Page 75 of Merciless Obsession (The Bloodline #2)

ZIORA

“ O kay seriously, Ziora, you’re crazy if you fight that man on anything! Not only did he buy you a hundred thousand dollar car but he gave you unlimited access to his money! That man loves you.”

I rolled my eyes but grinned. “He’s incapable of love, Inaya.

” I squinted and shifted my mouse to my second monitor.

Ezra wasn’t lying when he said he had this room set up just like my office at home, down to desktop setup.

It took a while to get my system up and running, I needed to make sure all the security measures were in place and set up my VPNs and private servers so I could move freely without worrying about anyone tracking or hacking me.

“Maybe in a literal sense, but the way he’s moving? He loves you or at least has strong feelings for you. No one’s going above and beyond like that for someone they don’t have strong feelings for.”

“You don’t think it’s too soon?”

I look at my phone in time to see Inaya rolling her eyes. “No. Who says how time works with these things.”

I bit into my bottom lip and glanced down at my hand. “I didn’t tell you the other thing.”

“What?”

“He bought me a ring.”

Her eyes locked on the phone. “Say what now?”

Nodding, I lifted my phone off the holder and flipped the camera to show my left hand. “Ziora! Why didn’t you lead with this?”

Snickering, I repositioned the phone. “I don’t know what to think of it, Inaya. At first this thing with Ezra was fun and exciting. I mean it was sex, great, consistent sex. Now everything is changing. This man wants to marry me. And it isn’t just words, he’s serious.”

“Hell yeah, he’s serious! That rock on your hand proves it.

Ziora, listen to me. You deserve this, okay?

I know you, and if you didn’t have strong feelings for Ezra too, you would have run and not looked back.

The fact that you’re still there shows this isn’t just sex to you.

Let that man cater to you and obsess over you all he wants. It’s not causing anyone harm.”

“He’s a psychopath, Inaya. Like clinically. He’s not right in the head. That’s a lot to deal with.”

Again, Inaya rolled her eyes. “And you’re making excuses. You’ve been dealing with it, so what’s different now?”

I knew she was right. All my fears of getting close to someone were playing over in my head. Ezra’s affection was so intense and I didn’t know what to expect from him. His way of love kept me on my toes. While it was exciting, it also made my stomach flip like crazy.

“Answer me one thing? Do you see yourself falling for him? Now that he’s in your life, can you picture it without him?”

“That’s two things,” I muttered, then eyed the ring on my finger again.

It surprised me to wake up and see it, but my heart also jumped for joy when I realized what it was and meant.

“Yes and no. I think I already fell for him.” It was a hard pill to swallow, but Ezra’s intense ways were healing parts inside of me that I wasn’t aware needed to be healed.

For so long I felt like I didn’t need anyone.

That keeping anything past physical at a distance was how I was meant to live to keep myself from looking weak or being too vulnerable.

But Ezra somehow came in and cracked open the shell built around me.

It made me understand how The Tin Man felt when they found his heart.

“Think about Charlie. She would want you to be happy, right? To find someone who would do anything to make you happy. If you can’t accept it for you, then do it for her.”

My lips pressed tightly together. A tight sting sprouted through my chest. It still pained me that Charlie would never be able to fall in love and have a family like she always wanted. The guilt I felt when I thought of having it for myself made my stomach churn and my hand itch for a Xanax.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” My words came out slowly as I stared at the computer screen.

“Listen, I’ll stop by later today, okay? I got a few things to take care of but I need to see that car and ring in person!”

Snickering, I agreed. We spoke a little longer before hanging up. Inaya was always one person I could count on to put me in better spirits. And maybe she was right, maybe I could try to go with the flow.

My eyes went to my left hand. It seemed Ezra knew everything about me, even my ring size.

While I waited for my system to finish updating, I pulled the ring from my finger and looked it over.

It was beautiful. I wasn’t a big jewelry wearer and this more than likely was the most expensive thing I owned now.

Turning it, I squinted. Bringing the ring to my face, I felt my stomach flutter noticing the words written on the band.

On top was a saying and right under, initials.

My beautiful masterpiece.

EMT & ZNL

Ezra Michael Tavarez and Ziora Nichole Lambert.

I inhaled a deep breath. My heart slammed into my ribcage repeatedly. Ezra put effort and thought into this ring. He could have easily bought one from the store, but this one he got with my style in mind and had it engraved inside.

I swallowed hard. Goosebumps prickled my skin.

My pulse pounded in my throat. An unsettling tingling shot through my body, making every atom inside me buzz and awaken.

No one could ever say he wasn’t passionate, but the problem was it was hard for me to accept it without my fight or flight instinct kicking in.

My fingers twitched, causing me to ball my hand tightly.

Closing my eyes, I pushed a heavy breath out and mentally counted backwards from ten. My eyes shot open and I quickly dropped the ring on the table and grabbed the bag of suckers, grabbing one, opening and shoving it in my mouth.

Watermelon filled my taste buds.

I took a few more deep breaths until I felt my heartbeat regulate and my body temperature go back to normal.

Having someone care about me, no matter how unconventional, shouldn’t send me spiraling like this.

Picking the ring back up, I shoved it on my finger before I could overthink it.

My eyes shifted to the boxes of files across the room. Working on The Veil would help take my mind off the internal panic still threatening to rise inside me.

For the next hour I busied myself with going through The Sticks’ precinct files. Shifting my eyes between the map, evidence board, and the files, I learned the bodies were all dumped on the same block, three blocks from the community center, but in different locations.

Something about all of this wasn’t adding up to me, and until I found out the connection, it was going to keep bothering me.

Lost in my deep dive, the doorbell going off caught me off guard. My brows furrowed. I wasn’t expecting anyone and Ezra didn’t tell me he was either. Maybe it was the guys he had watching me needing something.

Pushing away from the desk, I reached for my crutches and slowly stood. I couldn’t wait for my foot and ankle to heal. Being limited in movement was starting to get old.

The doorbell went off again and knocking on the door started by the time I got downstairs.

“I’m coming!” I called out.

Unlocking the door, I pulled it open and stared through the screen door.

“Can I help you?” I held the door handle tightly.

“Ms. Lambert,” one of the guys said. I glanced behind before nodding. “I’m not sure if you remember me. I’m Officer Handly.” He lifted his badge.

I thought about it, the beginning of me in the hospital was still a bit fuzzy but I did remember cops coming to talk to me. I was too gone off pain meds to actually have a conversation with them though.

“Oh right, yeah. Did you need something?” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Did you find out who tried to run me off the road?”

“We have some questions following your accident and need you to come down to the precinct with us.”

My eyes bounced between the two officers.

“Okay. Did you want me to meet you there or…?”

“Actually, if you don’t mind coming with us.”

Police weren’t my favorite people. In fact, I loathed them, but I knew I needed to play by the rules right now and not do anything to bring any more attention to this situation.

The Veil didn’t succeed in killing me, but as far as I knew, they didn’t know we were on to them either.

The cops were investigating a hit and run and Ezra had advised me early on to go along with it.

“Let me grab my purse and lock up.”

“Do you need help?” He nodded down.

I cast a glance at my casted foot. “No, I got it.”

It took a few minutes to get what I needed and lock up. I didn’t bother going back upstairs for my phone because it was too much of a hassle. I knew the guys Ezra had following me would let him know what was going on anyway.

After locking up, I followed the cops to their car and Handly opened the backdoor, helping me inside.

The door slammed shut, causing me to jump and look out the window. I didn’t think to tell the guys what was going on.

My eyes went to the black tinted truck in the driveway. It was weird they didn’t make themselves known either.

“Before we go, I need to do something,” I said, reaching for the door handle. I tried to open it but it wouldn’t budge. My stomach clenched but I didn’t panic. Cop’s back doors never opened from the inside because criminals would be able to escape.

“Can you open the door for a second?” I asked.

Ignoring me, the cop who had been silent started the car.

“Hey, wait!” I called out when he pulled away from the curb.

A sinking feeling filled me. I turned and noticed the black truck didn’t pull out after us.

Knocking on the metal grate separating the back and front seats, I tried to get their attention.

“What the hell is going on? Stop the car!” I shouted. My banging increased. My breathing quickened as panic rose inside me. Rocks settled in my stomach and my eyes darted around, trying to gauge where we were going and a way to get out of the car.

“Open the damn door!” I shouted. Pain shot up my arm from how hard I was hitting the metal grate.

Still not paying me any attention, I watched as Handly messed with something on the dashboard. Next thing I knew there was a weird smell filling the back seat. My nose scrunched and my eyes suddenly felt heavy.

“Hey!” I mumbled as my head grew too heavy for my body.

I tried to keep my eyes open, but the more I fought, the more tired I felt. Slouching back in the seat, my body relaxed and my breathing evened out until finally sleep took over.

____

My head throbbed as my eyes strained to open. Voices could be heard around me but it was hard to make out what was being said. My throat was dry and my tongue felt too heavy for my mouth.

Licking my lips, I squeezed my eyes shut and slowly fluttered them open.

It took a couple minutes for my eyes to focus and the fuzziness to clear.

Blinking slowly, I instantly tried to move but realized I was restrained.

I tried not to panic, thinking at first this was Ezra’s version of some sick game.

It wasn’t until my eyes bounced around that I realized I was in a small, secluded stone room, on the ground, chained to the wall.

There was a light overhead, but it was dim.

The room was muggy, not a window in sight from what I could tell, and the ground was cold and smelled like damp concrete and mildew.

Across from me were steps and at the top was an open door with a bright light shining.

I tugged my arms forward. The metal chains shook and rattled but made no attempt to come loose.

“Hello!” I called out, my voice hoarse and scratchy.

When I shifted, a slight pain shot through my lower abdomen, causing my eyes to shoot down. There was a pool of blood on my shirt where my stitches were from my spleen removal. More than likely my stitches had burst again.

Hearing heavy footsteps coming down the stairs caused my eyes to dart forward. My body steeled and my breath caught when shoes became visible.

“Looks like the gas finally wore off,” the deep, wheezy voice sounded.

Zeroing in, I recognized Officer Handly and the other officer who was with him now standing in front of me.

Slowly, memories of them coming to my house came to mind.

The last thing I remembered was being told I was needed at the police station and being in the back of the cop car.

“What the hell is this?” I scowled, yanking forward.

“All you had to do was take the warnings seriously,” Handly said.

Narrowing my eyes, I bounced them between the two. “What?” My heart dropped and realization slammed into me. “You two!” I gasped.

My throat felt like I swallowed a case of sand. A crude, chilling smile twisted on Handly’s face while the unnamed cop’s face stayed stoic.

“You should get comfy, you’ll be here a while,” the no-named cop said before the two turned to leave.

“Wait, no!” I shouted, struggling against the chains.

The pain in my abdomen grew worse. I yelled until my throat hurt.

The sound of the door at the top of the steps slamming shut made an overwhelming sense of dread cover me.

My head felt like someone was pounding drums inside.

Pressure built behind my lids. My breathing picked up and my lungs struggled to function properly.

Heat flashed through my body, offsetting the cool temperature in the room.

Ants felt like they were crawling under my skin and my stomach churned.

Fear of the unknown crept inside me.

“Ezra,” I whimpered.

Silently, I prayed he would find me. My body shook as the tears I tried to hide ran down my cheeks.

I didn’t know how long I had been knocked out.

I wondered where the guys Ezra had hired to watch over me were and how this happened.

Not trusting law enforcement was my golden rule, and foolishly, I ignored that rule and went with two strangers.

I didn’t even know if they were real cops at this point.

My thoughts went to Charlie and I wondered if she felt this scared and alone when she was taken.

Bouncing my eyes around again, there was nothing inside the room but the four walls.

The dim light flickered and my eyes squeezed shut.

I couldn’t show fear, that was how these guys got off.

Laying my head back on the hard stone, I closed my eyes and silently prayed I would be found soon.