Page 158 of Merciless Obsession

Still not paying me any attention, I watched as Handly messed with something on the dashboard. Next thing I knew there was a weird smell filling the back seat. My nose scrunched and my eyes suddenly felt heavy.

“Hey!” I mumbled as my head grew too heavy for my body.

I tried to keep my eyes open, but the more I fought, the more tired I felt. Slouching back in the seat, my body relaxed and my breathing evened out until finally sleep took over.

____

My head throbbed as my eyes strained to open. Voices could be heard around me but it was hard to make out what was being said. My throat was dry and my tongue felt too heavy for my mouth.

Licking my lips, I squeezed my eyes shut and slowly fluttered them open. It took a couple minutes for my eyes to focus and the fuzziness to clear. Blinking slowly, I instantly tried to move but realized I was restrained. I tried not to panic, thinking at first this was Ezra’s version of some sick game. It wasn’t until my eyes bounced around that I realized I was in a small, secluded stone room, on the ground, chained to the wall. There was a light overhead, but it was dim. The room was muggy, not a window in sight from what I could tell, and the ground was cold and smelled like damp concrete and mildew. Across from me were steps and at the top was an open door with a bright light shining.

I tugged my arms forward. The metal chains shook and rattled but made no attempt to come loose.

“Hello!” I called out, my voice hoarse and scratchy.

When I shifted, a slight pain shot through my lower abdomen, causing my eyes to shoot down. There was a poolof blood on my shirt where my stitches were from my spleen removal. More than likely my stitches had burst again.

Hearing heavy footsteps coming down the stairs caused my eyes to dart forward. My body steeled and my breath caught when shoes became visible.

“Looks like the gas finally wore off,” the deep, wheezy voice sounded. Zeroing in, I recognized Officer Handly and the other officer who was with him now standing in front of me. Slowly, memories of them coming to my house came to mind. The last thing I remembered was being told I was needed at the police station and being in the back of the cop car.

“What the hell is this?” I scowled, yanking forward.

“All you had to do was take the warnings seriously,” Handly said.

Narrowing my eyes, I bounced them between the two. “What?” My heart dropped and realization slammed into me. “You two!” I gasped.

My throat felt like I swallowed a case of sand. A crude, chilling smile twisted on Handly’s face while the unnamed cop’s face stayed stoic.

“You should get comfy, you’ll be here a while,” the no-named cop said before the two turned to leave.

“Wait, no!” I shouted, struggling against the chains. The pain in my abdomen grew worse. I yelled until my throat hurt. The sound of the door at the top of the steps slamming shut made an overwhelming sense of dread cover me. My head felt like someone was pounding drums inside. Pressure built behind my lids. My breathing picked up and my lungs struggled to function properly. Heat flashed through my body, offsetting the cool temperature in the room. Ants felt like they were crawling under my skin and my stomach churned.

Fear of the unknown crept inside me.

“Ezra,” I whimpered.

Silently, I prayed he would find me. My body shook as the tears I tried to hide ran down my cheeks. I didn’t know how long I had been knocked out. I wondered where the guys Ezra had hired to watch over me were and how this happened. Not trusting law enforcement was my golden rule, and foolishly, I ignored that rule and went with two strangers. I didn’t even know if they were real cops at this point.

My thoughts went to Charlie and I wondered if she felt this scared and alone when she was taken. Bouncing my eyes around again, there was nothing inside the room but the four walls. The dim light flickered and my eyes squeezed shut. I couldn’t show fear, that was how these guys got off. Laying my head back on the hard stone, I closed my eyes and silently prayed I would be found soon.

CHAPTER 33

EZRA

“So what do you think?” Wise questioned when I stepped out of the courtroom.

“Promising. A lot of what the prosecutor brought up was able to be debunked. I think the odds are good.”

His arms crossed and he nodded. “I know Felix didn’t make things easy for you, but I ’preciate you and your team.”

“His charges were light work.” I shrugged. “It’s all about the witnesses, honestly.”

Wise looked over shoulder to where his brother was leaning on the wall, texting on his phone. He looked unbothered, like his fate wasn’t in the hands of twelve strangers. The past eight weeks hadn’t been a walk in the park but there was nothing else we could do.

“Do you think they’ll come with a verdict soon?” Wise asked.

“Depends. Sometimes it barely takes an hour, other times it could take days.”