them, and they are nothing but blurry blobs through my tears. Before I can even take another breath, he slaps me across my face with his free hand. The sting I feel is as if a hundred bees just stung me. I place my hands flat on the ground and spit several times, as the blood fills my mouth. The cold air that hits my face makes it burn.
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.