Page 64 of Merciless Obsession (The Bloodline #2)

EZRA

I t was getting close to the end of Felix’s trial.

The last of the witnesses were being called this week then we would be preparing closing arguments.

Me and my team had managed to debunk a good amount of the prosecution’s claims. Most of the evidence they presented didn’t have proof to show the claims they had against Felix.

The judge had just declared recess for lunch. When I stepped out of the courtroom and turned my phone back on, I was caught off guard by the amount of missed calls from my brothers.

“Are you coming to lunch with us?” my co-counsel asked.

I attempted to call Lucas back first since I had the most calls from him. “No, you guys go ahead.” His phone went to voicemail, next I tried Nazai.

“Where the hell are you?” he answered.

“I’ve been in court all day. Why are you and Lucas blowing me up like I owe y’all money?”

“There’s been an accident. You need to get to the hospital.”

“Accident with who?” I started toward the entrance steps to walk to the main floor of the courthouse.

“Ziora.”

My blood ran cold and my feet stopped moving. “The fuck you just say?”

“Ziora was in an accident and brought to the hospital. Lucas was working here today and called me when he couldn’t get in contact with you. He’s working on her now.”

“What the hell happened? Never mind, I’m on my way.

” I hung the phone up and instantly spun around.

There was no way I would be able to go back into court knowing Ziora was hurt.

She wasn’t a reckless driver so it led me to wonder who caused her to crash.

Heat boiled in my stomach at the thought of someone hurting her.

My jaw clenched and I was surprised I didn’t break my phone from how hard I was squeezing it.

I played about a lot of things but my Bumblebee’s life wasn’t one of them.

On the way to the hospital was a blur. All I could do was picture Ziora laid up and injured in a hospital bed.

A car blared its horn at me as I cut it off and took the close parking spot it was about to turn into.

Not caring, I hurriedly turned my car off, hopped out, and made my way to the emergency room entrance.

“Ezra!” Nazai called out to me as I rushed past the waiting room he was sitting in. I had tunnel vision right now. The only thing on my mind was learning the condition of Ziora. After speaking with the judge, she granted a recess and I wasted no time coming to the hospital.

I slapped my hand on the reception desk, causing the lady behind it to jump and stare at me wide eyed. “I need to know the status of Ziora Lambert. Age twenty-five. Birthday January fourth two thousand.”

“Sorry, sir, if you can just wait a?—”

“Better yet, page my brother Lucas Tavarez.”

“Sir.”

“Stop saying sir and get me the information I need!” My voice heightened and I slammed my hand on the desk again.

“Ez!” Nazai called out. His hand landed on my shoulder but I yanked away. “Ezra!” This time he grabbed my arm more forcefully.

“Not now, Nazai.” My eyes stayed locked on the lady who looked like she was ready to jump out of her skin. Her eyes kept darting to the side.

“Fuck, listen to me!” Nazai yanked on me. Clenching my jaw, I allowed him to pull me back this time.

“What? Unless you’re telling me my girl is fine, then?—”

“She’s still in surgery.” He released me and held his hand out. “Lucas is in there working on her so you know she’s in good hands.”

My heart pounded viciously inside me. My muscles were tight and nerves were running haywire.

Biting down on my back teeth, I dragged my hand down my face. “What happened?”

Nazai shoved his hands into his pants pockets and nodded to the side. I glanced back at the receptionist who was watching me carefully then followed to where Cashlynn and Carson were sitting next to each other in the waiting area.

“I don’t know what happened. Lucas called me when he couldn’t get in contact with you and let me know what happened so I could let you know. Emmet’s checking the camera at the light where it happened and?—”

“Where’s my best friend!” Inaya’s voice boomed. Her eyes darted around, and when they landed on us, she rushed over. “What happened?” she cried in a shaky voice. Her eyes were red and blurry, her cheeks flushed. Obviously she wasn’t handling the news well either.

“She’s in surgery,” Nazai revealed.

“What happened?”

“We don’t know yet.” Nazai paused and pulled his phone out. “Wait, this is Emmet now.”

He unlocked his phone. “Looks like there was a camera at the light and caught everything.”

“Let me see!” I snatched the phone out of his hand before he could protest.

“Because I know how you feel about her, I’ma let this slide. But chill the fuck out, Ez,” he warned.

Ignoring him, I hit the play button. Rage grew inside me as I watched a car deliberately run into Ziora’s car. As she was turning to escape them, they rammed into her. Her car spun and jumped the curb, rolling and ending up in a ditch upside down. Smoke rose from the hood of the car.

My nostrils flared as pounding formed in my ears. A veil of blackness lowered over me as my breathing increased.

Two people got out of the car. They had hats low on their faces and were approaching Ziora’s car until a car coming down the street approached. They examined the car a little longer before walking back to their car and skirting off.

“Give me this.” Nazai grabbed his phone but it felt like he was miles away.

Pulling my phone out, I went to my contacts and found Emmet’s contact. Pressing it, I brought the phone to my ear.

“Yeah?” Emmet answered.

“Who was driving the car?” I asked.

The sound of him clicking the keyboard sounded in the background. “The plates belonged to a car that was reported stolen.”

“Meaning this was planned.” I was sure I could melt ice cream from how hot my body was now. I shifted my eyes to my brother and Inaya. Cashlynn had now come over and was watching the phone.

“Let me call you back,” I told him, hanging up. “She was with you before this, right?” I leveled a stare at Inaya. She looked even more shaken up after watching the video.

Inaya nodded.

“Did she say where she was going afterward?”

“Home.”

I dragged my tongue across my teeth. “Did anything seem out of the ordinary? Because looking at that video, it’s clear she was targeted.”

Inaya shook her head. “No. We had drinks and food. Talked for a bit then went our separate ways. She planned on coming by my house later so we could go to the farmhouse together.”

“We’re looking for a patient that was brought in earlier. Ziora Lambert.” I whipped my head at the deep voice. Two cops were at the reception desk.

Adjusting my tie and suit jacket, I turned toward them. “Ezra.”

There was no point for Nazai to try to stop me. I was a lawyer and right now I was channeling that.

“Were you two the ones on scene for the accident?” I asked.

The uniformed men turned to face me. “And you are?” one asked.

“Ezra Tavarez. Ziora’s fiancé and lawyer.”

The two looked at each other before one held his hand out. “Officer Handly.” By now everyone had come to my side.

I glanced down at his hand but didn’t take it. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“That’s what we were hoping to get from Ms. Lambert. The accident was called in by a passing car. Ms. Lambert was unconscious when rescue arrived on scene.”

“We requested a drug and alcohol test and?—”

“She doesn’t do drugs and she wasn’t drunk!” Inaya cut in.

Handly glanced at her. “And you are?”

“Her sister.”

“There was a car seen fleeing the scene according to the witness who reported the crash. We’re just trying to get the facts.”

“When my fiancée is out of surgery and feeling up to talking, you can speak with her. She wasn’t high or drunk either.”

The other cop spoke. “We just want to get to the bottom of what happened.”

I spoke to them a little longer before they left, revealing they would be back at a later time.

“Dumbasses,” I mumbled when we went back to the seats.

“Someone tried to kill her or scare her.” Cashlynn spoke for the first time.

“But why?” Inaya asked

“She’s hasn’t hidden the fact that we’re digging into The Veil. I’m sure they’re not too happy about it.” Cashlynn rubbed her stomach.

“We should have expected this,” Nazai said. “It’s clear they’re willing to do whatever it takes to stay a secret.” He pulled his phone out again and tapped the screen. “I need to talk to River.” He walked off with the phone to his ear.

“Your girl is reckless. Her playing Nancy Drew put a target on her back. She should have been more discreet,” Cashlynn continued.

I glared at her. Normally I would agree but that wasn’t what I wanted to hear right now.

“Ziora has never been the one to hide. She’s direct with everything she goes after,” Inaya said.

Leaving them, I walked off and went to one of the chairs, taking a seat. I pulled my phone out and texted Emmet for the video. I wanted to watch it again.

Time passed and my patience was starting to run thin.

No one had come out and told us anything.

The two bodyguards Nazai kept around had escorted Cashlynn and Carson home.

My foot bounced rapidly as I balled and unballed my hands.

I itched to go out and find answers for myself.

Getting my hands dirty and causing some harm kept playing over in my head.

“Ezra.” My name being called made me look up. Lucas approached us and I jumped out of my seat, rushing toward him.

“About damn time. What’s going on?” I rushed out.

The expression on his face was serious, causing me to grow more antsy. Inaya and Nazai joined my side. “Relax, little brother. She’s stable and being moved to recovery.”

“Don’t tell me to relax,” I gritted. “Y’all were in there for a long time and no one would tell me shit!”