Page 41 of Merciless Obsession (The Bloodline #2)

“I have some more news,” I mentioned, bringing the attention back to why we were here.

All eyes turned to me. “I think I found the connection between the missing girls. The community center in my old neighborhood. My sister used to go there after school so she wasn’t at home when I wasn’t there.

I recently met with a girl who was almost taken but was able to get away.

She went to the community center too. I did some digging and found that at one point all the girls went to the community center for tutoring, sports, or mentoring at some point.

From what it looks like, that’s these sickos’ hunting ground.

Lucas, you said your friend’s cousin went there, right? ”

He nodded. “Yeah, I think so. They have some big sister program, right?

“Yeah, the big sister mentoring program.”

“Once Liyah’s parents were sent away, her grandparents thought her being part of that program would be a good thing for her. She also had just started a volleyball camp there. I remember because Adrian didn’t care for the girl who was mentoring Liyah and complained about her when we talked.”

“The director, Ms. Rubin, has been running the center for the last seventeen years. She’s forty-nine, two kids, a twenty-eight-year-old and a twenty-two-year-old, both boys.

She has her bachelor’s in sociology and social work.

She’s gotten a few awards for her work in the community and helping unprivileged kids.

Never been in trouble with the law, no parking tickets.

She’s well loved and respected, no red flags.

I wanted to go talk to her but the center’s closed until next week for plumbing issues. I plan on talking to her next week.”

“This shit just keeps getting more fucked up. A community center? A place kids go to stay out of trouble and get help is a hunting ground for pedophiles. How fucked up is that?” Nazai shook his head.

“It doesn’t look like the cops made the connection or they didn’t care enough to look deeper into it.”

“Speaking of cops… I was able to get the official police reports from The Sticks police department.” Ezra stood up. “I’ll look through them and see if anything sticks out.”

“You never mentioned you were getting those,” I stated. “I want to see them.”

The Sticks didn’t start digitalizing police files until the mid-2000s. The earlier cases of missing girls were all on paper so I never got to see those files.

That signature crooked grin formed on Ezra’s face. “We can make a date out of going over them.”

My cheeks flushed. Ezra was not shy when it came to open displays of affection. It wasn’t something I was used to nor wanted. He didn’t seem to care though.

Inaya spoke up. “So with all this information, now what?”

“The community center is listed as a nonprofit,” Emmet started.

“Which makes sense, what about it?” I asked.

“Typically things like that are funded by the city, taxes, grants, and donors to keep it up and running for the community. But the center isn’t. It’s privately owned.”

My face scrunched. “What? By who?” I went back to my laptop.

“A shell company it looks like. I’ll need more time to do a deep dive, but whoever is funding the center isn’t the city.”

I tapped rapidly on my computer, going to the city’s business website and bringing up the community center. It did look to be registered as a nonprofit, but I wasn’t familiar with the name behind it. I did a search for the business name behind the filing.

“What the fuck? How did I miss this?” I said aloud to no one in particular.

“Don’t stress about it, Bumblebee. Shit happens.”

“Not to me,” I snapped.

I was always thorough in my searches. I had investigated Ms. Rubin because she led the center but never thought to look into the center itself.

“It’s going to take time to find out who’s dishing out the money for this center and who owns it,” Emmet continued.

“I’ll do it,” I rushed out.

“No, Emmet will handle it. Stuff like this is his specialty,” Nazai said.

“I can handle it,” I gritted.

“And I said Emmet will do it.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

Ezra’s hand landed on mine. “Bumblebee, let Emmet do it. We’ll focus on Winston for now.”

My nostrils flared and I pushed a rough puff of air through them. “Fine. But I want to be kept in the loop and I still plan on talking to Ms. Rubin.”

“You can do that. I prefer not to deal with people if I don’t have to.”

We stuck around talking a little longer before everyone prepared to leave. Cashlynn, Nazai, and Lucas were still down in the basement. “You know, Emmet, I know you’re a busy guy with all your hacking and investigating people, but what do you do for fun?” Inaya asked as we walked up the steps.

“I like to fish,” he commented.

“Fishing? Really? I would have never guessed. You know I’ve never been fishing before, maybe you can take me sometime. Do you have a boat?”

Emmet glanced at her but said nothing.

“He does. C’mon, baby bro, it’s rude to leave a lady hanging,” Ezra said.

“Fishing is for me to clear my head and think in peace. I don’t like having people with me because it messes with my concentration.”

“Mhm.” Inaya poked her bottom lip out. “You’re no fun, you know that?”

We got to the top of the steps and Emmet turned to face my friend. “I’m sure what you consider to be fun and what I consider to be fun are two different funs, Shortcake.”

“Shortcake?” A sly smile slid onto Inaya’s face. “We have pet names now.” She wagged her brows.

Emmet blinked at her blankly. My lips tucked into my mouth to fight back a smile.

“Your friend has my brother completely out of his element,” Ezra whispered, leaning into me. “Most girls are intimidated by him because he’s not much of a talker but not Inaya.”

“That’s my friend for you. Never the one to back down.”

“Mhm, that’s something the two of us have in common.

Never the one to back down. Going after what we want until we wear them down.

” His lips brushed against my flesh as he spoke.

My skin prickled. “I admire her dedication, sometimes you have to apply pressure until you weigh a person down and they let you in.”

“Or you can just take the hint and move on.” He chuckled lowly in a husky timbre. My stomach fluttered.

“Not my style, Bumblebee. You should know that by now. I hunt until I conquer and succeed. From the looks of it, your friend has the same intent.” His teeth nipped my earlobe as his arm wrapped around my waist and his hand gently stroked my stomach. “Come to my house tonight. Let’s have some fun.”

“Can’t tonight.”

“Why?”

“Busy.” I had work to finish. Work I had been putting off this week. I needed to work on updating my app and looking into some things submitted to Shadows of Silver Stone so I could update my site.

“You work too much. I’ve never seen you take time for yourself.” My eyes cut into slits and I turned to face him.

I bounced my eyes around and pushed a puff of air out. Not bothering to respond, I turned and faced my friend and Emmet.

“C’mon, Naya. Let’s go.” I stalked off.

Everyone kept telling me I needed to start enjoying myself. I didn’t have enough fun, but people didn’t realize my whole life was spent taking care of my sister and I failed her while she was alive. I couldn’t fail her in death too.

“Hey, Ziora!” Inaya called out.

Ignoring her, I continued out the door. I was starting to feel overwhelmed. I was missing things I never would have before. Things kept coming up that gave me more questions than answers. My temples throbbed.

Once outside, I headed for my car.

“Hey, hold on.” Inaya grabbed my arm. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“Nothing, I just need to get home. I have things to take care of.” I looked around the wooded area.

The brothers came out after us. I watched them separate and was surprised when Emmet went to the motorcycle. He didn’t seem like the type.

Ezra’s eyes searched until landing on me. He was about to head my way until the doors opened and Lucas called for him. “Ezra!”

“C’mon.” I opened my car door and climbed in.

Inaya walked around to the passenger side and got in. “Are you sure you’re okay? Your whole mood just changed out of nowhere.”

“Yeah I just haven’t been getting a lot of sleep and you know how I am when I’m tired.” She let it go and reached for her seat belt.

I took one more look at Ezra before starting my car and putting it into drive, quickly skirting out of the large, open driveway.

____

After finishing everything I needed, I went back into my deep dive concerning Winston.

When I got to his bank account, I saw he’d dished out ten grand every couple months.

I wasn’t sure where the payments were going or to who but I had a hunch it was for the girls.

So far I’d counted four payments, and from what Titan said, he was preparing to do another one soon.

Glancing at my phone, I noted the time. It was a little after twelve.

When I got home I was wired. I shut myself down and dove into my work.

A habit I’d developed since I was a teenager.

My app membership had gone up twenty percent, meaning my profit margin had grown.

Shadows of Silver Stone also had a spike in traffic.

I held off on warning about the community center until I got more answers, but I did make a post about the mayor and the lack of resources given to keep our youth safe.

Election year was next year and I knew it would catch his attention now more than ever.

It was time to apply more pressure to officials.

The Veil needed to be smoked out, and having more officials take this matter seriously and actually take action might do that.

I also did a true crime post about the governor’s son.

Reporters were eating his story up. I had seen posts and mentions about him since he was accused, yet the missing girls barely got put on the police scanner. It was sickening.

I shifted my eyes to the picture of my sister on the crime board along with notes I received. I pinned them up to remind myself why I didn’t have time for fun or games. Why I was fighting so hard to get these sickos off the street. Fear wasn’t gonna stop me.

After finishing all of that, I worked on some client work. Now I was waiting on final payment so I could send the information I came up with.

I should be getting ready for bed. I was working on fumes.

Although I was tired, I wasn’t ready to call it a night.

Pushing away from my desk, I grabbed my phone and left my office.

While out today I purchased a Kindle. I was usually a paperback girl because I preferred to feel the pages.

It also helped bring me back to reality in a way, but a Kindle was easier for when I was on the go, so I finally caved.

I planned on curling up in my bed and finding something to read until I finally fell asleep.

Once in my bedroom, I stripped out of my clothes and my eyes landed on the window. I wasn’t sure if Ezra was close or not, but I stepped in front of the window and undid my bra, pushing it down my arms and tossing it to the side.

I waited for my phone to vibrate. Earlier I’d snapped on him because I was frustrated with myself.

I didn’t like feeling like I was failing and that was all I felt today.

The Xanax I took when I got home helped me out.

I was running low and didn’t have any more refills.

I knew ways to get more without a prescription, but I was fighting not to go that route.

I wiped my eyes and turned toward my bed where my phone laid.

My body buzzed with anticipation, wondering if Ezra was around tonight.

I couldn’t pinpoint why it turned me on knowing he was watching me from some secret location.

He had been chasing me for weeks now and not knowing when or how he would pounce was thrilling.

My life had become so structured, so predictable.

I was starting to accept that the irregularity he brought into my life might be what had been keeping me sane lately.

My shoulders sank forward when my phone screen stayed dark.

The one time I anticipated his presence, he was nowhere to be found.

I went to my dresser, opening the small box and pulling out all of the notes Ezra had left me over the past two months.

There were a couple of pictures of me in the mix too.

I paused, getting to the picture of the two of us.

It was from our date night when we were in my living room.

I studied the suggestive look in his eyes as he stared at me.

The adoration brewing from them. The way he looked at me you would think I could turn straw into gold.

It was hard to keep my guard up when he gazed at me like that.

Pushing a deep breath out, I went to the next picture behind it. This one was just of me, still from that night, looking off to the side. I didn’t even know when he took it but somehow Ezra always managed to capture me at my best.

I skipped to one of the notes and a smile ticked on my face.

Keep frowning and your face might stay like that. Don’t worry I’m here to bring a smile to that pretty face.

It was corny, but Ezra didn’t care about stuff like that. He said whatever was on his mind and never held back how he felt. I went to the next note.

Sometimes I want to keep you locked away from prying eyes so only I experience your beauty.

Ripples went through my stomach. My chest filled with heat.

The things he said sometimes were things no sane person would, but I learned Ezra Tavarez was anything but sane.

A yawn fell from my mouth and my eyes grew heavy. Eventually I put the notes and pictures back.

I was in for a long weekend. Inaya was excited for this Halloween party. I was dreading it, but if it would get my friend off my back, then I could sacrifice a few hours.