Page 100 of Merciless Obsession

Standing, I followed the doctor. Tiffany was hugging the blanket Lucas had given her tightly against her chest. Her eyes bounced around the room.

My heart went out to her. I couldn’t imagine everything she went through or how this would affect her going forward. My chest tightened. I pictured my sister in this position if she would have lived—scared, battered, confused. A small, morbid part of me was relieved she wasn’t here to deal with the lasting scars something like this would cause. Things like this were enough to break the strongest person.

I forced a smile on my face. I couldn’t help Charlie but I would be here for Tiffany. Walking to the bed, I held my handout. She looked down at it cautiously then shakily reached for it. I gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“All she wants to do is check you out, okay? I’ll be here the entire time.”

“Promise?”

Another squeeze. “Promise.” My words cracked, but I had to keep it together. Winston was gone and hopefully the people behind this would be next.

For the next hour, the doctor examined and probed Tiffany. Her hand tightened around mine every so often and tears pooled in her eyes at times but she never let them fall. It was tough, but I had to keep my composure when she got to the pelvic exam. The amount of bruising and wounds made me want to vomit. Winston was truly sick.

“Can we talk?” the doctor asked me.

I bobbed my head. “Hey, I’ll be right back.” Fear bloomed in her eyes. “I’ll be right outside that door, okay? I’m not leaving.”

“I want my mom! Is she on the way?”

I swallowed thickly. “I’ll check okay?” Tiffany had given us her mom’s number but Lucas held off on calling her until we got everything in order. There was a small background check being done on her before we turned Tiffany over, just to make sure she was safe.

She hesitated then nodded. “Okay.”

“Are you hungry? How about I grab you something to eat while we wait, okay?”

A shaky smile formed on her face for the first time since we saved her. “Okay.”

I left the room with the doctor. Ezra was waiting outside the door and I waved him over when he noticed us.

“Lucas has a lab tech here. I’m going to take this bloodwork to her to look at. I also want to take her to his x-ray room to get some scans. But what I can gather, she has a few bruised ribs,her rape kit was positive, and she has tears in the anus as well. There was semen found in both holes. Her body has suffered a lot. She had multiple wounds, fresh and previously healed. Her pregnancy test came back negative and I did provide her with pain medication, a Plan B, and antibiotics. Lucas told me a little when he called, so I only brought the basics to start her off, but I highly suggest she goes to a hospital where she’ll get a full panel and care.”

“I have someone that can check the semen out. Preserve it for me,” Ezra told her.

“Will do. I’ll let you know the results of the blood test and STD panel, shortly.” She turned and walked off.

“Shit.” I fell against the wall and sighed, lowering my head. “That poor girl.”

By looking at her it was clear she had been through hell but hearing it all was something completely different.

Lifting my head, I focused on Ezra who was watching me. “I just keep picturing my sister, you know. That girl almost suffered her fate if we didn’t save her, but she’ll have to live and remember all this for the rest of her life. I hate that we didn’t save her sooner.”

He grabbed me and pulled me into him, hugging me securely. “All that matters is that we have her now.”

Slowly, I circled my arms around him and dug my face into his chest. “Tonight gave me a whole new level of respect for you and your brothers.” Ezra rubbed my back. “What did Nazai say?”

“He’s finishing up at his club, then he’s gonna meet us here. River and his team cleaned the scene and transported Winston’s car to a secure location.”

“Good. Good.” I sighed. “She wants her mom. Can we call her now?”

“Soon as Nazai gets here. We gotta do this the right way.”

I lifted my head and looked him in the eye. “Can we at least get her something to eat?”

“That we can do.” My heart swelled. For the first time I didn’t feel the urge to push Ezra away. Everything that happened tonight gave me clarity. Ezra could easily be a serial killer but he used his urges for good, to help people. Part of me wished he would have taken Winston to The Barn and tortured him; so what did that say about me?

“I spoke with Rita. She gave me the run down on the girl.” Lucas approached us. He had blood on his scrubs. “I’m used to dealing with open wounds and bullet holes, but the shit in there makes me happy I’m not in primary care anymore. Next time go to a hospital.”

“You know that wasn’t an option right away,” Ezra said.