Page 38 of Merciless Obsession

Ezra cut off his car. I swallowed hard and looked around. The sun was setting and the area was quiet. When Ezra turned to face me, my stomach dropped. When he started for my car, I went into my center console and grabbed the taser I kept in my car. I kept it in one hand and placed my other one on the gearshift, preparing to reverse down the long driveway.

When he got to my car, he grinned and tapped on the window. I blinked slowly and pressed the button to roll it down slightly.

“If you didn’t want to be apart all you had to do is ask to come.” His smile heightened when his eyes landed on the taser. “You followed me all the way here, might as well come see the fun.”

My eyes shifted to the barn. My stomach churned again. I didn’t know what I was walking into but I had come too far to turn back now. Swallowing hard, I rolled my window backup and turned my car off. Grabbing my purse, I made sure my phone was inside and opened my door.

“I will use this if I have to.” I hit the button to zap the taser for emphasis.

Ezra laughed. He took me as a joke, but I was serious. I tried to keep my cool, but my nerves were running wild. I hoped my curiosity didn’t get me into something I couldn’t get out of.

CHAPTER 11

EZRA

Stopping by my car, I paused and went into my backseat to grab Wilma. I lifted the custom steel hammer and ran my hand along the heavy head then glanced at Ziora who was watching me with caution.

She didn’t know it, but I knew she was following me the moment I pulled off her street. I could have stopped and confronted her, but instead I led her to The Barn on purpose. If we were going to be together then I wanted to show her all of me. The lawyer was only one side, now she was about to see therealme.

“What is this? Whose barn and house are these?” Ziora questioned, looking around.

“Our family’s. You wanted to know what the Tavarez family was about. Well… welcome to The Bloodline.”

“The Bloodline?” Her voice lowered and her brows met in the middle. Her hand gripped her taser tightly.

Grabbing the barn door, I pulled it open. I knew my brothers were already inside and the targets were also in attendance already.

When we stepped inside Nazai, Lucas, Emmet, and River were already inside surrounding the three guys tied to chairswith plastic under them. Cashlynn was in attendance too, next to Nazai with her arms crossed and a blank expression on her face.

“What the hell is this? Why are those guys tied up?” Ziora asked, her eyes wide, mouth parted.

Everyone whipped around to face us. Nazai’s jaw clenched and his nostrils flared. He glared at me and gripped the gun in his hand tightly.

“Ez, what the fuck is she doing here?”

“Chill big bro,” I mentioned, closing the barn doors and stepping forward.

“Ain’t no fucking chill! You know better than to bring witnesses here,” he spat in Spanish.

“She’s not gonna say shit,” I replied in Spanish as well.

“You don’t know that!” His hard eyes shifted to Ziora. A wave of protectiveness passed through me. I stepped in front of her and straightened my spine.

“Nazai, I got this. We all agreed to work together, right? If Ziora’s gonna trust us then she needs to know who we really are.”

“This shit is dangerous, Ezra,” River commented, shaking his head. I already knew what he was thinking.

This time Nazai returned to English. “It’s stupid and reckless is what it is! You’re smarter than this, Ez.”

One of the guys groaned, catching our attention and halting the conversation.

Ziora stepped around me and stood next to me. “What is this?” Her voice was steady. The nervousness she had before we came in here was gone. She licked her lips and tilted her chin upward. Her eyes found mine.

“You wanted to know what the Tavarez family is all about right? Why we were confident that our dad had nothing to do with what you think he did. Two of those guys over there are brothers and they’re pimping out their sixteen-year-old sister.The cops didn’t have enough proof to charge them and the girl’s too scared to actually speak out against them. Thankfully there’s people like us who don’t need to wait for charges. And that man over there was involved with sis-in-law’s ex-fiancé and came after her; so now he has to pay.”

I reached for Ziora’s hand and pulled her forward. When we got closer, I released her hand and stepped past my brothers. I stood in front of one of the brothers. His face was bruised, his eyes swollen with dried blood crusted around his nose and the corners of his mouth.

Going into my back pocket I grabbed the black leather gloves and put them on. I lifted and examined Wilma briefly before swinging her, hitting the guy in the chest, causing blood to splatter from his mouth as he choked.