Page 156 of Merciless Obsession

“What?”

“He bought me a ring.”

Her eyes locked on the phone. “Say what now?”

Nodding, I lifted my phone off the holder and flipped the camera to show my left hand. “Ziora! Why didn’t you lead with this?”

Snickering, I repositioned the phone. “I don’t know what to think of it, Inaya. At first this thing with Ezra was fun and exciting. I mean it was sex, great, consistent sex. Now everything is changing. This man wants to marry me. And it isn’t just words, he’s serious.”

“Hell yeah, he’s serious! That rock on your hand proves it. Ziora, listen to me. You deserve this, okay? I know you, and if you didn’t have strong feelings for Ezra too, you would have run and not looked back. The fact that you’re still there shows this isn’t just sex to you. Let that man cater to you and obsess over you all he wants. It’s not causing anyone harm.”

“He’s a psychopath, Inaya. Like clinically. He’s not right in the head. That’s a lot to deal with.”

Again, Inaya rolled her eyes. “And you’re making excuses. You’ve been dealing with it, so what’s different now?”

I knew she was right. All my fears of getting close to someone were playing over in my head. Ezra’s affection was so intense and I didn’t know what to expect from him. His way of love kept me on my toes. While it was exciting, it also made my stomach flip like crazy.

“Answer me one thing? Do you see yourself falling for him? Now that he’s in your life, can you picture it without him?”

“That’s two things,” I muttered, then eyed the ring on my finger again. It surprised me to wake up and see it, but my heart also jumped for joy when I realized what it was and meant. “Yes and no. I think I already fell for him.” It was a hard pill to swallow, but Ezra’s intense ways were healing parts inside ofme that I wasn’t aware needed to be healed. For so long I felt like I didn’t need anyone. That keeping anything past physical at a distance was how I was meant to live to keep myself from looking weak or being too vulnerable. But Ezra somehow came in and cracked open the shell built around me. It made me understand how The Tin Man felt when they found his heart.

“Think about Charlie. She would want you to be happy, right? To find someone who would do anything to make you happy. If you can’t accept it for you, then do it for her.”

My lips pressed tightly together. A tight sting sprouted through my chest. It still pained me that Charlie would never be able to fall in love and have a family like she always wanted. The guilt I felt when I thought of having it for myself made my stomach churn and my hand itch for a Xanax.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” My words came out slowly as I stared at the computer screen.

“Listen, I’ll stop by later today, okay? I got a few things to take care of but I need to see that car and ring in person!”

Snickering, I agreed. We spoke a little longer before hanging up. Inaya was always one person I could count on to put me in better spirits. And maybe she was right, maybe I could try to go with the flow.

My eyes went to my left hand. It seemed Ezra knew everything about me, even my ring size. While I waited for my system to finish updating, I pulled the ring from my finger and looked it over. It was beautiful. I wasn’t a big jewelry wearer and this more than likely was the most expensive thing I owned now. Turning it, I squinted. Bringing the ring to my face, I felt my stomach flutter noticing the words written on the band. On top was a saying and right under, initials.

My beautiful masterpiece.

EMT & ZNL

Ezra Michael Tavarez and Ziora Nichole Lambert.

I inhaled a deep breath. My heart slammed into my ribcage repeatedly. Ezra put effort and thought into this ring. He could have easily bought one from the store, but this one he got with my style in mind and had it engraved inside.

I swallowed hard. Goosebumps prickled my skin. My pulse pounded in my throat. An unsettling tingling shot through my body, making every atom inside me buzz and awaken. No one could ever say he wasn’t passionate, but the problem was it was hard for me to accept it without my fight or flight instinct kicking in.

My fingers twitched, causing me to ball my hand tightly.

Closing my eyes, I pushed a heavy breath out and mentally counted backwards from ten. My eyes shot open and I quickly dropped the ring on the table and grabbed the bag of suckers, grabbing one, opening and shoving it in my mouth.

Watermelon filled my taste buds.

I took a few more deep breaths until I felt my heartbeat regulate and my body temperature go back to normal.

Having someone care about me, no matter how unconventional, shouldn’t send me spiraling like this.

Picking the ring back up, I shoved it on my finger before I could overthink it.

My eyes shifted to the boxes of files across the room. Working on The Veil would help take my mind off the internal panic still threatening to rise inside me.

For the next hour I busied myself with going through The Sticks’ precinct files. Shifting my eyes between the map, evidence board, and the files, I learned the bodies were all dumped on the same block, three blocks from the community center, but in different locations.