Page 33 of Merciless Obsession

“But baby she’s trying to help.”

“Help with what? The cops said she probably ran away.”

“My baby didn’t run away!” Missy, Mya’s mom stood straight.

“Yo, who you yelling at?” He towered over her.

Fright covered her face. “I’m not yelling, baby. I’m just saying, I know Mya; she didn’t run away.”

The guy snorted. “Yeah, okay. Did you cook? I’m hungry.”

He glared at me one last time before walking past the couch to where the kitchen was.

I knew when my time had run out. I laid the picture on the arm of the couch and stood. “Thank you for speaking with me, Ms. Rogers.”

I started to leave. “Hey. Your sister? Did they ever find her?”

I swallowed hard and balled my hands at my side. “Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, they did.” I walked to the front door and pushed the screen door open.

It was partly cloudy today and a bit on the chilly side. All the houses on the street looked like they could all use an updated paint job. All were one level, decent in size.

Yelling and the sound of something breaking behind me sounded off and I glanced over my shoulder and shook my head. Stepping off the stoop I walked across the yard to where my car was parked on the street.

I walked around to the driver side and went into my coat pocket for my key when something on my windshield caught my eye. I looked around before stepping forward and grabbing the black notecard. Words were written on it in bold, white letters. The hairs on the back of my neck rose.

Leave it alone and mind your business or else.

Again I looked around, seeing if anyone or anything looked out of place. This note didn’t make my insides tingle like the notes I got from Ezra. This was a direct threat.

Glancing at the postcard again, I moved back to the driver door and pulled it open. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw Inaya had texted me. I was meeting up with her after I left here. Quickly I let her know I was leaving The Sticks and headed back over the bridge then tossed my phone on the passenger seat.

I studied the note again. I knew there were people who didn’t like me. While I kept my blog anonymous to keep things like this from happening, I wasn’t quiet about these girls needing justice on social media.

My heart pounded and my pulse sped up. My chest tightened, making it uncomfortable to breathe. Leaning over I went into my glove compartment and took the pill bottle out. I took one out, tossed it in my mouth, and swallowed it. Closing my eyes, I pushed a deep breath out. No one knew I was coming out here to speak to Mya’s mom either. This was someone trying to scare me, but I didn’t scare easily.

Grabbing my purse I unzipped it and put the note inside then set it in the passenger seat. Pressing the brake, I hit the button to start my car.

I took one last look at Mya’s house before throwing my car in drive and pulling away from the curb.

____

“Okay, spill it. Why the hell was the Tavarez family in your living room the other day? I thought we hated them,” Inaya questioned before I could even get comfortable at the table.

“You’ve been itching to ask me that, haven’t you?”

“Hell yeah! We were just getting dirt on them to take down their family and expose them for who they really are. Next thing I know you go off the grid and pop back up with the enemies. Did they threaten you?”

After last night’s text conversation with Ezra I should be even more wary of him and how strong his attraction toward me was. His family should have me on edge even more than before, but the fear I expected never came.

I shook my head and pushed a deep breath out. “We’ve called a truce.” Inaya’s eyes widened. “For now at least.”

“A truce?” Her nose scrunched.

I nodded and picked my phone up to look at my latest notification. “I had it wrong. Their dad wasn’t in on getting the case dismissed, it was all on the cops in charge of the investigation. With learning that information, we’ve agreed to work together and find out who’s behind everything.”

“And you believe them? After everything we’ve learned about them, you think you can trust those people.”

My tongue swiped across my lips and I lifted my eyes to focus on my friend. “I don’t know. But with everything we’ve learned about them over these past months, I think they’ll be able to help. It’s been nothing but brick walls for us and they have the pull we don’t. If nothing else we can use them to take these assholes down.”