Page 149 of Merciless Obsession
I thought about his question. Living here wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Ezra was gone throughout the day, either in court or at his firm. He allowed me free range of his home and it wasn’t bad waking up to his arms wrapped around me. We were polar opposites. I wasn’t big on touch and Ezra thrived on it, yet when his hands were on me, my body felt alive and warm all over.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “Would you still stalk me?”
One corner of his mouth rose. “Is that really a question you have to ask? But you like that, don’t you?” He moved up and nuzzled his face into my neck. “You like that I watch you. That Iknow your movements. That Istalk you.” His lips spread into a smile, brushing across my skin like a whisper. The hairs on the back of my neck rose.
“You see, Ziora,I see you.Because you were neglected growing up, you’ve told yourself you don’t need anyone, that you enjoy being disconnected, and that you can do everything on your own, but that’s not true. You want to be wanted, to beseen. You enjoy that for once the pressure is taken off you, but because you have to have control you don’t know how to just let go. That’s why you haven’t attempted to leave. You hate that you enjoy being here with me after telling yourself for so long you didn’t want anything past the bedroom.”
My stomach grew taut as my words became lodged in my throat. As Ezra spoke, I felt like I was being ripped open and seen. My skin felt tight and itchy, like ants were crawling under it. It felt like a jackhammer was going off in my chest as my heart pounded wildly.
“Everyone I ever put my faith in let me down. How do I know you’re any different?”
Lifting his head, Ezra gazed down at me. “Because you, my little bee, have swarmed yourself inside me and left your stinger embedded in my skin, in my mind, in my heart. Anything I do when it comes to you never has ill intentions. You are my masterpiece, baby, the perfect picture to my once bleak life. That’s how you know I’m different.” He captured my mouth with a slow, drugging kiss. A tingling sensation shot from my toes up to my head.
“I’ll burn the world down if it means removing anything that threatens you.”
Swallowing hard, I lifted my hand to his face, cuffed it, and claimed his lips. The urge to run and alarm bells went off in my head but I tried to ignore them. Ezra paid too much attention to me, and in doing that, it made him notice things about me thatI would rather keep buried. This was why physical relationships worked for me because I was able to only show what I wanted and keep the mental trauma I battled with hidden from watchful eyes.
“I don’t want to leave,” I admitted breathlessly. It felt like a band was tied around my sides, squeezing tightly. “But I also don’t want you making choices for me without my insight. I don’t need you to be my knight in shining armor, Ezra.”
He nipped my bottom lip. “Then I’ll be your big bad wolf instead.”
The giggle that fell from my lips was cut off by his mouth on mine again.
I wasn’t sure if I was making the right choice, but for now I wasn’t going to worry about that. As much as I tried to keep a brave face, I could admit I was scared. I was sure whoever tried to run me off the road had to know I was still alive; so they would more than likely try again. I had no plans to stop looking into The Veil, so if staying with Ezra for now was my safest bet, then I would accept it…for now.
____
“You’re not holding it correctly,” Cashlynn complained, approaching me and grabbing my hands. “You want your dominant hand here to give you better support during the recoil.”
I pushed out a deep breath and nodded.
It had been two weeks since my accident and a week since I had gotten out of the hospital. Tired of being in the house, I finally called Cashlynn for my shooting lessons.
“Your form is good, but your aim could use some work,” Cashlynn told Inaya.
When I told her about Cashlynn training me, she wanted to tag along.
“I’ve been to a range a time or two with an ex-boyfriend,” Inaya mentioned. She looked at me. “Are you sure you should be here on that foot?” Her eyes went to my casted foot.
“I’m fine.” Sure, I was supposed to be taking it easy, but I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. I was a proactive person, always had been. Sitting around waiting for the next attack on my life wasn’t working for me.
While I rested in bed, I kept up withShadows of Silver Stone, this time shifting the conversation to The Veil and the rumors about them seeming true. I also did research on the history of Silver Stone. Turned out, back in the day, it was largely known for drug distribution and prostitution. The murder rate was also high due to all the turf wars. There were three known families that fought for power and control. It wasn’t until they came to an agreement of territories that the war subdued. I had heard Silver Stone was built on blood but didn’t know how much until I investigated. The Montgomery’s, who owned one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country, and the Russos, who ran brothels and Elite, a luxurious, exclusive escort service, and The Kents. The Russo family was the reason brothels became legal in Silver Stone and Elite went beyond the city. The Kents were known to be the ones who helped shape Silver Stone to what it is now.
Learning all of this put a battery in my back. I needed to take my power back. To show I wasn’t weak and easily frightened. Growing up, I developed tough skin, in my house you had to if you didn’t want to break. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to cause me to feel powerless again.
“I’m going to bring out the targets,” Cashlynn explained.
We were at Nazai’s second house. When I first arrived here, I wondered why he didn’t stay here full-time but I guess it washis off the grid house when he didn’t want to be deep in the city. It was on the outskirts of the city, toward the mountains, a couple blocks from the Kents’ estate. What surprised me about the house was the private shooting range in the backyard. It was in a large, garage-looking building I assumed was soundproof. Nazai’s house had a large backyard with a ton of unused ground going back.
I paused from pulling the trigger and watched Cashlynn. She was comfortable with her gun and didn’t even flinch when she pulled the trigger. My eyes went to the targets. My brows shot up seeing how nearly all her bullets hit the center of the sheet.
“Damn,” I mumbled, focusing back on my own target. My finger pressed down on the trigger and it was safe to say I wouldn’t be hitting the center anytime soon. Having a gun in my hand felt odd. I had done kickboxing and self-defense classes for years and was good with hand-to-hand fighting but I’d never held a gun before. The one I had wasn’t big. According to Cashlynn it was a Walther PDP F-Series and a good beginner gun for women. Honestly, watching her shoot made me envious. Even with her belly she was a good shot, confident, with steady hands.
“Just don’t shoot to shoot. You’re not going to hit your target like that. Level your gun and aim, then pull the trigger,” she coached me.
I never realized how bad my hand-eye coordination was until now.
We stayed in the range for almost an hour before wrapping things up and heading into the main house. Both mine and Cashlynn’s guards were locked at our sides, following us.
