Page 58 of Merciless Obsession (The Bloodline #2)

“I was wondering what was taking you so long.” Ezra’s voice rang from behind then he was at my side. His arm went around my waist and he pulled me into his side.

“Mayor Adams.” He nodded at the mayor.

Mayor Adams’s gaze was still on me before slowly moving to Ezra. “Ezra. It’s nice to see you again. It’s a shame your father couldn’t make it tonight.”

They shook hands. “He sends his regards and a check with apologies,” Ezra replied.

“And you are?” Ezra faced Chief Bolden.

His hand went out. “Chief Hugh Bolden.”

“He’s in charge of the precinct in The Sticks,” I mentioned.

“Ah.” Ezra left his hand hanging.

“Ezra, do you know this young lady?” Mayor Adams asked.

“Yes. This is my fiancée, Ziora.”

“Fiancée, eh?” Both his and Chief Bolden’s eyes peered into me.

Someone came over and tapped the mayor’s shoulder and whispered to him. “Excuse me. My presence is needed. It was nice to see you again, Ezra, and Ziora, your concerns have been noted. Hugh.” He nodded at us and turned to walk off.

“You need to stop causing trouble and keep your nose out of business that doesn’t concern you, girl,” Chief Bolden growled.

Ezra’s grip on me tightened and he pulled me back.

“Excuse me, Chief Bolden, is it?” He spoke in a deadpan tone.

“Her name is Ziora, not girl, and unless you want to lose both of your kneecaps, I advise you never to walk up on my fiancée’s again.

” A storm raged in Ezra’s eyes, his voice calm but the threat loud.

“Do you know who you’re threatening?” Bolden puffed his chest out.

“Not someone worth remembering, now if you’ll excuse us. Let’s go, Bumblebee.” He led us away.

Ezra defending me against Bolden made my stomach explode with butterflies. I never had someone go to bat like that for me. The look on Bolden’s face was priceless too. I knew he thought because he was chief of police he was untouchable.

“I love how you don’t back down to anyone. I knew before I got close you were over there ruffling feathers,” Ezra said, keeping his eyes straight. I went into my purse to turn the recording off.

I opened my mouth to speak, but snapped it shut when my eyes landed on Ms. Rubin.

For the type of function this was, it isn’t shocking she was here, but the conversation I had with her earlier played in my mind.

I still wasn’t convinced that Ms. Rubin didn’t know about the behind the scene details of the center and I was determined to uncover whatever else she was hiding.

____

After the ball we went back to Ezra’s house.

I had a small buzz from the champagne but I was still highly functional.

The rest of the night was uneventful. A few more people did speeches, there was a silent auction toward the end of the night, and the mayor got back on stage to thank everyone again for coming.

I didn’t interact with him or Bolden for the rest of the evening either. It was clear I was going to get nowhere with either of them.

Ezra had to check something in his office that his researcher sent him, leaving me alone in his room.

I had stripped out of my clothes and only had on one of his shirts when I left the room.

The couple of times I had been here I had limited time exploring outside the couple of rooms I had been in.

There were three doors upstairs, not including the bedroom I was kept in and Ezra’s room, which I had never been in.

I peeked toward the stairs and didn’t hear anything, which meant Ezra was still in his office.

The first door I checked was a bathroom next to the room I was kept in.

Walking across the hall I tried the door.

It opened easily and I stepped inside. I looked around until I found the light switch and flipped it.

My heart slammed against my chest cavity and my pulse sped up when I eyed the collage of pictures of me.

On the furthest wall from the door, there were tons, all different.

My mouth parted and I slowly stumbled forward.

I bounced my eyes from side to side, taking them all in.

Some were from the nights we slept together, others from when he watched me across from my house, then some were random ones of me on the street.

My stomach rolled over.

I knew Ezra loved to take pictures of me, he always commented on how I was built for the camera, but this…I wasn’t expecting this.

My body was hot, as if the heat had been turned to max temp.

I wasn’t sure what to make of this. Dominic’s words played over in my head.

He told me Ezra didn’t love normally, that his love was an obsession, and from the pictures I was understanding that more than ever.

It should have me running for the hills right now, but oddly a thrill shot up my spine as anxiety built in my stomach.

A shaky breath fell from my lips as I slowly lifted my hand to touch one of the photos.

“What do you think?” I jumped when a warm breath brushed across my ear and a hard body pressed against my back.

Spinning around, I watched Ezra as he proudly gazed at his wall at pictures.

“Ezra, I…” I swallowed thickly.

My words escaped me.

A litany of emotions were running through my head right now. When Ezra’s eyes lowered to me, something intense flared through me. The reasonable part of me knew this was twisted and disturbing, so why was my pussy throbbing and adrenaline rushing through my veins?