“What do you mean? No longer in play?”

I sigh. “They found out Blane was working for that cop,” I say, and his eyes widen in shock, which isn’t a total lie. The others don’t know Case is a cop as far as we know. They just know Blane isn’t really a drug dealer. “They beat him up pretty badly. The officer who Blane was working for called it off.”

“Son of a bitch,” he hisses. He leans back in his chair and blows out a frustrated breath. His eyes harden, and his jaw tightens. He lifts his cuffed hands and places them on his head. “What about you?” he asks quickly.

“Excuse me?” I choke out the question, and I can see Miller’s body stiffen out of the corner of my eye.

His tight face relaxes, and he actually smiles as he looks at me. “What about you? You can talk to the cop, and you can finish what Blane started.” He makes it sound so simple.

“I … uh … I …” I shake my head real quickly as I try to process what he just suggested. “You want me to sell drugs?” I ask. Even as I say it, I look around the room and cringe knowing that everything in this room is recorded.

“Yes!” he says simply. “Have Blane put you in touch with the guy he was working for …”

“I can’t do that, Dad,” I interrupt him still half dazed by his new idea.

His face tightens once again, and he growls. “Why the hell not? You just plan on leaving me in here?” He looks behind me at the door and starts to yell. “Blane! Blane, I know you’re out there …”

“Mr. Williams …” Miller growls and starts to walk toward us.

“Who the hell are you?” my father demands. “Stay out of it. I’m talking to my daughter.”

“Dad …” My throat tightens.

The door swings open, and I spin around in my chair to see a very pissed off Case storm into the room. He grabs me by the arm and jerks me out of my chair. “Get out,” he orders as he shoves me toward Miller. Before I can even say anything, Miller pulls me through the door and slams it shut.

CASE

“You have some fucking nerve,” I hiss to the man sitting in the chair across from me.

“You.” He narrows his eyes at me. It takes my breath away how much they look like Taylor. That same blue but only his look tired. “You son of a bitch. You’re supposed to be getting me out of here,” he snaps.

I tilt my head from side to side, needing the movement to release some tension. The second I heard him offer her up in order to save his ass, my body went tense. And I stormed out of the room and into this one. “Sorry about your luck but it looks like you’re staying here,” I say flatly.

He stands quickly and slams his fists on the desk. “She’ll do it. Taylor will get me out of here. Won’t you, hunny?” he calls out. “Your mother would want you …”

“Shut the fuck up,” I demand, and he growls at me. “Even if she agreed and offered, I wouldn’t let it happen,” I inform him. “No information you could give me would be worth her life.”

“Why the fuck would you care about her life?” he demands.

I should be surprised, but I’m not. To be honest, I’ve heard worse. “The question should be why don’t you care?”

His lips thin, and his eyes narrow on me. “She won’t leave me in here like this.”

“That choice isn’t up to her,” I say truthfully. I saw the look in her eyes. At that very moment, her world shattered. He is willing to put her in harm’s way just so he can get out to get another high. Fuck him and his addiction.

He stares at me for a few long seconds before he bursts into laughter. “She thinks she’s better than I am,” he says through another spurt of laughter. “She thinks she can have a better future than what I have? She can go out. Find the man of her dreams. Get married, have children, and will still have an addiction.”

“No, she won’t,” I argue with him.

“It runs in her blood. She thinks I got this addiction after her mother died.” He chuckles. “I used to get high with her mother after Taylor and Blane would go to bed. Her mother died of an overdose. Blane was the one who chose to tell her it was a heart attack.”

I hear the door swing open, and I close my eyes as I take a deep breath. “Quit lying,” Taylor’s voice screams out.

I open my eyes and spin to face her. I go over to her and grab her by the shoulders. I try to push her back without just shoving her like I did just minutes ago.

“It’s not a lie, sweetheart,” he calls out. “Ask Blane. Tell him to quit treating you like a child.”

“Mom would never do something like that.” She shakes her head quickly as tears roll down her face.

“Taylor,” I say softly trying to get her attention. I knew this was a bad idea.

She looks up at me with a tear-streaked face. “She wouldn’t …” She swallows. “My mom wouldn’t have done that to herself. She loved us.” It breaks my heart. I wish I could tell her she’s right. I have no doubt her mother loved her, but I can’t speak for her. “She also loved herself.”

“There’s no greater love than addiction,” her father spits.

I feel her body stiffen under my hands, and her dark blue eyes narrow on her father as she looks past me. “You’ve proven that time and time again, Father.” She yanks her body out of my hands and takes a step toward him. He has the audacity to smirk at her. As if he truly believes he’s winning an argument with her. “You know, Blane thinks you can change. He thinks there is still hope for you, but I know the truth.” The smirk drops off his face. “I know you’re never going to change. I know you will always place yourself ahead of anyone else.”

“I have to!” he shouts.

“But you didn’t,” she cries out. “I tried so many times, Dad. I ran to you when you called at two in the morning. I drove hours to pick you up when you had no one to call.” She reaches up and wipes the tears from her face. “I gave you money when you called crying that you owed someone and they were after you. Where were you, Dad? Where were you when Blane and I needed you? You missed graduations. You missed birthdays. You were never there when I needed you after Mom passed,” she cries.

He hangs his head and takes a deep breath. When he looks back up at her, he has tears in his eyes. And I wanna punch him in the fucking face. He’s playing her. She’s the only one in this room who doesn’t see it. “Your mother was my world,” he whispers. “When she died, I didn’t want to live anymore.”

I feel a tightness in my chest at his statement. It reminds me of my parents. And that makes me want to punch him twice because I know he’s full of shit. He may have loved her, but like he said, there’s no better love than addiction.

“Not even for Blane and me?” she whispers.

He shakes his head. “You two were a constant reminder of what I lost.”

A sob wracks her body, and she places her hand over her mouth. “I want you to change, Dad. Please,” she begs. “Prove me wrong and show us that you want to change.”

“I can’t,” he says without hesitation. “And I don’t want to.”

She shakes her head in disappointment and then squares her shoulders. “Then I have nothing left to say. Good-bye, Dad.” She spins around, and with tears rolling down her face, she walks out the door.

“Taylor!” he yells as he chases after her. I slam the door shut, and he runs into it, pounding his chained fists on the metal door. “You little bitch …”

I grind my teeth as I fist my hands down by my side. “She’s done with you,” I announce flatly. He spins around on me. “But I’m not done with you.” I bring my fist back and punch the fucker in the face.

***

“You punched a cuffed man in the face?” Jones yells in my ear. “What in the fuck were you thinking?” he demands.

I slide a glance over at Taylor as she sleeps in the backseat of my truck. Miller snorts from the passenger seat, and I glare at him. “I did what needed to be done, sir.”

“Godammit, Case,” he snaps. “You always say that, but it always seems to cause more fucking problems than good.”