19-Clearwater

**Isabella**

Seeing Ezra's playful side has me falling head-over-heels. I imagined him taking me to a fancy restaurant for lunch, but he took me to a carnival right by the beach instead. I love the simplicity of our date so far. In a way, it makes me feel younger.

"Are you sure this isn't the surprise?" I ask as we walk past the different game booths and eat our Gyros.

"The surprise will blow you away. I chose to eat here because I love carnival food. Especially now since they just opened. It is not busy yet, and the food is fresh." We walk past a booth with tiny targets that you're supposed to shoot. Ezra stops in his tracks and turns around. "This would not be a proper date if I did not win a prize for you."

He is so sweet. Ezra pays the worker and grabs the fake gun that shoots out nerf bullets.

"What prize would you like?" Ezra asks.

"I like the giant donut pillow." It has pink icing and rainbow sprinkles. All the targets rise, and the timer is set at ten seconds.

"You have ten seconds to shoot them all down. There are a total of fifteen targets. Ready, set, go!" The worker starts the timer. Ezra easily shoots down every target within eight seconds, but the last one didn't go down. He hit it without a doubt, so it must have something wrong with it.

"Aw, you almost got the prize! You can try again for only half the price." This man must be a con artist.

"I hit that target. It should have gone down." Ezra keeps his composure, but the worker is a moron.

"It would have gone down if you hit it." I can't believe what I'm hearing right now. I can see Ezra clench his fists, so I place my hand on his shoulder.

"It's not worth it. Let's just leave." He gently removes my hand and kisses it before stepping forward.

"Here, I'll go again." Ezra throws the money down on the table. The timer was reset, and the game began.

Once again, Ezra shot them all down within eight seconds, but the last would not go down. He even shot it twice to be sure.

"See? I shot the target, but it did not go down. You should get that fixed. My lady would like that prize." The worker just shook his head.

"Sorry, the last target is still up. You must have missed it by a hair. Would you like to try again?" At this point, I won't be able to control what Ezra does next.

"What target is still up?" Ezra is pretending he doesn't see the target.

"This one right-" By the time the man can point to the target, Ezra, whips out a real gun that contains a suppressor and blows the target to pieces. The worker shrieks like a little girl.

"Now, give me that fucking donut before your head becomes the next target." Ezra already has his gun put away, but we saw how fast he got it out the last time. I look around. Thankfully no one is close enough to see what happened. Now I understand why he enjoys being here when it isn't crowded.

"You are fucking crazy! I'll have you arrested!" He's crouched down behind a stuffed animal as if it would protect him. I shouldn't find this funny, but the dickhead brought it upon himself.

"You will be a prisoner in my dungeon before you could have me arrested. I'll give you ten seconds to get my prize." Ezra starts counting down, and the worker scrambles to get the giant donut. Instead of handing it to me, he throws it to Ezra.

"There! Just take it! I'm sorry!"

"See? It could have been so easy. I hope you have the day you deserve, sir." Ezra takes me by the hand as we casually walk back to his car. I didn't bother saying anything as we walked, but I have plenty to say now.

"Ezra! You are lucky no one saw what you did back there! I would expect that from Marcello, but not from you. You're supposed to be the one with your head on straight, but that was reckless! What if he presses charges or files a report? And you actually do have prisoners in your dungeon!?" He patiently accepts my badgering. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about the prisoners considering who he is.

"Yes, we do have prisoners. Also, that guy has no evidence against me, Isabella. He does not know our names. There were no cameras covering the area or witnesses. I have been doing this for years, my love. I know when it is safe and when it is not safe to do these things. You told me not to kill without consulting you first. The man is still alive, right?" I guess he makes a good point. At least the man isn't dead.

"Okay, you're right. Thank you for not being a cold-blooded killer on our first date. You're so romantic." I won't admit how sexy he is when he goes all hard-ass. He looks like such a sweetheart until there's a bullet flying past your head. Yummy.

Ezra laughs at my sarcasm. I don't think I have heard him laugh like this yet. Seeing genuine happiness on his face makes me melt into the passenger seat.

"I promise, I can be romantic. I am going to prove it to you as soon as we get to our destination." He holds my hand and intertwines our fingers as he drives.

"Why won't you just tell me where we are going?" His flirtatious grin makes him look friendly.

"Because it will ruin the surprise. You do not know this place exists anyway." I accept my loss and enjoy the quiet car ride.

We leave St. Petersburg and go to the next city. "What city are we going to?"

"Clearwater. Have you been there?" I shake my head. I might have lived in Florida for a while, but I haven't done much traveling here.

It takes about thirty minutes to get to Clearwater. We arrive at a small, but beautiful, beachfront hotel. It's not what I expected, but I'll stay optimistic. Ezra parks the car in front of the building and hands the keys to a tall guy before opening my door for me. I didn't pack any clothes because I wasn't expecting to stay overnight anywhere. Maybe this isn't just a hotel.

Ezra checks in with the front desk. He simply says, "Blue room."

The lady at the desk is eye fucking my man right in front of me. Instead of being jealous, I feel empowered because she will never get a taste. "I have you all checked in, Mr. Gallo."

She didn't even glance at me. Maybe it's for the best. Ezra leads me down a long hallway and to an elevator. I'm confused when he pushes a button that indicates we will be going below ground. Again, I'll choose to stay optimistic.

It seems like a forever-long ride in the elevator when it finally comes to a stop. The doors opened to another incredibly long hallway with about two dozen doors on each side. We walk to the end of the hallway, where dark wooden double doors wait on us. This must be a master room or something.

"I hope you like the ocean, Love." Before I give a response, he scans a card and opens the doors. Clear walls surround us, giving us the most fascinating view from under the ocean. Different types of fish swim around the walls from all directions, and the color blue illuminates the room. There's a king-sized bed with a pure white comforter. The floors are made up of white hexagon tiles. Everything in this room looks like it costs more than my life. There's a small bathroom to the left and a bar with alcohol and snacks to my right. A light gray couch and a marble coffee table with flowers in a gold vase are placed perfectly near one of the walls.

"This place is unbelievable. How did you find it?" Ezra pulls me closer to his body. His eyes have a glint in them that tells me he is in the mood for some action.

"I own it. A good friend of mine specializes in underwater architecture, so we made it happen. It just opened for business two weeks ago. That is why we are here in America still." I am amazed. Being a civil engineer, I can appreciate the art of this building and the hard work it took to create it.

"I wish I had a hand in this project. That would have been an amazing experience." I am reminded of my decision to give up my business to focus on myself and get my mental health in check. All the sleepless nights and stressful days were for nothing. Well, maybe it wasn't all for nothing. I learned from my mistakes, and if I ever decide to start new, I will be better prepared.

"I can only imagine how much better it would have been if you helped, but it is time for you to enjoy life and let us take care of you." Ezra sure knows how to make a woman smile. He lifts my chin and brings his lips to mine for a slow and sensual kiss, making my heart flutter.