Addiction (28 page)

And just as if I’m back in one of those dreams, that you can’t seem to escape, my body starts to shut down. My arms go limp, my eyes grow heavy, and my mind turns foggy.

I fall to the concrete, face first and lie there spread out in front of them. My shorts ripped and my corset is gone. My lungs burning and my face stinging. My chest aches and my head throbs. I just want the pain to go away. I have given up the fight; it’s not as if I was winning anyway. I close my eyes and welcome the coolness from the concrete to my aching body. The only part that feels warm is my right thigh and that’s only because of the blood that runs down it from when they tackled me to the ground while I was running. I shake uncontrollably as I just lie there.

I whimper when my limp arm is lifted from the street and I’m hauled to my feet. When my legs give out, the man supports me as he shoves my back into a brick wall.

He wraps his hand around my throat and I arch my back as he steals my breath. He lowers his head to mine. I cringe when he licks the tears off my face. “Tastes so good,” he mutters. “Gonna give up on us already?” he questions as his free hand slaps my outer thigh where it’s cut. “Come on, Taylor.” How does he know my name? “The best part is the fight. Watching you struggle.” He breathes on my face through the hole in his black mask. And I swallow down the bile that rises in my throat. I refuse to give them any more satisfaction. 

He loosens his hold on my throat, but still holds me in place by it. “Go to hell,” I rasp. There was no venom in my voice as I had hoped. It sounded more like acceptance. I am going to die in this alleyway. Topless. God, I hope no one tells my brother that part.

He smiles. A cold and nasty smile as he runs his tongue over his nasty, crooked teeth.

“I wanna know if you’re worth the risk …” He pushes his body into mine, and I feel his hardness against my stomach. My body shudders as I cry out. “A risk of losing everything.” He goes to lick my face again, but I turn my head. His hand tightens around my neck, cutting off my air. I try to kick him, but he just presses his body further into mine to prevent any movement.

“I know we said you could go first … but I changed my mind,” he growls as he looks over his shoulder. He lets go of me all of a sudden and I drop to my knees as I take in a deep breath. The force from the drop shoots pain up my legs.

“… Where did you go?” he demands.

I look up through tears and notice the other guy is no longer with us. And I feel the first bit of relief. Maybe he got bored with me. Maybe he prefers blondes. Either way, I’m thankful I’m down to one.

The man grabs me and yanks me to my feet. He pulls my back to his front and wraps his arm around my waist, pinning my arms to my side. “Don’t worry,” He whispers in my ear his voice a growl. “He’ll return. And when he does, we’ll start the fun stuff.”

I moan in pain as he tightens his arm around my stomach, pressing on my ribs where one of them kicked me. I try to breathe in and out, but it’s hard. I try to scream out but there’s nothing there. He chuckles in my ear, and I shudder.

He doesn’t speak again as he watches the alleyway. The only noise is the wind, and there’s very little light. I close my heavy eyes. I’m so tired; my body just wants to sleep.

The guy behind me yanks me backward, and my eyes spring open. He starts to rattle off some curses and then places the knife on my neck with his free hand. I barely feel my heart speed up; my body is so weak.

“Let her go.”

A low cry rips from my lips when I hear a voice. A familiar voice. A very blurry shape is standing in the alleyway coming toward us. The closer he gets, the more I am able to make the person out. And it’s Case. Tears fill my eyes once again, but this time they’re happy tears. Finally. I’m gonna survive after all.

“Where is he?” comes the demand from the guy holding me.

“Dead,” comes Case’s cold voice. “Like you’re gonna be.” He comes to a stop a little ways in front of us. My vision starts to clear, and I see him standing there. Blood covers his clothes, but I know it’s not his. He wouldn’t be able to stand if it was.

His eyes meet mine, and I see the guilt in them from our earlier fight. He thinks I wouldn’t be in this position if we hadn’t fought. But there’s no way to prove that. “Case …?” The guy behind me yanks me back another step cutting off what I was about to say to him.

Case’s eyes look me up and down, assessing the damage, I believe. They darken when they settle on my bare breasts. I feel so ashamed. I don’t want him to see me like this. So helpless. So I close my eyes.

“Stay back,” the man behind me snaps. “Or I’ll kill her.” I feel him shifting around, and then I feel the cold steel on my neck for the second time tonight. “I’ll kill her,” he screams desperately.

I feel the knife cut into my neck and then warm liquid runs down my chest. Thanks to either my adrenaline or my body giving up, I don’t feel much of the pain. Just a throbbing sensation.

“Taylor,” Case demands. “Open your eyes and look at me.”

I open them slowly and fix them on his. My eyes are heavy and all I see are shadows. “Just hang on,” he says softly. I wish I could nod, but that isn’t an option as the knife is at my throat.

He then looks at the guy behind me with thinned lips, flared nostrils, and narrowed eyes. His chest rises and falls quickly. He looks like a dark angel who has come to rescue me from hell. “Let her go now. I’ll let you spend the rest of your life in jail. If you don’t, I’ll kill you right where you stand.” He lifts his right hand and there’s a gun in it. My body trembles once again. I know he has it pointed at the guy behind me, but it looks like I’m staring right at it.

“You shoot me, I kill her,” the man snaps.

The knife goes in a little deeper, and this time, I feel a sharp stinging pain. I scream out as it cuts my neck. I hear Case yell something and then a really loud bang goes off, so loud my ears ring. The man's arm releases my waist and my shaky legs can’t hold me up. I fall as I close my eyes; I don’t try to open them. I just want it over.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CASE

I watch the bullet I just fired hit the man right in the head. It snaps back as he falls to his back. I start to run as soon I see Taylor start to fall. I barely catch her in time before her head hits the concrete. Her eyes are closed, and her body lies motionless. I hold my breath as I check for a pulse. I relax when I feel how strong it is.

“Taylor?” I yell as I rip my shirt up and over my head. I then press it to her neck to stop the bleeding. “Taylor?” I repeat myself. No response. Probably better off that way. I’d rather her be alive and passed out, then be awake and in pain.

“Case?”

I look up to see Brecken standing in front of me. “It’s done,” he announces before he looks down to her. “Is she …?”

“Call Doc,” I bark. “Tell him to meet me at the club and to bring everything he can fit into his car.”

I place my hands underneath her and lift her. I press her neck up against my arm, my shirt still in place to help stop the bleeding as I carry her very exposed body back to the club.

I breathe heavily as I carry her limp body in my arms. My heart races and my mind wanders to what I’ve done. From the second I saw her, I’ve wanted to keep her out of harm’s way, but our fight tonight did just the opposite. A fight over Rachel no less.

“He’s on his way,” Brecken announces as he places his phone in the back of his pocket. “What if she ...?”

“Shut up,” I snap as I look down at her. Her features are soft as her head turns to the side, her hair covering half of it. “She’s gonna be fine,” I assure myself.

He holds the back door open for me, and I run with her as I make my way up to my apartment. As soon as I lay her down on my bed, I hear Doc in the hallway speaking to Brecken. “What happened?” he demands when he walks into my room.

“She passed out,” I inform him. “Her neck needs stitches.”

“She needs a hospital,” he argues.

I shake my head. “No.” Hospitals have records. They make you do paperwork that conceals all of your personal information. I need to know if this was meant for her or if she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“But ...”

“But nothing. Either you give her the proper treatment that she needs right here in this room, or I find someone who will,” I shout.

***

I sit on the side of the bed as I watch Doc finish the stitches on her neck. It ended up costing her ten. She also needed some on her upper arm and her outer thigh. But other than that, everything seems to be fine.

“I need you to stay until she wakes.”

He looks around the bedroom as if to ask me where he would stay. “I have a guest room. Once she wakes, I need her to tell us where she hurts. Then we can decide if she needs further treatment.” Who knows what happened to her while they had a hold of her. She may have a concussion. Broken ribs. Internal bleeding. The gashes and bruises are visible to the eye. So much more could be happening underneath her skin. But we’ll have to wait to find out. I lift my comforter up to her neck to shield her body.

There’s a knock on my bedroom door and then it opens slowly. “I’m ready for you,” Brecken announces, popping his head in.

I nod my head as I stand from the bed. I slap Doc on the shoulder on my way out. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Following Brecken, we make our way down to the club floor. Then we walk down the hallway that leads us to the bathrooms and the private rooms. He comes to a stop at the one marked SLOTH, and I almost smile.

He pushes the door open for me, and I walk in. A man lies on the floor, face up. The second he sees me, he tries to jump to his feet. The broken ribs I gave him earlier in that alleyway prevent him from moving as fast as he wants.

“Who the hell are you?” he demands.

“Not important.” I look over at Brecken. “Go keep an eye on her, will you? I got this here.” Then I turn to face our guest.

He doesn’t respond, but the sound of the door opening and closing lets me know he is following orders.

“Where’s the other man I was with?” he rasps, holding his side.

I arch an eyebrow. “Don’t want to speak his name?”

“Fuck you,” he spits out.

Just looking at the motherfucker makes me want to pull my gun out from the waistband of my jeans and shoot him dead, but I need answers. “You fucked with a woman. My woman. Now, I’m going to fuck with you,” I say truthfully.

“You think you fucking own this town,” he growls. “But you don’t. People are on to you.” Thought he didn’t know who I am? Doesn’t really matter what he knows.

I ignore him. He wants me distracted, and it’s not gonna work. His dark gray eyes dart around the room as blood runs down the side of his head from the wound I gave him when I jumped him in the alleyway. The first thing I did was rip that fucking facemask off him to see if I knew who it was. No such luck. “Now, I’m going to ask you a question. Every time you refuse to answer, I’m gonna break something. Deal?”

“You’re crazy,” he says in a high pitch voice as he starts to back up.

I shake my head back and forth in disappointment. “That was a question.” I close the space between us in the next second and punch him in the side of his face. He falls back, tripping over the coffee table as he falls to the floor grabbing his nose. “That’s one,” I say, knowing that I just broke his nose. I shake off the sting in my hand.

“Next question.” I watch as he rolls around crying out like a child. “Why her?”

He takes in a few deep breaths. “I could ask you the same question,” he grounds out. “She seemed like such a high-maintenance bitch …”

I pull him up by his arm, spin him around, and kick the back of his knee. He screams like a bitch as he falls to his knees and I shove his head down onto the coffee table with my free hand. Pulling his arm behind his back, he lets out a scream so loud it has my ears ringing. I smile when I feel the pop in his arm from bending it at this angle.

I let go of him and step away as he rolls off the coffee table and onto the floor screaming out in agony.

I breathe heavily. “Same question. If you don’t answer, I’ll break two bones.” A part of me wants him to keep his mouth shut. I’ve killed a man with my bare hands before, and I have no problem doing it to this sick bastard as well.

He moans as he holds his arm to his chest. Babying the one I just broke. “Okay then.” I pull my foot back about to kick him in the ribs when he holds up his uninjured arm. “Wait,” he shouts before taking a few deep breaths. “I got a phone call earlier this evening. I don’t know who it was. They just offered me a job. Said that it involved you …”

“What about me?” I demand.

“There’s a buyer who wants you out of the equation. Feels if you’re out of the way, your loyal customers will go to them.”

“What does that have to do with Taylor?” I snap. “What the fuck did you want with her?” I roar fisting my hands down my sides. I see nothing but red right now.

He swallows. “We weren’t going to kill her. Just fuck with her as a warning.” He leans over as his chest heaves.

Motherfucker! I bend down next to him. “Fuck with her how?” I ask gripping his blond tips.

He looks up at me, his gray eyes puffy. His dingy teeth covered red with blood that drips down the side of his lips. “They didn’t say …”

I rip his head back, and his mouth opens wide but no scream comes out this time. My nostrils flare as I’m tired of this fucking game. “I’ll rephrase the question. What were you planning to do to her?” I demand.

I watch his neck work as he tries to swallow, which is kinda hard for him to do with his neck yanked back at this angle. “I wasn’t gonna kill her. I promise,” he all but sobs. “Just cut her up a little bit …”

“Fucking bastard.” I spit in his face. “And then what?” They had cut her top off her. They were going to do more than cut her up. They were going to destroy her. That thought has me bringing my other hand and wrapping it around his neck.

I smile when I feel his pulse race under my hand. You had better be scared, you son of a bitch. “Leave her on the back porch for you to find her in the morning,” he rasps.

I let go of his neck and with my hand that’s still in his hair, I shove his face down to the floor as I growl like a fucking beast. They were going to leave her on the back porch like fucking trash to be picked up, like a wounded dog left to be found. I’ll show him how you treat trash, all right. He rolls onto his back with a dazed look in his eyes. “Thanks for the cooperation. I’ll now answer your question. Your friend is dead! I shot him!” He whimpers. “But I’m gonna let you live,” I say, and he moans this times in pain. I wish Taylor were here to see it. To see how easily he cracked. “But we’re not done …” I stand and look down on him. “First, I’m going to break your jaw so you can’t go and run your mouth, and then your other arm.” I shrug carelessly. “Maybe both of your legs.” He cries out at that. “Once you’re released from the hospital, you’re going to jail.”

I sit in my office by myself as I go over what happened tonight. Shit just keeps getting deeper and deeper. Taylor had ended … whatever the hell we were doing, and she had every right to. I haven’t been honest with her. Then, of course, Rachel had to go and run her mouth about what she and I have done, and it just caused even more fucking problems. I’ll never forget the look on her face when I told her that Rachel was different. It hurt her to think I could hold Rachel on a higher level than her, no matter how untrue it was. I was just mad at Taylor. Mad at her for not listening to me. For not trusting me. Now, I see why she didn’t.

A ringing sound gets my attention. I look down at the bottom drawer of my desk. I dig the keys out of my pocket, unlock it, and grab the iPhone lit up with
BOSS
written across it.

“Hello?” I ask with a sigh.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jones yells into my ear.

I sit back in my seat, running a hand through my hair. I knew this call was gonna come eventually. “What needed to be done.”

“Case,” he growls. “There are rules for a reason. And you’re ignoring them. All for a piece of ass!”

“I am not,” I defend myself, but he has a point. And he is right. Isn’t he? I would have saved any woman in the position I found Taylor in. Would I have killed one without question? No, I have to admit that was due to the terror I felt when she screamed out in pain. The way my heart had beat in my chest as I watched the blood drip down her exposed chest. I snapped and shot him without thought. He deserved a more torturous death, but I don’t regret it. And the second guy? Would I have brought him back to my place of business, my home, just to beat the truth out of him? Maybe not. I can’t say. But I don’t regret that either.

“I thought I told you to fucking end it when I saw you earlier today? This is not ending it! This is making it worse.”

“You think I fucking had this planned?” I growl. “You think I wanted her to get hurt?” My voice begins to rise. “You think I wanted to fucking kill someone? I did what was right, and if you have a problem with that, then fucking fire me!” I finish with a shout, now standing.

He sighs heavily and takes a few seconds to respond. “I just need to know that when it comes down to it, you can do what must be done.”
Click
.

I fall down into my seat and take a deep breath as I run a hand over my forehead. He acts as if I have a choice. I knew what I needed to do when I started this job. Get in, get answers, and get out. But can I do that now? I had been one hundred percent honest when I told her she was mine. How do I let her go now? Especially since I now know someone is after her.

Tonight, I felt like she was being taken, ripped from me. I refuse to let someone take away what is mine. And she is mine. How will I be able to walk away myself?

My door opens and in walks Brecken. Blood covers his black security shirt, and he has a bar rag in his hands as he wipes the blood from them. “It’s done.”

“Thanks,” I mumble.

He starts to leave but turns back to face me. “Thigs are getting too deep,” he says softly. “I think it’s time you tell her the truth.”

I shake my head. I’m so tired of people telling me what they think I should do. “She’ll run. And tonight proved that she needs to stay with me at all times.”

He sighs heavily. “What are you doing, Case?” He frowns as he tucks the now bloody bar towel in the back pocket of his jeans. “This isn’t you.”

“If you’re referring to the man I killed tonight, save it. He wasn’t the first guy I killed, and he won’t be the last.”

He frowns. “That’s not what I’m referring to. How far are you going to let this go …”

“I don’t know,” I snap interrupting him. “But when I decide, I’ll make sure you’re the first to know,” I say sarcastically.

“Well, I’ll make sure to say I told you so when it blows up in your face,” he replies just as bitchy as he waltzes out of my office.

After Brecken leaves, I make my way upstairs to my bedroom. Even though she is still asleep, I make sure to be quiet, not wanting to wake her. I pull another bloody shirt up and over my head for the second time tonight as I walk over to my bathroom. Shutting the door behind me, I turn on the shower and let it warm up as I take my jeans and boxers off.