Page 63 of Merciless Obsession

“I have a meeting with Ryan later this evening,” I said into my wireless headphones as I moved the photo from the liquid to hang it up to dry.

“Good. I’ll stop by the farmhouse and get the payment and bring it by.” When we had jobs that required payoffs or favors that needed cashed in we used funds from a vault hidden at the meeting farmhouse. Since Nazai was now in charge, it was his job to make sure it was handled properly.

“Once you leave the meeting with him, come by the club so we can talk in person. If The Veil is involved, I want to be on top of everything we do so we’re not caught off guard later.”

I chuckled. “You sound nervous, big bro.” I moved to the next photo to develop.

“No one alive puts fear in my heart, but this group isn’t one we should take lightly. The fact that they’ve operated as ghosts for all these years with no proof of being real is why we shouldn’t go into this lightly.”

“Neither should we,” I reminded him.

While The Bloodline operated in secret, we weren’t some urban myth that terrorized the city. Some people mentioned The Bloodline, but they weren’t aware it was the Tavarez family behind the name. Most people sang our praises for getting justice for loved ones who were wrong and fixing the law’s fuck ups. The Bloodline name wasn’t a secret, but the names behind it always would be in the shadows.

“That’s true, but still, these guys have no morals. If rumors are true, they have a shit ton of people to keep their hands clean. Us looking into them puts a target on our back. They’re people with everything to lose and have made it clear they will take out whoever to stay a secret. We all need to keep our eyes open and be on guard. I refuse to lose any of my brothers to this shit.” His voice hardened with the last sentence.

While I waited for the picture to develop, I turned and leaned my hip against my working table. Days had passed since Nazai revealed The Veil was real and could be involved in these kidnappings.

The playfulness left my body. “No one is going to take any of us out. We’re not amateurs. If anyone comes for one of us they come for all of us. We’re gonna take these fuckers down together.”

The thought of losing any of my brothers made me want to cause havoc to the whole city. We grew up close and loyalty was a code we all stood by. While we seemed like a prestigious familywe made it clear that you never went against just one of us. We were a unit and moved as one against any enemy.

I spoke with Nazai a little longer before hanging up. I hung the last of my photos on the drying line and eyed the photos of Ziora from last night. They were absolutely stunning in every sense. I was gonna use my digital camera on her at first but then switched at the last minute when she went to the bathroom. I knew this way would capture her better and I was right.

I put the negatives into a binder I had set to the side as Nazai’s words played over in my mind. My blood ran hot. My dad made sure to train us to be the best. We had been in shooting ranges and fighting classes since we were able to walk properly. While some of us might be better than others at different things we all were built tough and solid. Nazai was the best shot, I was best known for hand-to-hand combat, Lucas loved torture techniques, his fascination with the body was kind of creepy honestly, and Emmet was the best sniper you’d ever meet. I knew my brothers. The Bloodline would make the sick fuckers who thought it was okay to kidnap and traffic young girls wish they were never born.

____

Inaya

Do you have your costume yet? We only have a week until the party!

Currently I was waiting for Ryan to show up at our meeting. I made sure to get here early to scope out the café we were meeting at. I was tucked in the back corner away from prying eyes. There wasn’t much going on in the café. A couple of college looking kids on their laptops and two workers behind the counter.

When I deemed the place safe to meet, I decided to cheek in on my Bumblebee.

Bumblebee

No, because I told you I don’t want to go. That’s not my scene. I don’t even know the Kents.

Inaya

Too bad we’re going! I was invited which means WE were invited. All you do is sit in the house in front of the computer all day. It’s time to go out in the real world around people! I found a costume you’ll look hot in! I’m sending the link now.

When the link came through I clicked on it and my teeth instantly sank into my bottom lip picturing Ziora in the Harley Quinn costume. Inaya was trying to convince her to go to the annual Halloween party thrown at the Kent estate. Easton Kent owned The Graveyard, an underground fight club. He and his twin sister Elianna were a year younger than me. It was always thrown in the opposite direction of the docks, on a large piece of land they owned, near the woods going toward the mountains. Their estate sat on a shit ton of land they transformed into a horror fest every year. It was one of my favorite events to attend at the end of the year. I was curious how Inaya got put on the list, but that was something I would ponder later. The chair across from me being pulled out caused me to shift my eyes up from the cloned phone.

“Ezra,” he called out with a slight nod.

“Ryan.” I locked the phone and set it face down on the table next to me then picked up the foam coffee cup and brought it to my mouth.

“I assume this isn’t a social call?” His eyes traveled around the nearly empty café.

Lowering the cup, one corner of my mouth lifted. “Observant.” I set the cup down. “You’re correct though, thisisa business call. We have a problem that needs fixing. Or should I say, you have a problem.”

Ryan lifted a brow and his mouth hardened. He was around my parents’ age and had been in his position for the past few years. He was graying with the weight of his job showing on his face.

“And what’s the problem?”

“The missing girls in The Sticks.” I watched his face for anything but he kept it rested.