alone with Daphne doing surveillance while Oz did surveillance from the other side of the building.
While waiting, Daphne asked Morgan, “So how has it been having Karadec as a house mate? I know you two have somewhat different philosophies. Have you driven each other mad yet?”
Morgan glanced at Daphne and smiled and then she confessed.
“Well I’m well aware of my own shortcomings when it comes to working and especially living with other adults, so I wouldn’t dare to judge. Truthfully aside from a bit of a stubborn independent streak, Adam’s been pretty awesome, and cool with my kids,” Morgan answered.
“Adam huh?” Daphne hedged and Morgan batted her lashes.
“Karadec seems so formal when we’re housemates, doesn’t it?” Morgan questioned trying to brush off the fact that she just referred to Karadec by his first name, which was mostly reserved for those closest to him, whom he allowed in his inner circle.
“I’m glad to hear you are both getting along,” Daphne replied smugly. “I know he can sometimes be a bit abrasive, but I like that when it comes down to what’s important, he’s willing to listen, and despite all his expertise and knowledge, cut us some slack.”
“Oh yeah, you know me I take my slack and run with it,” Morgan joked and Daphne giggled.
“So tell me about you and Oz, anything special going on there?” Morgan asked and Daphne closed her mouth quickly shaking her head.
“Nah, we’re just friends,” Daphne answered clearly acting as if Morgan’s question was ridiculous.
Morgan glanced at her, her blue eyes sparkling. “Sure, but I saw how you collapsed at his side when Karadec pulled Oz out of that pool after the Police ball.”
Daphne shrugged her shoulders, clearly unable to come up with an excuse, and Morgan smirked to herself. Whether or not Daphne had intended to give justification for herself, they would never know because Oz had returned just then with news that their perp was on the move. So he jumped back in the car and they decided to pursue him in a car chase that led down to the waters edge.
---
That evening Morgan opened the door to her home and was greeted by her children and Ludo who to her relief, had prepared dinner for everyone.
After making sure to give hugs to both Ava and Elliot, even though she knew gestures of parental affection and mushiness sometimes annoyed her eldest, Morgan turned to Ludo.
“Hey, thanks for making dinner,” Morgan stated thanking her ex and taking Chloe from him and giving her infant a hug and a squishy kiss before she plopped her in her highchair.
Morgan glanced around to see if Adam was around and she asked Ludo, “Have you seen Karadec?”
Ludo gave Morgan an embarrassed look.
“I think he is in your room working. The only reason I know that is because when I changed Chloes diaper earlier and set her down to clean up, within seconds the slippery little fish crawled into your bedroom barging in on him flipping through tons of papers laid out over your bed, and I had to rush in and scoop her out.
Morgan smiled sympathetically knowing that had to be uncomfortable for Ludo.
“Sorry it got awkward,” Morgan replied.
Ludo shrugged and then he started to pack up his things.
Speaking to Ava and Elliot who already started to make up their dinner plates, Morgan stated, “Ill be right in to join you. I just wanted to check in with Adam to let him know we have dinner out if he wants some now or later.”
Ava and Elliot, apparently famished were not phased at all by Morgan’s statement and continued to pile up their plates with food.
Morgan made her way to the bedroom and she knocked softly on the door. Walking into her room as expected she found Adam sitting with his legs out on her bed with papers all around him, including a pile of papers on his lap.
“Hey there partner, just wanted to let you know that dinners ready. Oh and good news, Oz arrested your alleged shooter this afternoon,” Morgan grinned and gave him a thumbs up, expecting Karadec to be pleased with this news.
But when he glanced up from the page that he was reading his expression at best appeared conflicted.
“You didn’t want the man who shot you arrested?” Morgan asked suddenly confused as to why Karadec didn’t seem more enthusiastic that his alleged shooter had been arrested.
And then Adam finally met Morgans gaze, and he asked her in his cop tone, the tone she realized she was not so terribly fond of.
“You know Morgan, I spent most of the day reading through the case files. Getting caught up on details to help with your case, to find Roman, and to find Gio’s killer. But more importantly, I thought you and I had established a mutual rapport and trust between each other. But I guess I didn’t realize that I’d have to also read your formal statement to find out about your relationship with the Gamemaker in these files too. Did it just happen to slip your mind, or did you intentionally decide to keep me in the dark that you and your family were directly threatened?”
Morgan’s face fell and she realized that she probably had made a mistake in keeping that detail from her partner for this long. The reminder of the Gamemaker and his threats bringing everything back to a head.
Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Notes:
Thanks for your patience on this chapter update! Life has been a bit crazy the last couple weeks but finally got this one posted. Hopefully it wont be such a long wait for the next update.
On a side note, Its really interesting to write when the show is airing. I had an outline for this story written from the beginning (prior to S2 air date), but perhaps may make one or two tweaks depending on which direction the season takes. But we'll see how closely things line up. ;) Thanks again for reading and a big special thanks to those who take the time to leave reviews, it means a lot! x0
Chapter Text
Chapter 4
Adam’s words rang through Morgan’s head long after he said them, and she wondered the same thing herself.
‘Did it just happen to slip your mind, or did you intentionally decide to keep me in the dark that you and your family were directly threatened?’
Morgan asked herself, why had she concealed that detail from him for so long? And how she somehow had let it slip her mind that her formal statement to the LAPD was in those files, because deep down, she knew he was going to eventually find out. But it didn’t matter now because Adam knew the truth. And she had to deal with the truth as well.
Swallowing Morgan took a reluctant step forward and she explained, “At first, I did not want you to worry. I wanted you to focus on your recovery.” Morgan lifted her gaze to meet Adam’s her eyes remorseful and she shook her head and added, “But then I think I tried to lock it away, because it shook me to my core, and if I’m being honest with myself, if I continued to go on thinking about him being out there watching me and stalking my family, (Morgan sneered) I would probably be in jail right now. And my kids need their mom. So, I borrowed a page from your playbook, and I tried to compartmentalize it.”
“So that’s why you’ve practically had your kids glued to your hip at the hospital, and why you have them calling to check in with you frequently right?” Karadec asked, now understanding the big picture.
Morgan nodded and Adam set the pages that were on his lap aside and he shook his head.
“I wish you would have told me, but your motive is understandable,” Karadec replied, his voice a little calmer, and his gaze held a little more empathy.
Morgan exhaled, trying to just focus on her breathing because the subject of the Gamemaker always made her anxious.
Adam could see that Morgan was struggling internally with this. He had smelled some food cooking earlier and he asked her, “Have you had dinner yet?”
Morgan shook her head and she admitted, “Actually I was coming in here to let you know Ludo made dinner for everyone.”
Karadec smiled gently and he swung his legs around to the edge of the bed, so he could stand and when he pushed himself up, he concluded, “Well then why don’t we both eat. And then if you’re not too tired after, perhaps you can lend me some of your expertise and we can look through these files together.”
Morgan smirked knowing they were more alike than either of them cared to admit because she was just as happy as Adam was to spend the evening rifling through a box of papers.
“You got yourself a deal,” Morgan replied leading the way
----
They had been at it for hours, Morgan was on one side of the bed, her pile of papers had most of the files that Lieutenant Soto and Karadec had gathered about Roman, and she was wracking her brain because there were just too many gaps. Karadec had the stack of papers on his side of the bed that pertained to Gio and his linkage to Roman, but then he also had another sub-stack about the Gamemaker and Morgan’s encounter with him as well as the others, including Oz, and Karadec put in a request to get some more information from Daphne about updates on the Gamemaker’s whereabouts. He wanted eyes on that Deutsche bag 24/7 so they could arrest and lock him up the first chance they got. He agreed with Morgan that he was dangerous and needed to be put in jail where he belonged.
Morgan continued reading the files noticing the words were starting to look a little hazier on the page and her eyelids starting to feel a little heavier.
“Can I ask you a question?” Karadec asked Morgan flipping through his pile.
Morgan tried to cover her mouth to stifle a yawn, unable to hide the fact that she was actually getting tired.
“Sure, shoot,” Morgan replied.
“You never told me how you and Roman met,” Karadec asked.
Morgan nodded and through tired eyes she smiled and she explained, “Well, we actually met at a UCLA Frat/Sorority party. I know, it was not a place either one of us would have been interested in given our social interests, but I got dragged there by a friend and he went with some of his friends and we bonded over hating those types of parties, and stuck up people all-together, and the rest is history. Oh, and my father absolutely hated him.”
Adam smiled smugly and he gave a nod, “Likely further driving a wedge between your already rocky relationship between you and your father?”
“Bingo,” Morgan admitted.
Morgan looked at Karadec again out of the side of her eye and she remarked, “Okay, I know you were asking me that because it pertains to the case, but I think its only fair that I get to ask you one personal question too.”
“I suppose that’s fair,” Adam replied glancing over to Morgan he concluded signaling that it was okay for her to begin, “shoot.”
“Was Lucia your most serious relationship and the closest you came to being married?” Morgan asked, leaning her head back against the headboard. She was curious to hear his answer but it was also getting harder to keep her eyelids open.
“Technically that’s two questions. But, yes, is the short answer. The long answer is I’ve had one or two serious relationships in addition to Lucia but never was engaged or married to anyone else."
"So, you must be a Virgo then. The sun sign of the eternal bachelor,” Morgan teased before she let out another yawn.
Karadec smirked, but then it turned into a stifled yawn, mimicking Morgan.
Morgan observed he was showing signs of tiredness as well, and she let out a sigh. “Okay buddy, I think we’re both fried tonight, so I’m just going to finish reading this last page and then call it a night, okay?”
“Sounds good,” Karadec answered with a thumb half-way up, not having the energy to raise it all the way up, before turning over the page he was reading and as he tried to read the other side noticed the letters looked blurry. Because as soon as Morgan pointed it out, he realized he felt really tired as well. He closed his heavy eye lids for just one second to try to re-focus. Or he thought it was just a second.
Morgan also never finished reading her last page, because she dared to rest her heavy head on the headboard for a moment of relief, before they both fell prey to the Sandman’s charms.
---
Hours later, but before the sun had risen, Morgan was the first to open her eyes, realizing that she had never made it to Chloe’s room the night before, still dressed in her work attire from the day before. Her cheek had been smooshed up against Adam’s chest, which was solid and smelled inviting with notes of citrus, juniper, and amber, and her palm had been pressed into his hand.
She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand and it read 5:47 am. Morgan thought it might be best if she was able to sneak back into her futon bed rather than deal with the awkwardness that was sure to ensue, should Karadec wake and find her here with him.
She slowly sat up straightening out her hair with her hand, noting that most of the paper files they were going through had now fallen to the floor but she thought she could tidy up before leaving. Morgan reached for a piece of paper that remained on the bed, but before her fingers made it to the page, she felt a strong arm encircle her waist and pull her back to the warmth, like an anchor. In reaction, her heart began to beat faster, and her body began to grow warm.
Morgan tried to lift the large arm, but she found that it had closed in around her like a vice. Karadec wasn’t hurting her, but she was impressed that with one arm, he had such great strength. It took a few seconds of maneuvering but eventually, Morgan was able to turn around to face him, and through the low light shining through her window, she saw that he was still asleep. She studied his face for a moment, noting his long eyelashes, lashes that would make most women jealous, and his nose was straight with a what would be defined by artists as a Greek style nose, broad lips, that would likely feel very nice to kiss, and small gap through his slightly open lips to which she could see his perfectly straight and white teeth closed behind as he slept.
Although Morgan didn’t mind being this close to Adam. In fact, it felt quite comfortable and natural to be near him, even lying next to him in bed, although when their flesh touched, she experienced these strange pangs of need, Morgan still preferred to have a full range of motion. And so she thought she might try an experiment.
Morgan leaned in and placed gentle kisses along the base of his neck. His skin was warm, and she moved her lips up to kiss his throat. Within seconds he started to move, and his grip loosened to her satisfaction. But despite having achieved her goal because his arm had relaxed enough so that she was free to move about, she only became further intrigued by this enigma wrapped in a riddle lying next to her. When Adam began to stir, Morgan driven by her curiosity/need/drive kissed the spot of bare skin on his cheek and then she placed a kiss at the edge of his mouth. His eyes fluttered open for a moment and there was a little voice in her head questioning if she should pull back and apologize for crossing that line, but then she felt that familiar wave of heat flush through her veins and a flurry in her stomach when to her astonishment, Adam actually reciprocated her advances and his lips caressed the sensitive spot behind her ear. She nearly giggled when his beard tickled her soft skin. Morgan’s eyes fluttered as she lifted her head and their noses grazed, their hazy gazes connecting for a brief moment, before like two waves cresting in the ocean, their lips met and then they were swept under the current together falling deeper under the surface, in a heated kiss that seemed to halt space and time.
Morgan couldn’t believe she was making out with her partner and he was kissing her back quite passionately. Morgan was operating on pure organic energy at this point and her muscles were pulsing with liquid heat.
She brought one palm up to caress his jaw and take the kiss deeper when Adam surprised her by using his good arm to hoist her up onto his lap, having placed his palm on her ass in order to bring her closer to him, his palm holding firm onto her ass.
Morgan felt the thick bulge from his cotton pants press up against the thin fabric of her panties. The miniskirt she had on had already ridden up past her upper thighs. She was experiencing the pangs of desire, and specific parts of her body were aching and primed, wanting that hand to dive deeper below the surface of her panty line, and down into the vee between her thighs.
Instead Morgan plunged her tongue into his mouth and his tongue glided against hers, his hips bucking into hers as their tongues danced, and she was beginning to grow dizzy. Morgan knew if she didn’t say something soon they were about to reach the point of no return.
“Adam?” Morgan muttered against his mouth, her breathing heavy.
“Mmmhm,” he muttered in reply in between kisses.
He kissed her deeply, drawing out a moan from Morgan.
Morgan was trying to think about the words she needed to say to put a cork in what was happening, her brain a jumbled mess as the yearning reached new heights, and then she blurted out, “Do you have a condom?”
Her question caused him to stop kissing her for a brief moment and she wondered if she may have misread things and got swept up in the moment.
Then he replied to her dismay, “In my wallet, top drawer, nightstand.”
Morgan’s jaw dropped for a moment, and Adam took the opportunity to continue to kiss her neck when she turned to look over at her nightstand, and when she turned her head back to look at him, he caught her lips once more, and Morgan felt the pangs of desire overcome her again. She knew they worked together but their chemistry was undeniable, and if she was honest with herself, she wanted this to happen. This wasn’t the first time she had thought about it.
“Okay.” Morgan peeled herself away slowly, leaving Adam staring back at her with hazy eyes and swollen lips. “Ill get it then,” Morgan stated her blue eyes sparkling as she crawled over to the nightstand and she pulled out the top drawer. She located his wallet taking a moment to indulge herself, and to flip through an old-fashioned photo insert, taking note of the faded photo of a child wearing a baseball hat, with a man that looked a lot like Karadec at a Dodgers game and they were both smiling. Morgan assumed the photo must have been of Adam when he was about 9 or 10 with his father. Then she saw another professional portrait of an older but beautiful woman holding a small dog. Morgan wondered if that was Adam’s mother.
“Did you find it?” He asked from behind.
Morgan knew she had to get back to the condom hunt and she smiled and stated playfully, “I found your wallet, and your photo inserts.”
Morgan continued to rifle through the wallet and in the last folded pocket she found one single condom, a Trojan Magnum size Large in a gold foil wrapper and then she swiped it from inside the pocket.
“Can I just say how cute a kid you were?” Morgan turned back towards Adam placing a kiss on his lips and then she revealed the gold foil condom she had been hiding behind her back, and smiled slyly.
“Found it,” she confessed, and Adam smiled.
Morgan laid back down on the bed, her head lining up in parallel facing Adam so she could eventually help him put it on wanting to kiss him once gently on the mouth before she placed her bare hands on his rock hard manhood.
Only as they started getting into the kiss, a piercing cry echoed in the distance. It was her daughter Chloe.
Her mom radar went on alert, and Morgan pulled back again to Adam’s dismay, both because she needed to check on her daughter’s well-being, and because she didn’t want Chloe waking up the whole house.
“I just have to check on her, Ill be back in a few minutes, I promise, okay?” Morgan assured him with a regretful smile, slipping out of bed. She set the condom back carefully on the nightstand and snuck out into the hallway and into her daughter’s room.
When she found Chloe, her infant of course was quiet as a mouse. Morgan decided to check all the usual things, diaper was dry, it was too early for Chloe to eat, and she didn’t really want to get her food yet otherwise she’d want to get up for the day, and then Morgan spotted a flash of her favorite stuffed animal. A purple striped zebra trapped under Chloe’s crib.
“So that’s what put the bee in your bonnet at 6:15 in the morning huh kid?” Morgan asked Chloe, who smiled at her when she returned the zebra to her.
Morgan picked up Chloe and gave her a kiss on the cheek and then she set her down with her purple zebra, who she appeared very happy to be able to hold and hug.
“Okay, you think you can try to sleep a little bit longer with Zoey the Zebra? Mommy will be back in just a little while to check on you two again, okay?”
Chloe smiled again and let out a coo and Morgan turned on her heel. She was happy that was so easy but also feeling slightly anxious thinking about what Adam might be doing right now, only she didn’t get much farther than that because she nearly ran into Elliot who walked into Chloe’s room surprising her.
“Mom, can I stay in here with you?” Elliot asked Morgan, his face a strange shade of white.
Morgan crouched down and looked at her son and asked him, “Honey, are you feeling, okay?”
“I had a bad dream!” Elliot confessed, a little embarrassed.
Morgan felt the need to hug her son pulling him close to her and she replied, “Of course honey. Do you want to talk about it?” Morgan asked him.
Elliot shook his head. “No, I’m fine now,” he said clearly too scared to talk about it.
Morgan took a deep breath holding him for a long minute and then she realized she should let Adam know that she was going to spend the rest of what was left of the early pre-dawn hours with her children.
“Honey, would you be okay hanging out in here with Chloe for just one minute? You could time me if you want?”
Elliot nodded his head. Morgan gave him a kiss on the top of his head, and she crept back quietly into the hallway, making a beeline for her old bedroom only she saw the door was ajar and the bathroom door was closed.
Sighing to herself, Morgan realized Adam must have given up waiting for her. When she peeked inside her bedroom, it was confirmed. The room had been tidied up and all the papers placed back in organized stacks on the floor. With about an hour left before the entire household was awake, Morgan figured she better at least change out of her work clothes, and she definitely needed to change her underwear, which had evidence of her own excitement from earlier. She grabbed a new pair of underwear, shorts and a tee and threw it on and then scribbled down a note for Adam to let him know where she was, leaving it on the nightstand, noting that the condom she had left there earlier, was now likely carefully tucked back into his wallet.
Morgan wondered in part if last night had been a lucid dream because it all seemed so surreal still. But at this point she was not going to fret over what did or didn’t happen because her children needed her. So, she returned to Chloe’s room.
---
Several hours later after the children had their breakfast Morgan checked in with Soto. Unfortunately, there were no new developments currently, so she was just supposed to stay put and keep her phone on. She still had not spoken with Adam, figuring he was lying low after their almost hook up.
But she still felt the need to clear the air because she wasn’t one to let things go unsaid. When she hung up from her phone call Morgan sook out Adam who was also finishing up a call on his phone in the bedroom. When he saw her he set his phone down and replied casually, “Hello Morgan.”
Morgan stepped closer and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Adam sat up a little straighter, his cool demeaner stiffening. “What are you doing?” He asked.
Morgan chuckled and she patted his leg, which also stiffened.
“Wow. Okay, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Morgan observed.
Adam met her gaze blankly and Morgan shook her head and locked gazes, and cocked her head in attempt to get him to get on the same page as her.
When he did not say anything Morgan spoke slowly, “And speaking of beds, I’m sorry about disappearing last night. Its Ludo’s weekend however with the two youngest kids, and Ava has a party tonight.”
He was quiet for a long moment but finally after a long beat, and a hard swallow Adam finally spoke stating, “Listen Morgan, I think its best that we try to keep things professional between us. It’s just there’s probably a hundred reasons why anything more than a work-place professional relationship would be a disaster and a really bad idea, especially right now.”
Morgan’s face fell. She didn’t even know where to begin unable to believe that just a few short hours ago she actually wanted to jump his bones. Since she wasn’t the kind of woman to have casual sex. In fact, Morgan only ever had historically agreed to engage in sexual intercourse when she was in love with her partner. But that had to be impossible because right now she felt more like punching him in the face. How dare he decide what was going to happen between them without discussing any of this with her!
Standing up, Morgan began to step back towards the door and her eyes narrowed glaring at Karadec.
“You know what, you’re right! It was a bad idea. How would simple little me ever be able to figure all this out if you hadn’t decided everything for us? Thank’s so much for the favor buddy! I’ll leave you to your work then—Alone!” Morgan spat back, her voice laced with sarcasm.
She heard him call her name but chose to ignore him as she closed the door behind her.
Although it was a Saturday, Morgan decided to channel her energy into cleaning before Ludo got there to pick up Elliot and Chloe.
When Morgan was wiping down the kitchen counters, Elliot came in to grab a juice box from the fridge and he leaned against the counter and stopped to ask his mom, “Do you still want to know what my nightmare was about?” Elliot asked Morgan.
Just then Adam came into the kitchen and walked over to the coffee maker to refill his coffee thermos.
Morgan looked at Adam and flipped her eyes to let him know she was not interested in talking to him, before she turned her head to smile extra big towards her son and she replied, “Of course buddy, I always want you to feel that you can tell me anything. What happened?”
Morgan gestured that they both go into the living room and Elliot followed her lead.
Elliot sat on the couch and took a sip from his juice box, and Morgan took a seat next to him and she put her arm around his shoulders in support.
Elliot began, “When I was lying in my bed I kept hearing a tapping on my window. When I sat up there was a monster outside, or at least I thought it was.”
Morgan appeared concerned and she started to rub Elliot’s back. “But it wasn’t a monster?” Morgan asked.
Elliot shook his head, and explained, “When I put my glasses on I saw someone was standing there, but it wasn’t a monster because they were just wearing a mask.”
All the sudden the hairs on Morgan’s neck stood on end and the alarm bells in her head sounded.
She turned her head to glance back at Adam who was still in the kitchen, and he had the same look of concern. Then Morgan felt her stomach drop.
Chapter 5: Chapter 5
Notes:
Hello hello! This chapter took a little more time to write, more so due to working out the puzzle stuff, but its a longer chapter in length. Things are about to really get stirred and shaken up now. And in this fict the Gamemaker storyline is taking a bit of a different direction. Hope you stay tuned and thanks to all who have read, left kudos, and a special BIG thanks to those who have left reviews! xo
Chapter Text
Chapter 5
Adam Karadec had worked as a Senior Detective with the Los Angeles Police Department Major Crimes Unit for the last 12 years, and of course had also trained with the LAPD in order to rise to the rank of detective, which is where he met Selena Soto, who was in the cohort class ahead of him, but he always knew he wanted to be a detective. Aside from Soto, he had the most experience and credentials within their unit and was likely next in line for a promotion should the opportunity present itself.
In his decade and a half experience, he had never come across anyone like Morgan Gillory. She was a little crazy and had a definite lack of respect for rules and authority, which she acknowledged freely, but she was also the most brilliant person he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. With eyes that sparkled brilliantly like the azure, blue waters of Aegean Sea she was underestimated by most individuals she encountered, which frankly made her the perfect secret weapon. Bottom line, she was a huge asset to their team and the Major Crimes unit.
Karadec admitted that it took him a little time to warm up to Morgan. Initially he thought Soto had made a bad call when she asked the single mother of three to join their team as a consultant, the same woman who used public transportation and left a shopping cart out on her front lawn, and most importantly had little to no respect for the law. Karadec was annoyed that Morgan was likely going to be just wasting their time, and she didn’t take any of what they did seriously, but over time he saw how valuable Morgan was, and not only valuable, but he began to see her as not only an asset to their team, but a partner, and a friend, and possibly perhaps even someone whom he had developed feelings for.
Adam knew however if anything happened to her, or he did anything to screw things up, such as engaging in a messy relationship that he was not confident either one of them was ready to embark upon, hundreds, if not thousands of cases might go unsolved. And not only that but Soto would probably have his head because as a detective the one perspective and oath he pledged to take was one of neutrality in the eyes of the law, and if he was involved with Morgan, he could no longer claim neutrality when it came to his bias when it came to working with her and he might have to recuse himself more often than not which could cause more problems and delays with their cases. And most importantly, the case they were working on at the moment hit remarkably close to home. He just had to look down at his arm, which was still in a sling to be reminded that it was less than a week ago that someone had shot him due to his involvement. He didn’t regret helping Morgan, he would have done it all over again knowing there was a bullet waiting for him at the end, but it just brought it home that the stakes were high and the people who were involved in this were very dangerous. If he did not have his head in the game 100% it could mean the difference between life and death for him, for Morgan, and for her family.
If Adam was honest, he could admit it had not been an easy week, starting with being asked by the Lieutenant to board in Morgan’s home with her family, and then finding out Morgan had chosen for him to stay in her bedroom. It was as if there were plans to torture him and only him slowly and methodically, and in a way that no one but him was aware, because Morgan had unintentionally left behind items for him to find such as a lacy white thong stuffed in the back of the drawer she had claimed to have cleaned out for him to use. He was certain she had genuinely believed she had cleaned it out, but due to her busy life, missed it.
Then he discovered a second bra, this time a nude semitransparent one she left behind in the bathroom after she had finished her shower, that he had to move off the handle to step into the shower. Not to mention every night when his head hit the pillow, he was unable to get her image out of his head because the sheets always smelled like her.
Plus, he had experienced the embarrassing encounter of Morgan seeing him practically naked in the shower when he slipped on the bar of soap and she had to help him get a towel and reach into the shower to grab the soap.
And finally last night they had almost crossed a line. Adam, who had prided himself on being so disciplined, controlled, and responsible, had given in to his more carnal urges without much of a struggle. Once Morgan left with her apologies, he had no other choice but to undo her effects on his misaligned body parts in the bathroom.
To make things even worse, when he returned to the bedroom afterwards to get a little rest before the sun rose, unbeknownst to him, Morgan was actually standing next to his bed naked. Adam had the sense to stop himself from entering the room, noting that the door was ajar by a couple of inches. For a moment Adam questioned if she had returned and was waiting there for him, but then he realized she was pulling on a pair of shorts and then she yanked a loose tee over her head. Thankfully, due to the rain outside and the low light, she had not discovered him looming outside the doorway, and he backtracked to the bathroom not wanting to risk another run in with her. But it didn’t really matter, because those five seconds were frozen in time; and the image of her naked silhouette, the way her panties hugged her tight ass, and her perfect and perky breasts on full display, nipples erect, kissed by the low purple, pink, and blue lights of the flickering moonlight mixed with rain outside; had been seared into his brain for eternity.
Adam knew then and there that Morgan was bad for business, and he had to put a stop to things before they got in too deep, because he was not a man who scared easily, but the way he felt when he was with her, and the way she consumed him when they were together truthfully alarmed him. He knew he had to put on the breaks, and so he did despite Morgan not liking the way he handled it.
---
But that morning, when he overheard Elliot talk about seeing a person wearing the mask outside his window, it brought it all home and reminded him that he did indeed need to focus first and foremost on catching this guy and removing all threats from Morgan and her family members.
Adam had already checked in that morning with Ronnie, his FBI contact, who was close to getting an exact location on Roman. In fact, there were rumors that Roman may even be in LA, but they were trying to pinpoint his exact whereabouts. But Adam could see that Morgan was already starting to lose her cool when she jumped up off the couch and strode over to the front door and flung it open to begin investigating outside the house.
“Morgan?” Adam kept his voice down thinking it was probably a good idea to keep his voice down and close the door quietly behind him as he stepped outside to follow her, so her children did not see their mother freak out, although he had no clue about parenting so he wasn’t sure what they knew or what was appropriate behavior, and whether or not her son was observant enough to pick up on what was going on, but regardless Morgan was on a mission and she strode over to the side of the house where Elliot’s bedroom window was located.
Adam trudged after her and finally caught up with her by a cluster of bushes at the side of the house.
“If he was here, there’d have to be footprints, right?” Morgan asked matter-of-factly once Adam had caught up to her, clearly not caring in the slightest that she appeared like a bit of a madwoman, glancing to Adam wanting him to put his detective hat back on for the moment. Adam searched the muddy ground with his eyes noting the blotches of mud and dirt splattered against the siding and he sighed, “Yes, but it was raining so any clues were probably washed away.”
Refusing to believe everything was gone Morgan crouched lower and she started to scan the ground and surface for any sign of disturbance. Feeling the damp ground with her hands and then she moved onto the nearby foliage, where she discovered several broken stems on her salvia plants.
“See, these were disturbed,” Morgan affirmed, pointing to the plant with the red flowers.
“But those stems could have also easily been broken by a small animal passing through,” Karadec argued.
Morgan glanced at him sideways, clearly growing frustrated, and he shook his head, “I’m not saying I don’t believe you Morgan. It could very well be caused by the Gamemaker. But we need solid evidence.” Adam glanced around and he stepped back and announced, “I’m going to take a walk around the house and see what else I can find,” he added stepping off to further examine investigate for any disturbance around Morgan’s house.
Morgan ran her fingers over the siding of her house and noticed a substance that was clear and tacky on the surface of one of the pieces of siding.
“Adam!” There was a tone of urgency in her voice and he came rushing over.
“Yeah?”
Morgan pointed to the siding. “There’s something here.”
She smelled her finger and remarked, “Do you smell cocoa butter?”
Adam found a stick and grabbed a sample of the clear oozy substance to examine it more closely.
“It looks like Vaseline,” he remarked, and Morgan’s eyes widened. “What?” Adam asked, realizing Morgan was on to something.
“As in petroleum jelly…Give me a minute!” Morgan declared jumping up and she ran back into the house. Within sixty seconds, Morgan had returned with a handheld black ultraviolet light that had belonged to her son for a school science project, which she flicked on, and then she held it up to her siding.
All the sudden pieces of letters began to appear in ultraviolet blue, and words started to form. When they appeared, Morgan dropped the handheld light she was holding and then she cursed. “Holy Fuck.”
>:D
LET’S PLAY
MORGAN
Karadec picked up the light that had fallen to the ground and took a photo of the image/text, but when Morgan had turned around she was trembling. His concern for Morgan overpowered his curiosity to learn more about this message and need to get the forensics, and he set down the light, stepped closer to her and he wrapped his arms around her still shaking body.
“Hey, this bastard’s days are numbered. Were going to find him and lock him up, if it’s the last thing I do,” Adam promised.
Morgan lifted her head and met his gaze with glass blue eyes that were ice cold and she said with a chill in her voice, “I want him to suffer.”
Adam’s gaze fell and he put his palm on the side of Morgan’s cheek to ensure she looked at him and he spoke gently, “You don’t mean that. The price is not worth it, trust me.”
Morgan searched his warm brown gaze with her sparkling blue eyes, clearly still tormented but her hardened glare softened just a hair because she knew Adam was just trying to help. She was doing everything in her power not to melt down at the moment.
Adam must have sensed Morgan was about to explode however and he did his best to try to calm her down by using his fingers to comb and then brush some of her hair back behind her ear, and then he brought his thumb up to her face to softly caress her cheek and jaw. Until finally Morgan lifted her calmer gaze to look at him. It was neither the time nor the place for romance, but when their eyes locked there was a glint of deep affections resting just below the surface. Adam knew this mere fact was indeed true, at least in his part, due to the way his breath would hitch ever so slightly every time she looked at him.
“Ill call Soto and see if we can get some surveillance equipment set up. And a safe house for you and your children,” Karadec offered.
“What do you mean safe house?” Ava’s voice cut in from behind and Morgan looked back from Ava to Adam unsure where to begin.
Ava had clearly caught them in a more intimate embrace, they were standing much closer and Adam had his palm on Morgan’s face, a much more familiar gesture than one would observe between run of the mill colleagues or co-workers, but more importantly, Morgan wanted to know about the safe house?
Morgan glanced at Karadec and she shook her head.
“We don’t want to leave our home!” Morgan declared taking Ava’s hand and Adam looked from Morgan to Ava and he explained.
“Morgan, we now have evidence that the Gamemaker has been to your house, and he woke your son up last night without you even being aware he was here. What’s to say he wouldn’t try to break in again? This house is no longer safe. Perhaps I can stay here and keep the lights on as a decoy, to lure him out of hiding.”
“No, absolutely not!” Morgan refused. “First of all, he’s too smart to fall for that and secondly, he wants to mess with me, so it makes the most sense for me to remain here to lure him out of hiding,” Morgan argued.
“Its no longer safe,” Karadec shook his head refusing to budge.
“I don’t really care. I’m not going to let him scare me and push me out of my own home!” Morgan disputed stubbornly, clearly standing her ground.
“But I was supposed to go to Jessica’s party tonight,” Ava complained, with arms folded, and Morgan turned to her daughter with empathy, she tried to head her off with a hug but Ava stepped away from her.
“You don’t care about me, you just care about your investigations, and your little office romance with him!” Ava spat back and she ran into the house. They could hear Ava’s bedroom door slam shut from outside the house.
Morgan looked at Karadec and she shook her head. “Whatever is the fastest way to get this asshole out of our lives for good, that’s what I want to do.”
Karadec gave a single nod of understanding and then he made a phone call.
Within the hour there were police officers and investigators at Morgan’s house as Morgan was helping her children pack up their things.
She went into Ava’s bedroom knowing her daughter was still angry with her and she sat down on her bed. Ava was packing a few of her art journals into a satchel and she was doing an exceptionally good job at pretending she could not see or hear her mother.
But Morgan figured she needed to talk to her daughter anyway whether she wanted to hear her or not, and so she began. “Hey, I know this last week has been hard. I hate that we haven’t been able to go out like we normally do and that you can’t hang out with your friends after school, and won’t be able to go to the party tonight. I know there is nothing I can say that can take the sting of that disappointment and anger away. I know you think it is unfair that I took this job, and am putting everyone’s safety at risk. But what I am about to tell you, I don’t want you to repeat to your siblings, okay?”
Ava turned to look at her mother, her interest.
“What do you mean?” Ava asked.
“The main reason I took this job was so that they, the LAPD would help me find your father, Roman. I know you overheard some of what Lieutenant Soto said that evening when she stopped by our house about your dad not leaving us on purpose that night, but there’s more. Adam’s involved in the search now, and they have reason to think your dad may be alive. But we don’t know if the person who attacked Adam was connected to the coverup around your father or not, and the point being things are really dangerous right now. I know Roman in my heart of hearts would fight through heaven and Earth to protect you. We need to be really careful about who we interact with and just hunker down.”
Ava looked at her mother this time with worry in her young eyes and Morgan wanted more than anything to take her worry away.
“Ava, I love you, I love you more than I love anything else in the world and I would fight dragons, and walk through fire, and even give up my life so that you could be safe. I know this really sucks and after we get this son of a bee locked up, I promise I’m going to do whatever I can to make it up to you. If you want a month of yes days, you got it kiddo, but I need you to work with me right now, okay?”
Finally, after what felt like an eternity Ava finally gave a nod, the tension fading from her eyes, and she replied, “I’ll do it for two months of yes days and that’s my final offer.”
Breaking out into a smile Morgan jumped up and enveloped her daughter into a huge bear hug. “You have yourself a deal!”
She kissed the top of her head, and she said, “And for the record Karadec and I are only professional work partners.”
“Oh really? Cause it didn’t look like that to me.” Ava retorted teasingly.
Morgan looked at her puzzled. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, being stuck on house arrest for the last week or so, with no friends to hang out with and being bored out of my mind it’s hard to ignore the way you two have been stuck together like glue.”
“Well, we work together and were trying to solve---” Morgan started to argue, but Ava shook her head.
“Yeah but you work together, you eat together, you hang out together, in-your-bed-room, you laugh together, you find little ways to touch each other when you don’t think anyone’s watching, hey I know I’m just a teenager, but even a blind person could see it. You like him.”
Morgan cast Ava a funny, ‘you must be joking’ look, but Ava appeared to be completely serious, and then Morgan realized rather than feel embarrassed and falsely discredit her daughter, when she should be impressed and commending Ava that she was so astute and observant.
“Oh, and don’t forget your little smooch at the hospital too,” Ava added with a smug grin.
That’s when Morgan’s face flushed red and she grabbed a hello kitty stuffed toy off Ava’s bed and tossed it at Ava as a diversion.
“Don’t forget to pack this,” Morgan insisted wanting to change the subject as she turned on her heel and then went to get Chloe’s things packed up, clearly unable to avoid embarrassment after all.
---
That evening after Ludo had come by to pick up the kids, and Daphne and Oz came by to escort them to the safehouse, Morgan stood and looked at her empty house with melancholy.
Adam stepped up behind her, and he sighed.
“Soto says they are all settled in for the night, and a little good news. We have a name and home address for our Gamemaker. His name is Matthew Clark and he lives right here in LA.”
Morgan stood up a little straighter and she looked at Adam with a new spark in her eye, and she stated, “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
On the car ride over Adam remarked,
“So, our Gamemaker, Matthew lives alone, and he has no prior criminal history, but his mother went to prison and passed away in prison, when he was young. It turns out she worked as a maid and was arrested for theft. I am wondering if that could have something to do with his fixation with you, as a mother. Aside from your HPI thing, it may have sealed the deal on him choosing you as a target, since he likely has mother issues.”
Morgan glanced at him realizing what Adam was getting at, and that if they encountered him, she could work that angle to her advantage, and she nodded in understanding.
When they arrived at Matthew’s apartment with a warrant this time, his door was ajar. Morgan knew then that this was clearly a set up.
They put on their gloves and searched his apartment. Morgan went through the books in his bookcase combing for anything that would stick out, and then she saw a box covered in geometric graphics that had been inserted in the bookshelf amongst the books.
She slid it out of its slot and realized the box contained a cheesy puzzle board game, titled ‘Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty’s Lair.’ Morgan lifted the lid and at the top of the game a playing card was on top. It read, ‘Given freely, never bought, warms hearts, yet cannot be caught—what am I?’
“What is it?” Adam asked, glancing over at Morgan realizing she had found something and Morgan looked back at him.
“It’s a riddle,” Morgan replied.
Adam glanced over Morgan’s shoulder to read the card, and he appeared to ponder the question for a long moment. But before he could even generate a guess, Morgan blurted out, “Its love. The answer is love!”
“So, what does that mean?” Adam questioned and Morgan looked at him worriedly.
“It can’t mean anything good,” Morgan ascertained.
“His clues have typically led us to a location in the past. Do you think the word ‘love’ points to somewhere specific?” Karadec asked.
Morgan unsure picked up the box and he looked around the bookshelf for any other items that might point them in the right direction. She saw one more thing that caught her eye, it was a triangle of white paper that stuck out a little further from the top of the other book bindings, almost camouflaged between the books. Morgan pulled at the corners and discovered that it was a playbill for Shakespeare’s play, “The Tempest.” On the cover there was a silhouette of a ship in front of what looked like a tropical island, and a quote featured below the title was, “Love is not love. Which alters when it alteration finds. Or bends with the remover to remove: O no; it is an ever-fixed mark. That looks on tempests and is never shaken.”-William Shakespeare.
Karadec came over to look over Morgan’s shoulder and he asked her, “You think this is something?”
Morgan nodded and she explained, “The Tempest is a play about revenge. The main character is Prospero who is a magician and the rightful Duke of Milan who was betrayed by his brother Antonio, the Duke of Milan. So, he causes a storm to shipwreck stranding his brother and sworn enemies on the island where he and his innocent daughter Miranda have been living in exile for the past 12 years plotting his revenge.”
Karadec squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and he stated, “So are we looking for some sort of an island?”
Morgan glanced around for any thing else, but she wasn’t seeing anything that stuck out, and she shook her head and replied, “No, I think were still missing a piece of the puzzle.”
They took another sixty minutes to search his apartment thoroughly with not much else and they had no other choice but to head back to Morgan’s house to brainstorm.
---
When they were back at the house Adam asked her, “I can get a video copy of the play recorded from The Globe theater in London. Maybe we can watch and see if we can produce anything new?”
Morgan nodded and sat down on her couch, clearly tense. “Ill let you handle the technology,” she replied flipping through the images on her phone that she had photographed while at the apartment, trying to think through the clues given, but things just did not add up-yet.
Karadec had the play loaded on his computer, which he hooked up to Morgan’s TV in the living room, and they watched all two hours and forty two minutes of the Shakespeare play.
Glancing to Morgan, Adam asked her gently “Anything stick out?”
It was clear however that Morgan was entering crisis mode because she bent over and put her head between her knees and placed her palms over her face shaking her head in frustration.
“Not a single thing. Maybe it’s because I am too close to this and my emotions are fried,” Morgan confessed irritably.
Adam was doing his best not to cross any lines but it was clear Morgan was suffering and he couldn’t bear to see her in anguish, so he slid from the other end of the couch and moved to sit next to Morgan on her side of the couch.
Morgan glanced at him for a moment baffled by his actions and Adam suggested, “Maybe you need to take a step back for a bit to try to get a different perspective.”
“What are you suggesting?” Morgan asked, putting a palm on her forehead.
Adam assumed she was likely fighting off a tension headache at the moment.
“Do you trust me?” Adam questioned.
Morgan gave him an odd look at first but inevitably she replied seriously with a nod, “of course I do.”
“Then turn your back to me and face the table over there,” Karadec directed Morgan.
Morgan looked at him as if he had horns sticking out of his head but when she saw him point with his index finger in the direction, he wanted her to face she figured he had something up his sleeve. And she did say she trusted him. So, Morgan stood up briefly and then repositioned herself on the couch so that she was now positioned to face the same direction as Adam and sitting in front of Adam.
“Okay, now scootch back a few inches,” he directed.
Morgan shuffled again feeling warmth and then heat enveloped her back as she got closer to his body. Then a strong hand found its way to her tense shoulder, and he began to slowly massage her.
“You’re going to attempt massage with one hand, while your arm is in that sling?” Morgan mused, and then she felt his other hand on her lower back, her body already humming with warmth from his hands.
“Actually, I’ve been doing some strength training exercises with my physical therapy routine, and have mostly restored strength in both arms, just don’t have full range of motion yet to raise my left arm,” Adam remarked. “So, my right hand can do the upper back, and the left can do the lower back,” he explained.
“Well sounds like you have a nice little side hustle worked out if the detective gig doesn’t work out,” Morgan teased.
But as his firm hands went to work kneading away at her aching and stiff muscles, she felt her tension quickly melt away. In fact, Morgan grew so relaxed her body started to sink back into Adam’s chest as he worked his way across her shoulders and then down her middle back and finally down to her waist.
“How does that feel?” Adam asked, curious to know if she had any other areas that needed attention and Morgan answered softly, “Amazing,” before craning her neck to look back at him, not realizing how close his face was to hers. There was a look of longing that matched his, in her azure, blue gaze.
Adam felt the strong draw and before he could even think rationally his lips were on hers. Morgan did not even flinch before kissing him back. She angled her body, so she was closer and facing him on the couch, because he knew she felt the pull too. His palm caressed her jaw and cheek as her palm spread wide over his heart. Their mouths hungry, as the kiss deepened and tongues brushed, panting heavy in between each breath.
Adam wasn’t the kind of person to believe in the concept of a soul mate, but when he kissed Morgan, he might have been convinced that there could be a ‘soul make-like-feeling’ comparable to the concept, because she felt so familiar and comfortable to him, as if they had kissed a thousand times before. And the only reason he felt that way is because they could not have been more different in this life, but when it came down to what counted, their core values and when they came together, everything seemed to click into place.
But then Morgan pulled back bringing Adam out of his haze, and rightfully so due to how he had left things the last time they had embarked on a heated moment.
“I’m sorry to say I have news, professional work-place colleagues don’t kiss like that Detective,” Morgan contested, meeting his gaze pointedly.
Karadec smiled coyly and he admitted with a nod, “You’re right, they don’t.”
She looked at him with her large blue eyes and Adam wanted nothing more than to continue ravaging her right here, but he knew he had to keep his head above water and do this the right way, by discussing it mutually with Morgan, if he wanted a chance of any semblance of a relationship working out between them.
Swallowing Karadec replied, “Listen Morgan, I know we both have a lot on our plates—”
Morgan’s smile leveled a bit and Karadec realized he had started off with the wrong phrasing. He wanted to start over again but then Morgan’s phone began to ping with multiple text alerts distracting him from his thoughts and she sat up to pick up her phone and look at it.
All the sudden Morgan’s shoulders stiffened, and her face fell as she read each line of text. Adam could see physically that all the work he had just done on her back had been undone in a matter of seconds.
“What is it?” He asked and Morgan turned the phone towards him so Adam could read it.
Matthew: Hello Morgan
Matthew: Did you miss me?
Matthew: I missed you, but I figure we will be seeing each other again soon enough.
Matthew: I thought you would get a kick out of the Sherlock Holmes puzzle and The Tempest, which has a theme which relates to the first clue, but I purposely omitted the third clue until now.
Matthew: So, I suppose you would like the third clue, although it would not be fun if I didn’t make you work for it. Just a heads up, it’s a two-parter, so here is your hint for the first part: Part 1 begins with a word scrabble puzzle. Your letters are A, M, S, & R. What word(s) can you make with those letters?
Matthew: And Part 2: Is a question. If you were a barista and someone ordered one Amaretto Americano, one Ristretto shot, and one Machiatto Espresso, but you were out of milk to make the Machiatto Espresso, what would you offer as a substitute?
Matthew: You have 120 minutes to solve this puzzle starting now.
All the sudden a timer appeared on Morgan’s phone counting down and she met Adam’s gaze with concern and fear.
“Okay let’s write out the first one,” Adam suggested trying to remain calm, offering a notepad and a pen wanting to help to keep Morgan thinking and not fall into the trap of worry and despair. “Could it stand for arms, or RAM’s as in Random Access Memory plural?” He suggested.
But Morgan shook her head because she knew what it was before he had even offered his suggestions.
“No, it stands for the RAMS as in Roman, Ava, Morgan, plural. It was a nickname of affection that Roman used to describe us,” Morgan explained with distress.
Adam’s face fell. He didn’t like that these clues were directly referring to Morgan and her daughter, and he saw that Morgan was feeling the same.
Knowing time was of the essence he tried to keep his cool and turned to the next clue.
“So, the barista clue, is it a play on your names then? Machiatto stands for you-Morgan, Amaretto stands for Ava, and Ristretto stands for Roman?” Adam guessed.
Morgan nodded affirming his guess, and she closed her eyes in dread.
Adam read the words again, “If you were out of milk to make the Machiatto, what would you offer as a substitute?”
Suddenly Morgan put her hand over her mouth and her eyes opened wide as it hit her because everything suddenly clicked together. The first clue, the riddle was about love, and the second clue, The Tempest quote was also about challenges of love, and then the plays central characters included a single parent living in exile with their innocent daughter. And the third clue, the scrabble word puzzle was about the three of them-Roman, Ava, & Morgan, but with the barista question, it was revealed that they needed to offer a substitute for Morgan because she wasn’t with Roman and Ava.
Emotional tears filled her eyes, and she looked at Karadec with a murderous glare that he never wanted to see again as long as he lived. She balled up her fists and began to shake before declaring with her nostrils flaring, “He has her. He has Ava!”
As if on cue Adam’s phone began to ring and he saw that it was Lieutenant Soto on the other end who quickly filled him in on the situation. As suspected to his alarm and distress, Ava had just been reported missing from the safe house.
Chapter 6: Chapter 6
Notes:
Sorry for the longer wait on this one and also for putting it up on show night. Was out of town last week so have been spending most of the time playing catch up. But just wanted to say this chapter is a bit of a two-parter. Thanks to all of those who have stayed with this story so far and a special big thanks to those who have left reviews! xo
Chapter Text
Chapter 6
Karadec did not care that he had to drive with one arm, since Morgan was in no state to maneuver a car. Between what she had been through in the last couple weeks with Matthew Clark toying and stalking her and her family, and going through the emotions of a parent who had just learned their child had been reported missing, he knew she was barely holding it together, and what was there was being held together by a live wire.
She had been on the phone with Ludo frantically demanding him to tell her exactly how Ava went missing, but Ludo was being simultaneously questioned by the police, who were also there to document his statement for the investigation.
Unfortunately, the bits and pieces Morgan was able to extract out of Ludo, combined with her short fuse, allowed her to surmise that he didn’t know Ava was even gone until Elliot pointed it out. Apparently, her son had gone to Ava’s room to ask his sister if he could borrow a piece of paper for a math problem he was working on for fun and discovered her room empty. They searched the house and found no clue or trace of her.
The police posted outside the safe house hadn’t noticed Ava or anyone else left either.
Morgan knew in her heart of hearts, that this was the handiwork of Matthew. He had found some way to get Ava out of that house, and deceive the police, as well as continue to play her in their ongoing disturbing and death-defying chess game. The knot in her stomach grew tighter.
Adam watched Morgan for a moment while they were driving to the station noticing she looked incredibly overwrought and stressed, and she was staring out the window at nothing in particular, having clearly having withdrawn from the world for a moment, which was unlike her, and frankly it concerned Adam. It was then that he chose to address her directly, “Hey Morgan?”
In response Morgan said nothing, but craned her neck to look at him, with the most forlorn blue eyes he had ever seen.
Adam’s heart leapt out of his chest and split in two, because the way she looked at him, just then, lost, worried, and that spark that was always there before had disappeared, broke his heart. Exhaling in need of a quick breath of air before speaking, he chose his words carefully.
“I know in the grand scheme of things we haven’t known each other that long, but I feel like we have gotten to know each other pretty well over these last six or so months working together as partners. I’m not saying this as your partner or even as a friend, but as someone who cares deeply for you and only wants the best for you, but Morgan…”
Karadec glanced up and made sure to hold her gaze for a brief moment before concluding, “Its okay if you need to sit on the sidelines for this one, or even take some time to regroup with your family right now. We all understand. I promise I won’t stop until she’s found.”
Adam hated the idea of losing Morgan even for a few hours, especially when this one hit so close to home for her, but he wanted her to know that this wasn’t about what she could do for them anymore. This was about the people he cared about and putting them first.
Morgan closed her eyes and inhaled. He could see tears forming at the corners and she shook her head and replied, “I couldn’t live with myself if I walked away from my baby.”
She wiped at her eyes a little and looked out the window in attempt to hide her tears.
“Alright, but if you need a break, just say the word,” Adam concluded.
Morgan was quite certain she would not eat, sleep, or rest in any way, shape, or form until her daughter was safe and sound in her arms.
When they arrived at the station, they learned that Lieutenant Selena Soto had contacted every law enforcement representative in the LA area, including leadership from the LAPD, SWAT, and the FBI Tactics team, whom she had working together and sharing resources to find Ava.
Morgan paced the floor as Soto spoke to the group and went over what they knew so far.
“This is ridiculous, what are they all doing standing around yammering on about behavioral analysis? This ass hole could be strangling my daughter right now!” Morgan spat out angrily. She hoped some of the others would overhear her, although they were too busy listening to Soto. It was only Adam who heard her, and turned around when she spoke. He knew she was doing everything in her power to hold it together right now and not start smashing out windows.
“Morgan, the other agencies have resources we don’t have. This guy is too dangerous. We must work together now.” Adam spoke lowly in attempt to reason with Morgan. He turned his attentions to Soto once again who was going through a power point presentation of the evidence they had collected so far from Matthew Clark’s conquests.
Karadec noticed however that it had been a little too quiet for the last minute, and when he turned around to check in on Morgan, he discovered that she was already heading towards the elevator, and not only that, but she had his car keys gripped firmly in her hand. Adam’s jaw fell slack.
“Morgan!” Adam hissed, but she was already out of ear range, or she had chosen to ignore him.
Having no other choice but to go after her, Adam glanced over his shoulder and saw that Daphne had also turned her head in their direction, clearly curious as to what was instigating the commotion and what had caused Morgan to exit at that moment, and he gestured with his head for her to follow them.
“We need your help!” Adam stated with urgency.
Daphne took the hint and she grabbed her jacket from her chair and followed them out.
Adam figured he could text Soto and Oz in the car to fill them in, glancing at his phone he realized they had used up 30 minutes on the countdown, meaning they only had 90 minutes left, unsure what might happen, but he didn’t want to waste any more time either.
Meeting a very impatient Morgan down in the parking garage, who was waiting in his car, Adam refrained from lecturing her on stealing his keys, which was an arrestable offense, and he asked Daphne if she could drive them to the safehouse. They knew they needed to go back to Ava’s last known whereabouts and try to find any clues that may have been left behind.
“You have to drive faster!” Morgan insisted as Daphne blew through a red light. She already had the siren blaring but wanted to avoid any fatalities.
“Morgan, were going to get her back, but we have to get there alive!” Adam reasoned.
“Yeah, well tough cookies cause every second matters! When this ass hole locked a grown woman inside an airtight box, seconds mattered! When he chained Oz in a pool with his arms and legs locked under the water with a limited supply of oxygen, seconds mattered! Who knows what else his sadistic mind has in store because I am the long game, and this is the big finale!” Morgan’s voice cracked with emotion.
Adam knew this was killing Morgan and even though he couldn’t do much at the moment but use his expertise to work expediently with their investigative team to find Ava, hopefully alive. Nevertheless, he wanted Morgan to know he was still here for her and he placed his hand gently on her shoulder in support. Curling his warm palm around her deltoid muscle, which was incredibly tense, and he massaged it a little. To his relief he felt her relax just a little under his hand.
But a few moments later, her words must have also inspired Daphne, because the young detective pushed her right foot on the gas, going all the way to the floor, to make the car go as fast as it could. Karadec then had to move his good hand to hold onto Morgan’s seat instead.
When they arrived at the safe house the first wave of police officers and the usual forensics crew was just finishing sweeping over the scene. Morgan felt a little woozy, and she directed Daphne, “Can you just take us directly to Ava’s room?”
Morgan didn’t think she could handle looking at anything crime scene related, or speaking with any other law enforcement officers at the moment. She just needed to focus right now.
Morgan and Adam followed Daphne inside the house. It looked like a nice home, in Newport Beach right on the ocean front. Morgan’s stomach dropped thinking about all the horrible things that could be affiliated with water and finding her oldest child’s body washed up ashore, and then she attempted to redirect her thoughts to something more constructive such as studying the style and structure of the homes’ architecture.
They walked in through the front door and passed some members of the forensics team. Morgan felt a chill run up her spine. When they ascended the stairs Morgan saw Ludo who was speaking with an FBI agent. He was holding Chloe and had Elliot with him. Morgan stopped to hug Elliot first and then she expanded her arms to include Ludo and Chloe too, relieved to see them.
Adam and Daphne left Morgan with her family. Adam questioning if Morgan might rethink his offer to take a breather, when she saw her other two children.
He wanted to give her that time to reconnect with them and gestured to Daphne that they should get started working ASAP. So Daphne led Adam down the hall to Ava’s room to begin searching for clues because Morgan’s words echoed through Adam’s head weather, he liked it or not-‘every second did matter.’
Once in Ava’s bedroom Adam noticed her bed was still made, and Ava’s duffel bag was unzipped but didn’t really look as if it had been disturbed, the items inside were still neatly folded and stacked in rows. He turned his attention to a satchel with what looked like a drawing pad of paper that had been pulled out, and he opened the booklet. There were several drawings of cubist landscapes, and then one of a still life pear, and a few cartoon doodles. Adam finally understood what Morgan meant when she said Ava was really talented artistically, she truly was. As he flipped from the back to the front of the booklet, he noticed that the first page had been ripped out.
Just then, Morgan entered the room, wiping her nose with a tissue and Adam sat up a little straighter asking her, “You okay?”
She nodded and immediately went over to the window that was unlocked, but not open, and she frowned because it was pretty odd considering how they suspected Ava got out of the house.
”This window would have been hard to shut from the outside. Ludo said his door and Elliots door were open so they would have heard or seen someone come in from the hallway.” Morgan reasoned.
She glanced at the floor and lifted up an area rug to search for any cross lines in the panels, but didn’t find anything. So she walked over to the closet and she pushed over the hangers scanning the wall and then her jaw fell slack because behind a blanket draped over one of the hangers, a small door all of the sudden appeared at the back of the closet.
Morgan glanced over at Adam who had come over sensing he was wanted when Morgans paused and then pointed towards the closet, he leaned in and reached for the handle to see if it was unlocked and thankfully the handle turned without any difficulty.
”We found something Daphne,” Adam announced to get the young detectives attention. Adam ducked into the small entrance and then Morgan followed behind him, and Daphne brought up the rear. The door opened into another hidden room. Morgan glanced down and noticed a piece of crumpled torn paper on the floor. She picked it up and saw what looked like part of a drawing.
”This looks like Ava’s work,” Morgan affirmed.
Adam nodded and although the piece of ripped up paper was only one inch by two inches long, he explained, “I saw a page had been ripped out of her art journal.”
”So she’s leaving behind breadcrumbs? That’s really smart!” Daphne observed.
”It is,” Adam agreed, checking in on Morgan with concern because she was a little quieter than usual. He knew this was all really heavy stuff to process.
Morgan sent Adam a grateful small smile as he illuminated the room for them with his flashlight.
This room unfortunately appeared as if there was no exit, but then after careful examination Daphne discovered a trap door embedded in the floor.
Adam used his fingers to pry at the edges, but it wasn’t budging. This time he needed a little more leverage, and Daphne offered some assistance, and together they got it open. Then when Adam shined his flashlight down, they discovered stairs that led down. Adam was the first to descend and arrive at the foot of the stairs, where he discovered another piece of crumpled paper and he picked it up.
”Another breadcrumb,” Adam proclaimed, handing the piece of paper to Morgan for safekeeping.
Morgan didn’t want to dare to feel hopeful, but with every piece of paper they found, it felt like one of the many heavy pits that had been sitting in her stomach was finally breaking open because she knew it came from Ava and it was like getting a piece of her daughter back. She placed the piece of paper in her pocket next to the other piece for safekeeping.
The group arrived at the end of the dark and musty tunnel and came to another door. When Adam reached for the handle and opened it. They were blinded by the bright white light at first and then as their eyes adjusted to their surprise, they discovered a dock with a cabin cruiser boat attached. The boat bobbed up and down in rhythm with the blue green water of the Pacific Ocean.
Morgan’s shoulders sank once again fearful they had hit a dead end, and Karadec headed over to the boat to investigate. But before he got there, he saw movement from the lower cabin area. The movement came from what appeared to be the back of a man's head with brown hair who was now ascending out onto the main deck from the lower cabin area. The man’s stature had a resemblance to Matthew Clark, but he couldn't see his face since his back was to him. Not wanting to take the chance of losing Clark again, Adam pulled out his gun, aiming at the suspect, and yelled at him, “put your hands in the air!”
The man froze upon hearing another voice and raised his arms.
“Now slowly turn around,” Karadec ordered the man and he did as he was told.
When he turned Adam could see clearly that it was not Matthew Clark, but he did not lower his gun because he didn’t know how he was connected to any of this. He was about to ask Daphne to jump onto the boat to cuff the man so they could bring him in for questioning when he overheard Morgan gasp.
“Adam, don’t shoot him!”
Adam glanced to Morgan in question, and then she explained, “That’s Roman Sinquerra.”
Adam didn’t typically experience shock due to the nature of his job, but he was not prepared for this. He had underestimated Sinquerra because he was typically pretty good at identifying individuals from their photos no matter how old they were, or how much they had changed, but the photos that had been provided to them, was of a man with long shoulder length hair and a full beard, but this man had a very clean, almost military cut and he was clean shaven as well. If it hadn’t been for the eyes, he would have never made the connection.
Roman glanced from Morgan to Adam and he straightened up and looked directly at Morgan and remarked with little to no emotion, “Hello Morgan.”
“Hello Roman,” Morgan answered stiffly.
Adam knew she had been searching for him these many months, and although he figured their relationship or lack of relationship was complicated, he thought there would be a little more emotion behind their reunion. He knew Morgan wore her heart on her sleeves and he trusted her instincts, and honestly the reaction she was having right now was telling him that she certainly didn’t trust Roman either.
Although despite instincts, Adam needed circumstantial evidence first and foremost so he decided to do what he always did and after introducing Daphne and himself as Detectives with the LAPD Major Crimes unit, and Morgan as a Consultant working with them, then he painted Roman into a corner with their questions.
“So Roman, can you tell us what you know about Ava Gillory’s whereabouts and what exactly is your relationship to Matthew Clark?” Karadec interjected before Morgan could even get the words out. Karadec was careful to refer to Ava as Morgan’s daughter to get him angry and more likely to pop off and confess.
Any semblance of a smile that may have begun to form on Roman’s face had now disappeared and he narrowed his honey hazel gaze to glare at Adam. It was beginning to become apparent that Roman was not super fond of the detective, and confirmed when he stated, “I’d rather speak with just Morgan if you don’t mind.”
Morgan looked to Adam in question. It was clear she was willing to do whatever it took, but Adam refused to play by anyone else’s rules but their own and the law. Adam glanced at Morgan for a moment and then he turned to Roman and replied sternly, “I’m afraid we don’t have time for that. You see we have reason to believe Morgan’s daughter was taken against her will tonight and the person who took her has a history of harming his victims and bringing them within inches of death, so if you know anything about this, you need to tell us what you know immediately.”
Morgan stepped forward with palms facing up in surrender and she plead, “Roman, I don’t know where you’ve been for the last fifteen years, and honestly right now I don’t care. But if you know anything about our daughter, you need to fill us in. She should be living the life of a carefree teenager right now, having fun with her friends, doing stupid and silly things together, and making memories, not fearing for her life in the custody of a psychopath!”
Morgan tried her best to stay strong and not tear up. Adam didn’t want to diminish her words by offering her comfort, and instead he stood taller and cast Roman a look in challenge.
If he was planning to do any fast moves to use the boat as a getaway, that plan was foiled because Daphne had jumped onto the boat and was behind him.
Roman finally sighed and flipped his eyes in the air and he shook his head. “It’s not just you and your so-called friends. I’ve been looking for her too you know. In fact I found a lead that I was just about to follow in this boat if you care to join me.” Roman offered. But his eyes, like a poker player gave nothing away.
Morgan’s nostrils flared, unsure if she believed him or not. She glanced over at Adam and she could see that he was very leery about trusting Roman as well. Unsure if getting on that boat was a trap and it was going to take them further away from Ava, and this would divert them from their rescue mission.
As Daphne stood guard, Adam placed a call into Soto to fill her in on what was going down. Soto was not thrilled about them going rogue, but Roman was the white whale and likely their lynchpin to blowing apart this entire case.
“Do you trust him?” Adam asked Morgan lowly as they stood on the dock together needing to know what Morgan thought before they embarked on this deep blue sea excursion.
Morgan exhaled and she looked over at Roman. “I know he loved Ava more than anything in the world. I don’t know what has happened to him since then. But if I trust anything, it’s his love for Ava. I don’t think he would want to see any harm come to her.”
Adam replied, “Then we should go.”
Morgan nodded in response.
Taking a deep breath, Adam helped Morgan get onto the boat and then he stepped over to the rope that tied the boat to the dock, and untied it, and he spoke louder this time to make sure that Roman knew they were going to be setting up some parameters so he knew who was in control, “Alright Roman, we’re putting our trust in you-for Ava! But if you try anything, anything at all, you can rest assured that you will face grave consequences for your actions.”
Roman glared at Adam, definitely apparent the two men were not fans of each other. Nodding cooly, Roman looked at Morgan and remarked,
“You have no idea the hornets’ nest you just walked into. I’ve been trying to protect Ava and Morgan for the last 15 years. You don’t need to lecture me about consequences, cop!” Roman flipped his eyes and moved over to start up the boat.
Once he did, Adam was able to give the boat a push so it wasn’t too close to the dock before the engine was revved up, and then he jumped off the dock, and Morgan gave him a hand so he didn’t stumble when his feet hit the landing.
When the boat entered the open blue water of the Pacific Ocean, they only hoped that wherever they were going Ava was on the other side.
Starkov_lxy on Chapter 1 Thu 25 Sep 2025 03:04PM UTC
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lipsassweetascandy on Chapter 1 Mon 29 Sep 2025 03:21AM UTC
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Aster_Rose73 on Chapter 2 Sun 07 Sep 2025 02:45AM UTC
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Jackie (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sun 07 Sep 2025 08:26AM UTC
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lipsassweetascandy on Chapter 2 Thu 11 Sep 2025 02:52AM UTC
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cleverboy1123 on Chapter 2 Mon 08 Sep 2025 10:55PM UTC
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Th1sisnotEmmagm on Chapter 3 Thu 11 Sep 2025 03:56AM UTC
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lipsassweetascandy on Chapter 3 Sun 21 Sep 2025 03:37AM UTC
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Hshdhzhshzjjsj (Guest) on Chapter 4 Tue 23 Sep 2025 05:50AM UTC
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