Page 6 of Merciless Obsession

Nazai soon was next to me. Out the corner of my eye I saw his arms crossed and eyes focused on James.

“What are you doing here, big brother?” I grinned and faced him.

“The better question is what are you doing here? Who is this?”

“Someone who’s learning to keep his hands to himself.”

Nazai’s brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. “I didn’t assign you a case, so explain to me why there’s a random man bleeding and confined to a chair right now.” From the tone of his voice, he was leaving no room for bullshit. I guffawed under my breath. Nazai was starting to come into his role as head of the family.

“It’s not a job. This is personal.”

Nazai slid his eyes to the weeping man. His breathing was heavier. His skin pale. Tremors passed through his body.

Nazai ran a hand down his face. “This isn’t how we operate, Ezra. We don’t kill and hurt innocent people.”

My jaw twitched. “Sometimes there’s an exception to that rule.”

He pushed out a heavy breath. “Ez.”

I cut him off. “I hear you, big bro.” My mouth lifted in a snide grin. “Next time, before I punish a man for touching someone they shouldn’t, I’ll check to see if they have a rap sheet first.”

Nazai didn’t look amused by my sarcasm. “There won’t be a next time. I know you don’t operate like the rest of us all the time, but you know this is sloppy work and wedon’tdo sloppy. Since he’s seen our faces, unfortunately we can’t just let him go either.”

Lifting my hand, I waved him off then gave James my attention. “I hear what you’re saying, big bro.”

Nazai grumbled under his breath. “Hurry up then. I got a pregnant wife at home who likes to use her own knife when she’s upset and she’s craving fish sticks and peanut butter.”

“You can go. I got this.”

“No I can’t, not until you wrap this up.”

“Really?” I faced him and raised a brow.

He waved his hand and pulled his phone out. “It’s not like you’re going to change your mind and we can’t let him go now.”

The smile on my face broadened. “I got you, big bro.”

James’s body shook more when he realized Nazai wasn’t going to help him. At first keeping track of Ziora had been because she kept writing lies about my family, mainly my father. When I first saw her on the screen, everything else vanished around me and I knew she was meant to be mine. Knowing this man tarnished her with his filthy hands woke a beast asleep in me and the only way to tame a beast was to put the threat to rest.

CHAPTER 4

ZIORA

“Idon’t know, Ziora, maybe a weekend away is what you need,” my best friend Inaya expressed.

I rolled my eyes and pushed my car door open. “If I was going to take a vacation it wouldn’t be with James.”

“Oh you mean, a rich, hot surgeon? Oh no, why would you ever choose to go away with him.”

A light snicker left my mouth. “You’re right, he is all those things, but I still have no interest in him.” I walked across my grass to get to my front door.

“Fair enough, maybe you’re waiting for your mystery stalker to come and snatch you up.”

This time I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I want. Some crazy psycho to come and steal me away.” Inaya was the only person who knew about my mystery notes and that was because she was with me one day and saw one taped on my door. While most people would freak out, Inaya wasn’t like that. That’s why the two of us clicked so well. She was an adrenaline junkie and chased danger. We met in junior high and she was the only person who was there for me when Charlie was kidnapped and murdered. When I told her I was determined to find out what happened she was right by my side and didn’t think I was out ofmy mind. Inaya was an untraditional girl but that’s why I loved her. She never looked at the world in just black and white.

“You mean a crazy, romantic psycho. Don’t you know roses are the symbol of love?”

“I’ll make sure to remember that.” I grew quiet for a moment. “A young girl was found yesterday, by the bridge.”