Page 5 of Merciless Obsession

I tapped the metal head of Wilma against my hand as I paced back and forth in front of James who was tied to a chair in the center of The Barn. Plastic rested under the chair. The main lights were off and instead I had a standing lamp turned on behind him, giving limited light. It was quiet outside of James’s heavy breathing. His eyes widened with fear as he watched me which caused excitement to rush through me.

“Look, man, I don’t know who you are, but you got the wrong guy. If you let me go I promise I won’t say anything.”

Pausing, I turned to face him. The corners of my mouth lifted. I cocked my head to the side and scanned him. He shook with fright. Sweat beaded on his forehead. I watched him for two days before I snatched him. It wasn’t hard. James didn’t have any security cameras around his house, only an alarm on the inside and a doorbell camera I had Emmet take offline. My face was covered when I drugged him and carried him to the truck of the throw away Emmet often used when he was on a case. It took some convincing to get Emmet to let me use it, but eventually he agreed if I promised to leave him be.

“You don’t know me, but you do know her?” I walked to the table of various weapons and grabbed the picture I set there. Walking back to James I lifted the picture in front of him. His eyes widened and shot up to my face.

“What does Ashley have to do with anything? She never told me she had a boyfriend now!” he rushed out.

I turned the picture and studied it. It was a random one I took when she was leaving her house one morning. Her face was easily visible. Her phone was to her ear and she was mid-laugh. If I was being honest, I was envious about who was on the other end of the phone because I should be the only person to own her laughs and the only one who caused them.

“If I knew she had a boyfriend, I wouldn’t have suggested we go out of town or take things further.” I stilled and dropped my eyes to him. My jaw ticked and I stretched my neck to crack it.

“You wanted to take her out of town? Just the two of you.”

He blinked rapidly. His mouth opened and shut a few times.

Spinning around I went to the table and laid the picture down. Till now I hadn’t touched James. I brought him here and tied him to the chair then waited for him to wake up. Different ways to punish him ran through my mind.

“Did you sleep with her?” I kept my back to him and my eyes locked on her picture.

“Excuse me?”

I licked my lips and gripped Wilma tighter.

“Did you sleep with her?”

“Look, I told you I didn’t know—” Hurriedly, I turned around and rushed toward him. Lifting Wilma, I swung her, slamming it against his left knee cap. She collided with his jeans and the sound of bones cracking filled my ears. He released a loud, ear piercing scream.

“Did you sleep with her?” This time I didn’t give him time to answer and swung Wilma again. “Did you touch her?” His screams grew louder. Tears rushed down his red and blotchy face. I hit his left knee again before moving to the right one. Using Wilma on unexpected victims always made my blood pump with adrenaline. Hearing her solid steel head connect with the flesh and bones, crushing and destroying them, gave me a high as if I had been shot up with dopamine.

“Ple-please,” he stammered shakily.

“You know, James, I read about you.” I tapped Wilma against my hand again. “I know you’re a surgeon and the most important part of your body is your hands…the same hands that touchedmyZiora.” I shot my eyes up to his face.

His tears mixed with snot as he cried. “No, pl-pl-please.” He gritted his teeth. “I’m, I’m sorry.”

Zip ties confined his wrists to the arms of the chair. He clenched his hands into tight fists.

My face went blank. “I don’t want your apologies.”

Turning to the table again, I walked over and laid Wilma down gently and ran my eyes over the different tools, pausing when I got to the machete.

A grin formed on my face. Picking it up, I slid my gloved hand over the silver metal and examined it.

Concluding this was the right choice, I turned back to face James. When I was back in front of him, he lifted his head slowly and his eyes widened when he saw the sharp tool in my hand.

“Now, as I said, those hands you value so much touched something they shouldn’t have and that resulted in us being here tonight.” I eyed his hands. Images of them touching and caressing Ziora’s silky looking, high yellow skin filled my mind. Anger bubbled inside me like boiling lava. Red shadowed my sight. My teeth ground. Narrowing my eyes, I lifted the machete and dragged the blade down his arm from his elbow to his hand, causing him to whimper. His skin split and blood seeped out the cut, dripping onto the plastic.

I went to repeat the motion when the sound of beeping and the doors to The Barn caught my attention. I paused and waited.

A few seconds went by before the sound of shoes against the stone floor of the barn sounded.

“Ez!” Nazai called from behind me.

“What can I do for you, big brother?”

“Help, help! Help me! Please!” James sputtered, his voice raspy and weak.