“A pretty lady shouldn’t be out here alone,” he says, shutting my door.

“Come on. I’ll give you a ride into town,” he offers, and I take a step back, pushing myself up against the car as my heart pounds in my chest.

Oh, Lord help me! “He should be here any moment.” Let him know you have a man coming. Let him know that someone knows you are here.

As I mention the word he, his dark black eyes narrow. I reach behind me to grab my phone out of my pocket. I need to call Case again. Just as I grip my phone, he goes to open his mouth, but he looks up behind me as I hear a roar of an engine. Please be Case! Please be Case. I have a feeling that I would be safer with Case, considering that he is friends with my brother, rather than this stranger who is giving me the major creeps.

The sound of the engine cuts off and I hear a door open and close. Please let this be Case and not some guy this creepy man has called to come help him.

I jump when an arm lands over my shoulders, but let out a breath the moment I look up to see Case staring down the man in front of us. The smell of his spicy cologne surrounds me, and I inhale sharply. “Hey, sweetie,” he says, not taking his eyes off the guy in front of us. “Everything okay? I came as soon as I could.” He bends down and gives me a soft kiss on my hair, but I can feel how tight his body presses up beside mine.

I blink a few times trying to clear my mind as my body breaks out in goosebumps from his touch. “Hey … babe.” What do I say? I guess we’re pretending to be something other than somewhat strangers to make this guy go away? I can play along if that is the case.

Case reaches his free hand out and finally speaks. “Case,” he announces. “You would be?” he demands.

I swallow nervously. Is he trying to make this situation worse?

“Will.” The man reaches out and grasps his hand; it seems like a harmless handshake, but I can feel the tension. The man pulls his hand out of Case’s grasp and clears his throat. “I saw this beautiful woman stopped on the side of the road and thought I could help her.” He looks down at me.

“Thank you,” I say, giving him a real smile now that Case is here. “But like I said, I had help coming.”

“And I have arrived!” Case announces. “So you can now leave!” My eyes widen as I look at Case. Is he trying to start trouble?

Will looks at Case for a few long seconds, and I hold my breath. Is he gonna hit him? “As you are. I’ll be on my way.” With that, he walks right past us to his truck. Case turns to see him off; I guess to make sure the guy doesn’t attack us from behind. But I don’t move from where I am. Once I see the back of the truck drive away, I let out a long breath.

“What was that about?” Case growls.

I spin around to face him expecting to see his blue eyes hard, but he has sunglasses shielding them. “I told him I had someone coming. But he insisted on staying to help me. What was I supposed to do?”

“Tell him to fuck off,” he snaps.

I run a hand through my hair. I’m starting to sweat out here. “I panicked,” I admit. “He gave me the creeps, and I panicked.”

“What were you thinking?” he demands.

I narrow my eyes on him. “I didn’t ask to break down. He stopped and …”

“And he could have taken you,” he interrupts me.

“I …” I pause because I don’t know what to say.

He sighs heavily, his anger starting to fade but his features still hard. “You should have called me the minute he pulled up.”

“What could you have done?” I ask skeptically.

“I could have made sure that you were safe.” I hate the feeling that his concern gives me; how it makes me feel all warm inside. He really seems like he cares about my safety.

“I’m sorry.” Why am I apologizing for something that I couldn’t control?

He stares at me, those black aviators shielding his dark blue eyes. His lips in a thin line and his nostrils still flared. He opens his mouth to say something but shuts it the moment a tow truck comes around the corner into view.

“You called a tow truck?” I ask surprised.

He nods. “You said you were running late to work. I don’t plan to just leave your car here. Someone could vandalize it. I’ll have it towed to a safe place where it can be fixed quickly,” he replies softening his voice.

I hang my head with a deep sigh. “What if I can’t afford what he charges?” When I lift my head back to look at him through my lashes, he gives me a small smile.

“Don’t worry, Taylor. Everyone in this town owes me. And this can be his payment.” With that, he walks to the front of my car as the tow truck beeps while he backs up to the front of my car.

I watch him as he gets down on his knees in his tight fitting blue jeans, helping the guy from the tow truck connect my car, and I wonder what my payment will be. Because I just became another person who owes him something. And the fact that I accused him of breaking into our home may mean that I owe him for more than one thing. My day just keeps getting better. I guess it could be worse; I could be in the back of that black lifted truck with that man who looked like he wanted to eat me alive. Silver lining.

CASE

I look down at where Nicole is tattooed in a pretty script on my wrists, and I feel my chest tighten. This scene looks all too familiar. A woman on the side of the road. Some random man trying to help her. I could have beat the shit out of that guy just because. But thankfully, he left willingly. And Taylor? How could she be so stupid and place herself in danger like that? I know she couldn’t help the fact that her car broke down, but she could have handled the situation with the man better.

I look up and push my watch back so it covers up the name. “Thanks,” I say reaching out to shake the hand of a childhood friend. Frank has always been there for me when I need him. Even when I didn’t want him there.

“Anything for you, Case. I’ll make sure to have this fixed as soon as possible for your, uh, friend,” he says looking up at Taylor standing behind me. She has her head down as she kicks around some loose rocks with her tennis shoes.

“Just let me know when it’s ready,” I say and turn to Taylor. “Did you get everything you need out of your car?” I ask her, trying to soften the harsh words I spoke to her only minutes ago.

She nods as she pats her purse that hangs over her shoulder. “Yes.” Then she looks at Frank. “Thanks again.” She gives him a warm smile, and he returns it.

“Come on,” I say placing my hand on her shoulder and spinning her around to walk to my car. I don’t miss the way she looks at me with confusion on her face as I touch her once again, but I ignore it. “Let’s get you to work.”

She lets out a whistle when she sees my car parked on the side of the road. I smile proudly at her reaction. Women judge a man by what he drives. “Nice car,” she says as she admires the curves of my brand new white Corvette.

“Thanks.”

I walk over to open the passenger door for her, and she thanks me before I close her door. I get behind the wheel and start it up.

I pull onto the road, and I catch her look over at me shyly. “I …” She pauses. “I want to thank you for coming to get me. You didn’t have to.”

Oh, but I did. “It was no problem,” I say coolly. I get calls from blocked numbers all the time, so it was no surprise when I woke to a blocked number. What was a surprise was the beautiful woman on the line. I couldn’t believe my luck. She needed my help. Of course, I was gonna run to her side. What did piss me off was seeing that man when I pulled over to help her. Who the hell did he think he was? She has no idea how cruel this world can be. But I know someone who does—Nicole!

“I love you, Case.” She kisses me on the cheek before she pulls away and laughs softly. Her dark brown hair is up in a high ponytail wrapped with one of those bows that are bigger than her head, and she is dressed in her black and white Tigers cheerleading uniform. “I’ll see you after the game,” she calls out before she turns to walk out the front door.