Page 45 of Merciless Obsession

I nodded. “I don’t know what the ads are exactly, but I’m sure the bidding sites are for pedophiles. There’s also a spot for them to upload videos. It’s sick as hell.”

It shocked me that he didn’t crack any teeth from how hard his jaw clenched. His shoulders rolled back and he stood straight.

“I’m going to look into some things and ask around. I have some guys I’ve helped that owe me some favors who operate in The Sticks.” He turned and looked back at the board.

“Can I keep this?” I grabbed the picture.

He waved his hand. “I have copies. Go ahead.” His phone went off and he pulled it out of his coat pocket.

“Shit. I got to go. You should get with Emmet. I’m sure the two of you could figure all this shit out together.”

We left my office and headed downstairs to the front door. “Lucas.” I called his name before he could open the front door. He paused.

“Ezra, he’s different from you and your brothers, isn’t he?” I asked.

Lucas turned to face me. “Different in what way?” He genuinely looked confused.

I shook my head. “Never mind.”

Lucas looked me over. “Ezra is a little high strung compared to the rest of us. He’s a bit impulsive, but he’s smart. Padre wouldn’t allow him to be his successor if he wasn’t.”

“Mhm.” I nodded slowly.

He didn’t tell me anything I didn’t see for myself, but there was more. Maybe Lucas didn’t know that his brother was off in the head. Looking at Ezra, he didn’t come off like a psycho. In fact, when I looked on his social media, he was popular among the women. Hundreds of them ogled over him in his comments. It was sickening.

“If you learn anything else, let me know. I texted you my number.” I didn’t bother to ask how he got my number.

Lucas left my house and I released a deep breath, running my hand over my forehead. Getting in bed with the Tavarez familywasn’t on my bingo card, but it was too late to turn down. As much as I hated to admit it, maybe it was time to connect with Emmet. With another brain on this we might be able to get further.

____

Inaya

I don’t like you meeting this guy at a hotel. Makes it look like you’re a hooker.

I laughed at my friend’s text and replied.

Me

Hookers get paid. I’m just getting an orgasm…hopefully.

Closing out my text, I pulled up Spark Mate,the hook up app I created. James had helped me fund the app when we first met. It was for people who wanted to meet people without any attachments. It was secure and required you to upload your license and a current photo before you were approved to sign in. An extensive check went through to make sure you weren’t a sexual predator looking for your next victim. It was another profitable avenue of mine that I treasured. It was pricey to maintain but the membership fees made up for it. Sneaky links and random hookups were more common than you think.

The guy I was meeting was new to me. James was no longer an option, and even if he was, I planned on cutting him off anyway since he was getting too clingy. This guy understood I wanted nothing past tonight. We both were just looking to get off. The tease Ezra gave me reminded me that I hadn’t gotten off since I was with James before I was kidnapped. The desire I feltfor him scared me and made me want to put distance between us. Tonight would be the perfect distraction.

I booked the hotel under Ashley and arrived twenty minutes before he was due to arrive. I checked the app and went to my messenger tab. The last message from the guy Maine was that he was on his way. That was twelve minutes ago.

I walked over to the window and stared out into the city. It was lit up and busy. The sound of cars filled the silence in the room. My room was in the front of the hotel on the tenth floor. I watched as people came and went out the door and valet as they moved cars around.

My phone vibrated again and I thought it was Maine letting me know it was here, but when I checked I saw it was Inaya. Ignoring her, I clicked off and went to Instagram. First I checked theShadows of Silver Stonepage. My latest blog post was earlier today about unregistered offenders I found living close to a school in the city. I made sure to include where they were, pictures, and offenses.

After going through the notifications on that page, I went to my personal account then to Ezra’s page. I hated to admit checking his page had become a part of my daily routine. Out of all of the brothers, he posted the most. The guy was conceited if you asked me, but rightfully so. His latest picture was one from behind, heading into the courthouse, a briefcase in hand. The caption read: The Shark en route.

I rolled my eyes when I went to the comments and saw the thirsty women. A lot of them mentioned how they would hire him and he could defend them anytime. I scrolled down Ezra’s page until I got to a picture with all four brothers. They were all smiling besides Emmet. Nazai had more of a crooked smirk on his face, but he looked happy. Him and Ezra being side by side really showed how much they favored.

The Tavarez’s were hot commodities everywhere it seemed. Nazai’s page got a lot of love too, not just his club page but his personal one too. He didn’t post as much as Ezra, but it was enough to create a buzz. The picture of the four had a plethora of likes and was flooded with comments.

By the time I closed the app I realized Maine was late. I went into Spark Mate and messaged to get his ETA. I wasn’t trying to be here all night. Punctuality was big to me and Maine already was on strike one for being late.