Page 10 of Merciless Obsession (The Bloodline #2)

“Nine years ago my little sister Charlie was kidnapped. She wasn’t the first girl to get snatched up, but just like the rest, the cops didn’t seem to care.

I was sixteen at the time and every day for three months straight I called the police station, asking them if they had any leads.

Eventually the detective stopped returning my calls.

It was clear I was annoying him and everyone else, but I didn’t care.

All they saw was a little Black girl from a low-income, dysfunctional family.

They suggested maybe she ran away but my sister didn’t run away.

Our lives weren’t perfect, but she wouldn’t leave without me.

Three months after she was taken, her body showed up in an alley, thrown away like trash.

She had been beaten, raped, and strangled.

According to the cops, they had no leads, but to me it was like they weren’t even looking. ”

Pausing, I took a few breaths, feeling myself starting to get upset about the situation all over again. Ezra gave my thigh a squeeze, reminding me that his hand was still there. Oddly, it eased some of the building tension.

“Fast forward a couple weeks, an arrest was made. I don’t know all the details but the guy was found with my sister’s bookbag, which she had on her when she went missing.

I wasn’t familiar with the guy, but when I looked him up he had a sexual assault and stalking charges that were filed by his girlfriend when he was eighteen.

The cops didn’t believe my sister had anything to do with the other missing girls because she was murdered.

They tried to chalk him up as some creep that preyed on little girls.

When it came time for his trial, your dad was the judge.

It was barely a month when a mistrial was declared.

The guy committed suicide by ‘overdosing’ before they could schedule another trial.

He left a note confessing he couldn’t take the guilt anymore or some dumb shit. ”

Nazai raised a brow. “You don’t believe he overdosed?”

“Oh, I know he overdosed but it being a suicide is bullshit. He was the scapegoat for whoever he was working for.”

“Our dad doesn’t protect predators, especially ones against kids.”

I scoffed. “So the guy that happened to be charged with my sister’s murder and assault was let go in his courtroom coincidentally?”

“If he was let go, then there was a reason.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course he would defend his dad.

“On your board, you had child trafficking ring written in the center,” Ezra mentioned. “That’s why you think your sister was taken.”

Slowly I broke eye contact with Nazai and gave Ezra my attention again. “From the research I’ve done over the years, I believe the girls who are taken and not murdered are being sold off. To or by whom, I don’t know.”

“Your sister was thirteen when she was taken, right?” Lucas cut in. It was the first time he’d spoken since he’d been here.

I glanced at him and nodded.

His face hardened. “Do you remember ever seeing this girl on there?” He turned his phone screen to face me.

My face scrunched and I glanced at the screen, a light brown skin girl was displayed.

“Lucas,” Nazai cut in.

“Let her answer,” Lucas said tightly.

My eyes bounced between them. “I don’t know.” I squinted at the picture. “The girls’ appearances are always changed from what I saw. The flyer is only visible for a handful of hours then it vanishes.”

“My best friend was taken eleven years ago.”

“How old?”

“Thirteen.”

“Mhm, meets the criteria. But if she was around you then I doubt she was taken by the same people I’m going after.”

Lucas pulled his phone back and glanced at it. “What makes you so sure?”

I cocked my head to the side. “Did you miss where I said low income? You’re not low income and I doubt you hang out with anyone who is.”

His eyes darkened. “She was with her cousin when she was taken. They were with their grandparents for the summer in The Sticks. Her cousin popped up dead a month later but she was never found. Her cousin was found just like your sister.”

“Then more than likely your friend was sold off.”

The room grew quiet. “You’re a good hacker,” Emmet cut in, startling me.

His stare caused me to grow unsettled. It was intense, but blank and calculating at the same time.

“It took me some time to get into your home computer. I couldn’t get into everything but I was able to get the information you had on my family. ”

“When the hell were you on my computer?” I whipped my head to Ezra. “You took him to my house!”

Ezra smirked. “My brother’s the best there is. You should be honored that he just complimented you.”

I bit the inside of my jaw. “What exactly did you locate?” I crossed my arms again, squaring off with Emmet. I had set up a few types of steganography so unless you knew what to look for you wouldn’t find anything important.

The security on my computer was top notch. I set it up myself. With me digging into these disappearances I had to make myself untraceable. What I was doing was dangerous. No matter how good of a hacker someone was, it wouldn’t be easy for them to get into my hard drive or find out my identity.

Emmet slid his eyes to Nazai who shook his head. Emmet stayed quiet.

“Okay, then how did you find out I was behind Shadows of Silver Stone ?” My blog was attached to an alias and the IP scramblers and VPNs I had set it made it ten times harder to lead back to me.

“It took some time but I eventually found some flaws in your encryptions, leading me back to you.”

“Bullshit!” I spat, sitting up. My system was foolproof.

A mocking smirk formed on his mouth.

“You two can have your geek squabble later!” Nazai cut in.

“The reason we’re here and why you were taken…

.” His eyes narrowed on Ezra. “Was because of you blogging about our family. Whatever you believe you know about us is false. Our dad isn’t involved with any child trafficking or whatever you think is going on. ”

“I don’t think anything, I know for sure.”

“How?” Lucas asked.

“I have my sources.” There was no way I was putting all my cards on the table with these people.

“And I know you run an underground clinic for criminals who can’t go to the hospital.

Ezra is a defense attorney whose biggest clients are well-known organized crime members, yet your dad was a ‘well respected judge’.

Emmet… Well, it seems we have more in common than I would like to admit. And you.” My eyes leveled on Nazai.

“What about me?” Nazai questioned with mirth on his face.

“You married Cashlynn Cavana. Everyone knows her parents and what they were into. You know they say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” I lifted a brow.

Nazai’s jaw clenched. “Watch your mouth,” he growled. The sudden darkness that passed over his face made my pulse race and my stomach knot.

“Nazai,” Ezra said, warning in his tone.

“My wife is off limits. You’ll do best to remember that.”

I swallowed hard and blinked slowly.

The room grew awkward and suddenly Nazai stood up. “Keep her here until we figure out what’s going on.”

“You guys can’t keep me hostage!” I shot up too.

Nazai ignored me. “Keep her here and under control. Emmet, try and see what else you can get from her computer.” I went to object. “I feel like you know more than you’re saying but for now I’ll let it go.” He faced his brother. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

With that he left, not giving me a second glance. It was clear who the leader was. Emmet rose and followed him. Lucas stared at me for a long minute, causing me to slightly shift. “Who told you I ran a clinic?”

I pressed my lips tightly together. He flashed me a chilling grin and stood. “I’ll talk to you later, Ez.” He followed his other two brothers.

The front door opened and soon closed. “Well that went better than I thought.” Ezra stood up smiling. I glared at him.

“Your older brother is an asshole. I knew that charm he puts out to the public was an act.”

“Nazai dishes what he gets.” Ezra shrugged. “What matters is you’re still breathing.”

My head snapped back and my face balled up. “Excuse me?”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “It’s obvious I can’t trust you so you’ll have to be locked in your room.”

I saw that coming. “I want my phone.”

His grin widened. “Not yet, Bumblebee. I have to know I can trust you.”

“Why do you call me that?”

Ezra didn’t answer. “When I got home I stopped by a Thai place close by and got us something to eat. How about we warm it up and eat? I’m sure you want more than just my cum in your stomach.” He winked at me.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I watched as he turned for the kitchen.

It was clear to me that either Ezra and his brothers didn’t know about their dad’s role in all this or they were oblivious to just how sick he was.

Either way I was going to use being here to my advantage.

I was sure Ezra had an office here with a computer.

If I could get to it then I’d be able to find out more dirt on The Tavarez family.

Ezra seemed to be smitten with me for whatever reason, which was beneficial for me.

I wasn’t sure what he had planned, but his attraction obviously was keeping me alive and seemingly unharmed.

I had read about predators, and while Ezra wasn’t as upstanding and ethical as he came across to the public eye, I didn’t get the sense he was a predator either.

I would use his attraction to me to my advantage.

From a young age I had learned the power of getting what I needed by whatever means necessary.

If playing into this odd behavior was what I had to do, then so be it.