Page 18 of Merciless Obsession (The Bloodline #2)

ZIORA

“ T hank you for meeting with me.” I took a seat on the brown worn couch and gave the living room a scan. There wasn’t much in it. A big screen TV mounted on the wall, kids toys scattered around the floor, a coffee table a couple feet from the couch with an ashtray with cigarette butts inside.

“You said you had questions about my daughter going missing?” The mom sat down and turned her head away from me to blow smoke from the cigarette in her hand. When she faced me again, she looked me over. “You a cop or something? Don’t look like one.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not a cop.”

“Then why you here? Who are you?”

For a second I focused on the healing bruise under her left eye.

I cleared my throat. “My name’s Ziora, I’m looking into the girls going missing around here.”

She puffed on the cigarette and squinted. “Why? You don’t look like you live on this side of the bridge. Why do you care about anything happening over here?”

“I grew up in this area, a couple blocks away from your house. My sister was taken nine years ago and she wasn’t the first or last girl.”

“Well I told the cops everything when they came by.” She scoffed. “Not that they gave a damn.”

“Ms. Rogers. I’ma be real with you. The cops are going to do a half ass investigation if they do anything at all.”

Ms. Rogers snickered. “Yeah I figured. It’s always been like that. When one of us goes missing it’s just one less problem for them to deal with.” She stood and walked over to the wall near the door and took the picture hanging off.

When she turned to me and came back to the couch, she handed the photo to me. In it was Ms. Rogers, along with her five kids, three boys and two girls.

“Mya’s the oldest girl. She was my little star too, wanted to be a singer and make it out The Sticks.

” Ms. Rogers’s voice cracked. “Her older brother dropped out of school and runs the streets doing whatever the hell he does. My youngest three adored her; she was a big help around here too.” She puffed on the cancer stick.

“My baby ain’t bother nobody. She got good grades, just got her first solo in choir, she was so happy.

And the cops chalked her up as some runaway delinquent.

That wasn’t my Mya. She wasn’t a fucking bad kid. ”

Ms. Rogers’s hands shook as she pulled the cigarette away from her mouth.

“My oldest, he’s about to be seventeen. He’s been scanning the neighborhood trying to find out who took his sister.

He always been a protector. Since my no-good baby daddies never stayed around, he took on the role as the man of the house.

” She paused and snorted, looking out into the distance.

I shifted in my seat and looked back at the picture. The kids all had some feature of their mom in them, but the youngest two looked the most alike. I assumed they had the same dad. I focused on Mya.

“That picture was the first time I agreed to straighten her hair. She was so excited and couldn’t stop running her fingers through it.”

Mya was a pretty girl—light brown, big innocent smile, small gap in her front top teeth, big, bright, round eyes.

“Did your daughter do anything out of the ordinary leading up to the day she went missing? Did she get new friends? Start acting out? Tell you about anyone following her?”

“No. Mya’s had the same friends since she was five.

Girls that grew up in the neighborhood. Mya went to school, then her after school program, and would walk home when it was over.

My son told me to stop letting her walk everywhere, but Mya was so mature for her age.

She was smart too, knew not to get in any strangers’ cars and be aware of her surroundings.

She just turned fourteen, she wasn’t a kid.

Hell, I had my first job at fourteen. Wasn’t nothing wrong with her walking home. ”

Ms. Rogers was thirty-six. When I looked into her, I saw she had a petty theft charge and a DUI charge from a few years back, but nothing too major. She had her oldest son at nineteen, no college degree, but she did finish high school.

The front door slammed open and hit the wall with a loud thud, causing me to jump. “Who’s fucking car is that in front of the house?” A large, dark-skinned man stepped further into the house. His eyes landed on me and narrowed. “Who the fuck are you?”

My eyes widened. My heart pounded loudly.

“Baby, this is Ziora. She’s looking into Mya’s disappearance.” Ms. Rogers leaned over and set her cigarette in the ashtray before standing up. She walked to the guy and laid a hand on his arm.

“I don’t like strangers in my house, Missy. I told you that shit.” Ms. Rogers’s whole demeanor changed when the man stepped into the house.

“But baby she’s trying to help.”

“Help with what? The cops said she probably ran away.”

“My baby didn’t run away!” Missy, Mya’s mom stood straight.

“Yo, who you yelling at?” He towered over her.

Fright covered her face. “I’m not yelling, baby. I’m just saying, I know Mya; she didn’t run away.”

The guy snorted. “Yeah, okay. Did you cook? I’m hungry.”

He glared at me one last time before walking past the couch to where the kitchen was.

I knew when my time had run out. I laid the picture on the arm of the couch and stood. “Thank you for speaking with me, Ms. Rogers.”

I started to leave. “Hey. Your sister? Did they ever find her?”

I swallowed hard and balled my hands at my side. “Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, they did.” I walked to the front door and pushed the screen door open.

It was partly cloudy today and a bit on the chilly side. All the houses on the street looked like they could all use an updated paint job. All were one level, decent in size.

Yelling and the sound of something breaking behind me sounded off and I glanced over my shoulder and shook my head. Stepping off the stoop I walked across the yard to where my car was parked on the street.

I walked around to the driver side and went into my coat pocket for my key when something on my windshield caught my eye. I looked around before stepping forward and grabbing the black notecard. Words were written on it in bold, white letters. The hairs on the back of my neck rose.

Leave it alone and mind your business or else.

Again I looked around, seeing if anyone or anything looked out of place. This note didn’t make my insides tingle like the notes I got from Ezra. This was a direct threat.

Glancing at the postcard again, I moved back to the driver door and pulled it open.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw Inaya had texted me.

I was meeting up with her after I left here.

Quickly I let her know I was leaving The Sticks and headed back over the bridge then tossed my phone on the passenger seat.

I studied the note again. I knew there were people who didn’t like me. While I kept my blog anonymous to keep things like this from happening, I wasn’t quiet about these girls needing justice on social media.

My heart pounded and my pulse sped up. My chest tightened, making it uncomfortable to breathe.

Leaning over I went into my glove compartment and took the pill bottle out.

I took one out, tossed it in my mouth, and swallowed it.

Closing my eyes, I pushed a deep breath out.

No one knew I was coming out here to speak to Mya’s mom either.

This was someone trying to scare me, but I didn’t scare easily.

Grabbing my purse I unzipped it and put the note inside then set it in the passenger seat. Pressing the brake, I hit the button to start my car.

I took one last look at Mya’s house before throwing my car in drive and pulling away from the curb.

____

“Okay, spill it. Why the hell was the Tavarez family in your living room the other day? I thought we hated them,” Inaya questioned before I could even get comfortable at the table.

“You’ve been itching to ask me that, haven’t you?”

“Hell yeah! We were just getting dirt on them to take down their family and expose them for who they really are. Next thing I know you go off the grid and pop back up with the enemies. Did they threaten you?”

After last night’s text conversation with Ezra I should be even more wary of him and how strong his attraction toward me was. His family should have me on edge even more than before, but the fear I expected never came.

I shook my head and pushed a deep breath out. “We’ve called a truce.” Inaya’s eyes widened. “For now at least.”

“A truce?” Her nose scrunched.

I nodded and picked my phone up to look at my latest notification. “I had it wrong. Their dad wasn’t in on getting the case dismissed, it was all on the cops in charge of the investigation. With learning that information, we’ve agreed to work together and find out who’s behind everything.”

“And you believe them? After everything we’ve learned about them, you think you can trust those people.”

My tongue swiped across my lips and I lifted my eyes to focus on my friend.

“I don’t know. But with everything we’ve learned about them over these past months, I think they’ll be able to help.

It’s been nothing but brick walls for us and they have the pull we don’t.

If nothing else we can use them to take these assholes down. ”

Inaya didn’t look convinced and I didn’t blame her, since for months I wanted nothing more but to take that family down. “Okay…but that still doesn’t explain how you even got connected enough with them to get to that point.”

The server came to our table to get our drink orders. After ordering we sent her away. I scanned the dining room of the restaurant. It was one close to Inaya’s house, a small hole in the wall spot we often met at.

“I found out it was Ezra leaving the roses and notes on my door.”

“Really? How the hell did you figure that out?”