Page 99 of Abundance of Obsession

His eyes are still open. And they’re staring right at us.

His mouth is shut tight. The skin is gray, without a drop of blood.

“What the fuck is this?” Theo says what we’re all thinking. “Disgusting.”

Someone sent us his head? Why? What’s the point?

And now? After the whole mess?

Ryker grabs the bag, lifts the head, and examines it for a moment, turning it over. But underneath it is a note.

I take it. Open it. Read it aloud.

“Thank you for your help. I’m adding Ricardo to Nico’s collection.”

A note. A printout. A meaningless clue.

Yet it speaks volumes.

“What does this mean?” Theo asks.

“Fuck,” Ryker growls.

He throws the head back into the box, grabs the back of his neck with his hands, and leans back. For a moment, he stares at the ceiling, hoping to find an answer there.

“It means this isn’t our victory,” I add.

Ryker finishes my sentence, “We helped them. Without even knowing it.”

Chapter 25

Zoe

Time is running out for me; that much is clear. Eli’s constant pressure to cut ties with Damien once and for all will end everything.

Meanwhile, it took me a little over a month to plan a meeting with Owen. Considering he’s a boxer as big as a damn tank, I had to try to ensure my plan had no holes.

One mistake. One slip-up.

And everything will fall apart...

Finally, the day came when my plan was about to come true.

It worked out well that Eli has plans with Ryker today. I didn’t pry into what they’re up to behind the door to their secrets. My own secrets are enough to worry about. At least I won’t have to lie about where I’m going; it’ll save me from a bunch of questions.

Ever since that evening when we talked about his mom, things started changing between us again. If I thought he spent a lot of time at my place before, now he’s practically a full-time resident.

It started with me making a little room for him in my closet, but it’s not big. So he moved his clothes into the room where Ash had lived before she moved out. His toothbrush and toiletries in the tiny bathroom, his shoes in the entryway, his favorite coffee mug…

And every single night, he ends up in my bed. Without exception.

Sex with him is incredible. It’s not that he’s an outstanding teacher, that he knows how to drive a woman wild, or that he can find the G-spot without GPS. That too. Every time we get close, there’s a tenderness that used to be only a trace. Now, it’s as though we’re the only ones in the world sharing a special secret.

Let’s get back to Owen.

He’s fighting at the club tonight. I mean, under the club, in the basement.

Thanks to my skills, it was easy to put a fake name on the guest list, because it’s not anyone who wants to get in that is let inside. Not a chance. A known member or fighter must vouch for a potential guest. It’s a closed circle of underground fights.