She spins around, opens the door, and runs out of my office without another word. I walk over to the other side of my office and stand behind my desk as I look out the huge floor-to-ceiling glass and watch as she runs down the stairs, through the club, and out the front door.
I fucked up. I can’t have her afraid of me. I plop down in my chair as I curse myself. I don’t want her scared of me because I need her to trust me. I need her to need me, but I can’t have her running to the cops. She had threatened me, so I needed to do the same. Now, I need to figure out a way to fix that.
I fist my hands and slam them down on my desk making it rattle. “Fuck!” All I know is that Blane had better be worth this.
CHAPTER FOUR
TAYLOR
The following week went by extremely slow, and it wasn’t because it was my first week of summer vacation. It was because I spent most of my time in a state of panic. Every person who stared at me made me think he worked for Case. It didn’t matter where I was—the mall shopping or waiting at a stoplight. The man who helped me load my groceries. The hair on my neck always stood, warning me of danger. I even had dreams he sent someone to silence me, and I would wake up unable to breathe. My heart would beat wildly while my body was drenched in sweat, only for me to thank God it was just a nightmare.
I haven’t told Blane that I went to see Case, and I don’t plan on it because it would just cause even more trouble. I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard spot. What am I supposed to do? I feel like my hands and feet are tied. I can’t do anything to help this situation or my brother. And I just wanna bang my head against the wall and scream.
I’ve picked up my phone to call the cops over a hundred times, but then I stop myself as Case’s words replay.There will be consequences. Would Case kill Blane? How far would he go? I don’t know how deep this Case guy is in the drug world, but I do know how much it took from my father. I can’t live with that. What if he came after me just to prove a point to Blane? I can’t take that chance either so, like a coward, I’ve left it alone. I’ve tried to look him up online. I’ve tried to find out if the stories Savannah told me in the bathroom were true about him being arrested and what for. I’m not even sure that type of thing is accessible to the public, but it didn’t matter because it got me nowhere. All I know is his name is Cason, and he goes by Case. I don’t have his last name, and I sure as hell wasn’t gonna ask Blane for it. He hasn't spoken to me much this past week. He spends all his free time in his bedroom with Savannah.
Savannah acts as if nothing has even happened. She and Blane walk around this house laughing and kissing. I even heard them having sex this morning, and I screamed in frustration. Why am I the only one who cares so much about his safety and his future? I know she loves him, but they can’t have a future together if he’s on drugs. Doesn’t she understand that?
So in order to try to keep my mind off it, I’ve been working every day. I even pulled two doubles this week at the coffee shop. I don’t need sleep; even when I lie down at night, I can’t seem to sleep. The times that I do, I wake up in a state of panic. The neighbor’s cat outside my window looks like an evil monster from my nightmares. The sound of the wind makes me think someone is tapping on my window. Things that never bothered me before now have me on high alert.
I pull up to the house after another long double shift at the coffee shop and get out of the car. I go to place my key in the front door when I pause. The sound of something coming from inside the house has my heart rate speeding up. I turn and look back at the driveway. My car is the only one in the dimly lit driveway though. So it can’t be Savannah or my brother. I remember her saying that they were having dinner with her parents tonight. They live only an hour away, and they go over there often to spend time with them. They should be home already though considering it’s late at night.
I place my ear up to the door to listen, but this time, I don’t hear anything. I shake my head. “I’m losing my mind.” It could have come from the neighbors. They are always in the backyard working on something.
Opening the door, I step in and my heart stops as I take in the scene. The house is destroyed. Our sofa, turned over. Foam litters the floor from the cushions being ripped to shreds. I can see the kitchen from the front door and all the cabinets have been opened. Everything has been removed and then just thrown to the floor. Broken dishes and glassware everywhere.
I take off down the hall. “Blane?” What if he didn’t go with Savannah? What if he stayed? “Savannah?” I shout out in a panicked voice. What if they’re both here?
I come to their door and my body freezes as I try to take a deep breath. It feels like it takes forever, but it happens in a split second. I scream as a man covered in all black breaks the window with Blane’s lamp before jumping out of it.
I place my hand over my heart and force my shaky legs to run back into the living room. I dig into my purse that I had dropped by the front door and grab my phone. Breathing heavy and blinking, I try to clear the tears that fill my eyes. My shaking hands start to dial 9-1- …
“What’s wrong?”
I scream again and throw my phone down as I’m spun around. I let out a long breath when I see Blane standing there, staring down at me with wide eyes.
“Why are you screaming?” he demands as he looks around the house. “What the fuck happened?” He turns to me and looks me up and down to make sure I’m not hurt. “Are you okay?”
“Someone broke in.” My body shakes, and I hug my arms around myself. “They just climbed out your bedroom window,” I inform him. He takes off toward his bedroom, and a few seconds later, I hear him cuss.
CASE
I lean back on the white leather couch as I lift a longneck to my lips. I take a swig and then place it on my thigh. The coldness from the bottle seeps through my jeans. “I was surprised to see that Blane has a sister,” Brecken says from the recliner beside me.
“Me too,” I say truthfully.
“I was even more surprised at how hot she is. Those tits …” He whistles. I look over at him but don’t respond. “You sure you want to do this?” he asks before he starts to pick at the label on his beer bottle.
“I don’t really have any other choice.” I shrug carelessly, looking back at the TV. “A deal is a deal, and I won’t go back on it because of a woman,” I say. But if I had to be truthful with myself, I should shut the deal down right now. I’m not only putting Blane in danger, but also his sister. The fact I can’t get the image of me fucking her out of my mind means I’m the biggest threat to her.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” He sighs heavily.
“Always,” I say refusing to take my eyes away from the TV but not really seeing the game that is playing. All I can do is remember the way her blue eyes begged mine to let her brother go. The way she gasped when I gripped her in my hand. I hate that terrifying her made me hard. And I hate that I can’t wait to see her again.
He chuckles. “I’ve heard you say that before.”
I look back over at him. “And when have I been wrong?”
He pauses, the beer halfway to his lips, and gives me a smirk. “Do you really expect me to keep count?”
