Page 76 of Merciless Obsession

“Kids and women, most of the time, are off limits for the family.” There was a double meaning to Nazai’s words. As a kill for hire, sometimes his marks were women, but he didn’t take all the cases against them. Kids were never on the table, however.

Ziora wet her lips and wiped her eyes. It was almost six in the morning and I knew all of us were ready to call it a night. I had a meeting with the governor’s son in a few hours and needed to get ready for that.

“Tell me exactly what I need to do.” Determination bled from Ziora’s eyes.

One corner of my mouth rose. I glanced at Nazai and his mouth twitched.

“Emmet is our investigator, which you know. He also runs his own PI business which at times keeps him busy. Bringing you in will help take some of the work off his shoulders. Right now, I need to see what you’re capable of when it comes to family business. I know you’re good, considering all the research you’ve put in before we found you, and you’re able to hide your tracks perfectly. Look into Winston and see what you can find out. Whatever girl he has is running out of time and we need to get her before it’s too late. We don’t know if he gets his girls from The Veil, but if he doesn’t, that girl still needs help. This is why The Bloodline was formed. We help those who can’t help themselves.” Nazai turned to me.

“Neither of you move before I say so. Once Ziora gets the information needed then?—”

“Then me and Ziora will handle him.”

We stood in a stare off. Nazai narrowed his eyes before he nodded. “A’right, I’ll leave him for you two. River,” he called out.

River stepped forward.

“Ziora’s gonna get the address on this guy and I want you to have some guys put on him.”

River nodded. “Got it.”

“Okay. Fuck! Get this shit cleaned up and go the hell home. We’ll meet back here tomorrow. Is that good for you?” Nazai faced Ziora.

Ziora pulled the sucker out of her mouth. “I’ll have everything about this guy down to when he took his first shit by the end of the day.”

That gained her a choked laugh from my big brother. “Let’s go, Wildfire. You should be in bed anyway.” He turned to his wife.

“I’ll get this cleaned up,” River mentioned.

Lucas was already starting to clean the room.

“C’mon, Bumblebee.”

Ziora took one last look at Titan before spinning and allowing me to lead her out of the medical room in the back of The Barn.

“Are you gonna be a’right?” I asked her once we were outside.

She inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes before slowly pushing it out. “That was a lot,” she started quietly. Lowering her head, she faced me again. She drew her mouth in thoughtfully. Her forehead creased. Her eyes showed exhaustion and a wave of mixed emotions. “I understand it now though. This was the first time I’ve ever been a part of something like this, and instead of feeling fear and disgust, I felt… I don’t know… exhilarating. Like I’m actually making a difference in a bigger way than writing words on the computer. Titan knew Winston was buying young girls and did nothing about it. That makes him and the rest of his crew just as guilty as he is. I don’t feel bad about him dying.”

A lopsided grin spread on my face. “Killing isn’t easy for everyone, seeing dead bodies either. You handled it well though.”

“I’ve seen a lot of crime scene photos. Even if seeing things like this in person is different, I have long gotten rid of the squeamish feeling.”

My arm went back around her waist and pulled her into me. “And that, Bumblebee, is why me and you are meant to be together.” I thought she would fight me but instead a faint smile lined her lips.

My body was still wired from the past couple of hours. I knew I wouldn’t be heading to sleep anytime soon. My eyes dropped toZiora’s awaiting lips. They had a slight red tint from the sucker she was sucking on previously. Licking my lips I dipped my head and pressed my mouth against hers. It didn’t stop the adrenaline passing through me, but it did soothe me some.

I pulled back and locked my eyes on hers. “Next time you have some grand scheme like tonight, key me in. The guys you’re going to be looking into aren’t good people and a lot of them won’t care that you’re a woman. Tonight could’ve ended badly if I hadn’t showed up.”

Her brows slanted slightly. “What made you come tonight anyway? Did you know I would be there?”

The mask I wore slid in and my face went blank. I wasn’t going to tell Ziora I saw all of her texts and that was how I learned she would be at The Den. Soon as I found out, I reached out to Wise for a spot in the poker game.

Instead of responding, I kissed her again. “No more risks like tonight. Next time let me know and we’ll handle shit together.”

“I can handle myself, you know. I’m not some delicate flower.” Her mouth turned upside down.

“Oh the last thing I see you as is a delicate flower, Bumblebee. But that doesn’t matter to me. I won’t have you putting yourself at risk for any reason. A threat toward you is a threat toward me. From here on out, we move as a unit. Understand?”