“You’ll find out soon enough!” Then his hand comes out to hit me in the stomach.
CASE
“Case.”
I open my sleepy eyes to my dark bedroom. Without thought, I wrap my arms around the warm and petite body I know is Taylor and pull her to me. I inhale her vanilla scent and let out a moan.
“Case?” A firm hand on my shoulder gives me a little shake.
“What?” I growl opening my eyes once again. I pull away from Taylor to look over my shoulder and see Brecken standing by my side of the bed. His head is looking up at the ceiling. I do the same and frown when I don’t see anything. “Why are we staring at my ceiling in the middle of the night?” I ask, my voice gruff.
He clears his throat. “Well, Taylor is lying next to you naked, and I didn’t think you would appreciate me looking at her. The ceiling was my only safe option,” he replies dryly.
I look over at her and see her exposed chest as she lies on her back. I sit up quickly and jerk the covers up and over her with a growl. Once I pull them all the way up to her neck, I place my feet on the floor while sitting on the side of the bed. “Why are you in my room in the middle of the night?” I ask through a yawn.
He sighs heavily, and he lowers his head to look down at me. “I tried calling you. Blane tried calling you. None of us could get you to answer. But Blane is in the office and you need to speak to him.”
I rub a hand over my naked chest and let out a sigh. “Does he know Taylor is here?” Why else would he be here this time of the night?
“No.”
I get out of bed and throw on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I kiss Taylor on the forehead and follow after him to my office on the second floor.
I walk in after him and see Blane standing in front of my desk with his back facing me. “What is so important that you have to wake me up, Blane?”
He spins around and my heart speeds up. “What the hell happened to you?” I demand as I take in his appearance. His right eye is black. Blood runs from his nose and on to his shirt but it’s dry, letting me know that it is has been a while since he got into the fight. He has a gash above his left eye and a bruise on his cheek.
“They know,” he declares, and my eyes widen.
“Who? What do they know?” I ask trying not to panic.
He sighs. “I went to pick up another package about two hours ago. Three guys showed up this time. And they told me that they knew I was running product for you. That I am buying underneath them.”
“Fuck,” I hiss.
“I told them over and over that I didn’t know who you were. But they said they knew I had been to Seven Deadly Sins.”
“This is bad,” I say looking over at Brecken, and he grunts his agreement.
“They brought up Taylor.”
My feet move without thought. I’m in his face in a matter of seconds, my hand around his throat. “What in the fuck did they say about Taylor?” I snap, feeling my anger so high it burns my skin.
“They know she works here,” he rasps as my hand stays around his throat.
“How’d they even know her fucking name?” I demand. “I told you not to fucking mention her to anyone.” And I took her to see Rox, but her name was never mentioned. Hell, as far as they were concerned, she could have been some hooker I just picked up that night.
“I didn’t,” he grinds out underneath my hand.
“Case!” I close my eyes when I hear Taylor’s voice screech my name. “What the hell are you doing?” she demands.
I let go of Blane and turn to face her. She stands inside the door to my office looking back and forth between Blane and me wide-eyed. I can only imagine what this looks like to her. She thinks I just beat the fuck out of her brother. “It’s not what it looks like,” I say softly.
“Then what the fuck is it?” she snaps.
I take a step back trying to clear my mind for a second. I have no way out. It’s time. I have to tell her. And that makes my chest physically hurt. ‘Cause I know I’m about to lose the best thing I will ever have because I have done nothing but lie to her.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Taylor?”
