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 ...”
