Page 141 of Merciless Obsession

This didn’t make any sense.

My eyes went to the guys Ezra hired to guard me. Apparently they worked for River.

“I need one of you to carry me upstairs!”

They shared a look. “I don’t think Ezra would like that,” the one named Marcus mentioned.

Glaring at him I winced as I straightened myself. “If I try to go up those stairs alone and fall, hurting myself would make Ezra even more mad than you carrying me. Do you think he’ll be happy knowing you two allowed that to happen?”

Inaya snickered.

The two shared another look.

I hobbled over to the steps. Marcus was the one to approach me. I held my crutches out. Brady, the other guard, grabbed them.

“Be careful!” I complained when Marcus kneeled to pick me up. One of his arms went behind my legs and the other around my shoulders. He lifted me easily then started upstairs with Inaya and Brady following.

“Crutches.” I held my hands out when we got to the top. I didn’t even have to check my room to know it was empty. Going straight to my office door, I could already feel my anger boiling before using my crutch to push the half open door all the way open.

“That muthafucker!” I yelled, going into my empty office.

“Shit. Looks like you got evicted, friend.”

My nostrils flared as a heavy puff of air pushed out. My jaw clenched painfully hard and my eyes cut into tight slits.

“I know this was Ezra! He’s the only one bold enough to try something like this.” My blood buzzed beneath my skin.

Ezra had mentioned me moving and I told him I didn’t think it was that serious. I planned on upgrading my security system and adding more cameras to help keep me safe. I loved my house. I purchased it when the money from my hacking jobs started increasing and my blog began making more noise. Going from a shoebox apartment to my townhouse was a major accomplishment for me. The last thing I wanted was to be forced out of it.

“He’s worried about you. What’s wrong with that?”

I faced Inaya, staring at her like she was crazy. “Just because you’re worried about someone doesn’t mean you just pack up and force them to move without talking to them first.”

“Maybe he knew you would say no if he suggested.”

My eyes bucked. “Of course I would. This is crazy, Inaya. All of this is crazy.”

“I don’t know… I think it’s romantic.” I rolled my eyes.

“Look, you might think shit like this is fun and exciting, but I don’t. I like order. I like having a plan. I?—”

“Have control issues.”

“Excuse me?” My head cocked back.

“For once, just willingly accept that someone cares about you and you don’t have to be the strong one all the time.”

My head dropped with a slight shake. “Inaya, it’s not that easy.” My body felt heavy. The past week’s events were starting to catch up to me. Suddenly I felt exhausted. My mind was foggy and my temples pounded.

Inaya’s face turned sympathetic. “Look, babe, I’ve known you damn near all our lives and in all that time you’ve never once released control. As a kid you were forced to grow up early to protect and take care of your little sister. Then, instead of enjoying your teenage years, you dedicated all your time to tracking her killers down and overworking and stressing yourself out to the point where you had to be admitted into a damn mental intuition. I get it, you’ve always only had yourself to lean on, outside of me of course.” She paused and grinned proudly. “But if Ezra is taking the initiative to make sure you’re safe and protected, then I’m not mad at that.”

Swallowing hard, I closed my eyes, squeezing them tightly. One of my crutches dropped when my hand went to my chest. My airwaves felt blocked, my chest too taut. It felt like barbed wire was wrapped around my heart, squeezing for dear life.

Inaya was right, I knew it. My therapist in the past had told me I had trouble allowing others to take the lead and not being in control. It was a trauma response and my way to protect myself. Years of conditioning my brain to react a certain way was hard to just reprogram.

“Just breathe, babe. Just breathe,” Inaya encouraged softly. She rubbed my back soothingly. “All jokes aside, I get it. This isall new. Ezra came storming into your life like a damn tsunami, shaking up everything and knocking down all the walls you built around yourself. It was fast, and it might be scary, but maybe this is a good thing. I mean, look at all that’s happened since connecting with Ezra and his brothers. We finally found answers you’ve been looking for and once we find those creeps they’ll be brought down and your sister and all those other girls can finally rest in peace.”

Not responding right away, I tried to get my breathing under control. Slowly, I inhaled deep breaths, releasing them slowly as my heart pounded rapidly inside me.