Page 12 of Merciless Obsession (The Bloodline #2)

“Of course I am. He was bolsa de tierra, scum, lowlife with a badge. He was one of the reasons I took the stand because guys like him are the reason why the wrong criminals get off. A few of the guys we had to take care of over the years were cases he was the lead detective on.”

I squinted at the screen. I had a couple run-ins with Detective Watz myself. He was older, should have been retired, and an arrogant son of a bitch. Whenever he was involved in a case I knew to keep my guard up because he was more untrustworthy than a snake.

“I did my own research on him. I didn’t know why Ziora was looking him up but I figured it was worth me doing it too.” The screen switched. “He often received random deposits. A couple of them were the same amount every month like clockwork.”

“Dig deeper into him, E, I want to know everything down to where he grocery shopped. Also the guy that was charged with Charlie’s murder, see if you can find out his background too.

He was connected to someone and I want to know who.

Ezra, keep Ziora content. I want to have another conversation with her.

” He stood and adjusted his tie. “I appreciate you coming here, padre, we’ll handle things from here. Now I gotta tame a fire.”

Nazai turned and walked to the door that led upstairs.

“That son of mine,” Dad mumbled, shaking his head, standing. “Sons, it was nice seeing you both. Stop by the house and see your mother soon. If you don’t, she’s gonna start fussing.” Dad followed Nazai.

Emmet silently started to pack up. I watched my younger brother.

Most people were wary of him because he was naturally quiet.

He was a whiz at computers, highly intelligent, and had a photographic memory.

He was resourceful, a highly sought out PI, and could hack even The Pentagon if needed without ever being caught.

“Hey, Emmet,” I called out, causing him to pause.

“Who do you believe is a better hacker, you or Ziora?”

He gave me a blank expression and narrowed his eyes. “The fact that you asked me that is insulting.” He finished packing up.

I grinned and pulled out my phone, tapping the screen a few times.

I had installed a couple cameras in the room Ziora was in.

I wanted to make sure I knew what she was always up to.

I had brought her some books back to the house and right now she was sitting on the bed reading one.

I was buzzing to be closer to her again, thankfully this was my final stop of the day.

____

“Is the food not to your liking?” I asked Ziora. We had been sitting at the dinner table for the past fifteen minutes and she hadn’t touched her food. She just sat there blankly staring at the chicken parmesan pasta.

“When are you going to let me go home? I have work I need to complete and I can’t do that here.” Slowly she turned her head so she was facing me. One corner of my mouth lifted as I studied her.

“You’re not having a good time here with me.” I reached out to touch her face but she jerked away from me.

“This is not a game! You kidnapped me and now you’re holding me hostage. I don’t know if this is your idea of entertainment but it’s not mine.”

I stabbed the piece of crispy chicken and brought my fork to my mouth. Ziora watched me with defiance. Slowly I licked my lips.

“We spoke with my dad.”

Her brows furrowed and her mouth flattened into a straight line.

“He remembered your sister’s case, but just like my brother told you, he had nothing to do with the case being dismissed. The cops who were investigating it fucked up when it came to evidence. My dad had no choice but to declare a mistrial.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

I shrugged. “It’s the truth. Some of the things we do might be considered…”

“Illegal.”

I grinned. “Unorthodox, but it’s always for good reason.”

“You cut a man’s hands off for no reason! That’s not unorthodox!”

My smile fell and my face relaxed. “Cause and effect. He touched someone he shouldn’t have and that caused him to lose his hands.” There was no point in revealing he’d lost more than his hands. I was sure she suspected I killed James, but I wouldn’t confirm it.

“Before you took me we had never even had a conversation!” Her voice heightened and her face grew red. “Do you know how insane that sounds?”

“From the moment my brother found out who you were, I knew you were meant for me. Your beauty captured me from the beginning. The scattered dark freckles that spread across your cheeks and over the bridge of your nose give you a distinct look. If I wasn’t so selfish I would encourage you to model, but then everyone would see your beauty, and well, as you can see I’m a very possessive man. ”

Ziora stared at me as if I had lost my mind. She inhaled a deep breath, released it, and closed her eyes for a second. “Do you not understand how crazy that sounds?”

Instead of answering, the smile reformed on my face.

Ziora rolled her eyes and finally reached for the knife to use on her chicken.

I studied her side profile, tempted to grab my camera to capture it up close.

She had her hair up in a ponytail. It was frizzy and her curls weren’t nearly as tight and tame as they normally were, but I liked the messy look on her more.

I was a lover of beautiful things. It was why I got into photography.

It wasn’t enough to see the beauty, but having it saved and being able to look at it every day excited me.

I didn’t find many things that captured my eyes.

Some might call me a womanizer, but I used those women to just pass time, it was why I enjoyed hanging out at my brother’s club.

He only hired beautiful women. It was rare I found raw beauty in someone.

I opened my mouth to speak when searing pain shot through my hand, causing me to yell out. “Ah fuck!” I cried. My eyes shot down to the knife now sticking out of my right hand. Blood oozed from the wound. Ziora shot up and rushed out of the dining room.

“Fuck!” I gritted, grabbing the knife handle and snatching it out of my flesh.

Ignoring the blood that splattered out, I hopped out and rushed her.

She had just pulled the door open when I got to her.

Grabbing her by the hair, I yanked her back, tossing her down behind me.

My hands throbbed and blood dripped everywhere.

“Why did you do that!” I snarled. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Fuck you!” She hopped up and rushed me.

She threw punches my way that I easily blocked.

The classes she was taking were coming in handy, but out of all my brothers I was the one with the best hand-to-hand combat.

She got a couple hits in but they barely fazed me.

I gritted when she went to kick me and I lifted my hand to block her and it hit my fresh wound.

“Enough of this,” I muttered.

Grabbing her by the wrist, I squeezed, causing her to wince, and spun her around so her hand was behind her and back was to my chest. Her breathing was heavy.

“I’ve been trying to be nice to you, but you’re starting to push it,” I rasped, moving in and running my nose along the curve of her neck.

“All you have to do is be a good girl for me and relax. This doesn’t have to get physical.

I’m a lover not a fighter.” My lips pressed against the spot behind her left ear.

“If that’s the case then you would let me go.”

“Oh, Bumblebee.” I chuckled lowly. “I planned on giving you range to move around the house freely until my brother came to talk to you, but I see we’re not at that point yet. It’s a shame too.” I shook my head.

Using my left hand I grabbed her upper arm and dragged her toward the steps.

She stumbled but I didn’t slow down. Out of all of my brothers I was always told I had the least patience, but oddly Ziora attempting to get away from me didn’t upset me as much as I was putting on, but Ziora also had to know who was in charge.

When we got upstairs and in front of the room she was staying in, I pushed the door open and pushed her inside, causing her to stumble forward.

She spun around and glared at me. Grinning in response I blew her a kiss then shut the door behind me. Digging in my pocket, I grabbed the key to lock it.

Once that was taken care of, I lifted my hand. It still throbbed and was covered in blood, but it was now numb. I attempted to bend it.

“Damn, Bumblebee, I guess your sting does hurt after all.” I chuckled and went into my other pocket for my phone. I knew Lucas would be annoyed. He hated being called for trivial things, but he would get over it.

As I proceeded to call my brother, I glanced at the closed door one last time with a small smile forming on my face. I had plans for Ziora. It was time to introduce the real Ezra to her. I wanted to wait, but now that wasn’t an option.

“You and Nazai dealing with these women that like to stab are going to make me start charging for house visits,” Lucas complained. Shaking his head, he cut the thread he put through my hand and secured the stitch.

I grinned and went to bend my fingers. “Nah, my Ziora isn’t like our murderous sister-in-law, she does have some fight in her though.”

Again Lucas shook his head. “The knife doesn’t seem to have gone deep enough that we would need to worry about nerve tendon damage. With how much blood you lost, she must have nipped a small artery. You’re lucky I got here when I did. You shouldn’t have any issues with it healing properly either.”

I examined the neat stitches going across my hand.

There were eight in total. “Try not to do anything that would irritate them. Be careful washing your hands, get some waterproof Band-Aids. If you start experiencing any numbness or it becomes hard to grip and move your fingers, let me know.” He went into his bag.

“Put this on it twice a day for the next week.”

“Yessir!” I saluted.

He frowned at me. I chuckled. “You and Emmet need to learn to smile more. You’re too serious.”