“I know you’re trying to help, babe, but …”

“I’ve never lied to you.” She interrupts me, and I sigh heavily. “And I’m not lying to you now. I can prove it. I just need you to trust me. Please, Case. I’m begging you to trust me,” Her voice is soft yet urgent all at once.

I look over at Brecken, and he looks at me as we sit at a stoplight. “It’s your call,” he says. “But what do we have to lose?”

Taylor! I have Taylor to lose. I don’t know what the hell she’s up to, but I can tell it’s gonna be dangerous for her. But that’s why I’m heading for her. To save her. To find out what she’s doing and what the hell made her want to do it. “We’re on our way,” I tell her, and I hear her sigh in relief.

“Okay, make sure to park in the West parking lot and come in the back door. I’ll see you in a minute.” And then she hangs up.

“Does she know what she’s doing?” Brecken asks as he stomps on the gas.

“She’s gonna get herself in deep shit, is what she’s doing,” I announce tossing his phone over to him.

“Well, you always have been the type of guy who likes the damsels in distress,” he says with a chuckle, and I grind my teeth in frustration.

Within fifteen minutes, we’re pulling into the West parking lot. “Taylor?” I yell out her name as we enter through the back door. Although I’m thankful to see her, I’m also very pissed at her. At how fucking secretive she could be.

We make our way down the hallway, and I find her standing in the middle of the club. “You better start explaining yourself,” I demand as I take a look around. She’s the only one here. “Right fucking now!”

The smile drops off her face, and she swallows nervously. “This was the only way …”

“Only way to what, Taylor?” I shout interrupting her.

She lets out a sigh as she runs her hand through her hair. “You’ll see,” she says and then she lifts her shirt and reaches behind her. “Here. You’re gonna need this.” When she brings her arm around to the front, my eyes widen.

I reach out and yank my gun out of her hand. “How did you get this?” I check to see if the safety is on and, of course, it’s not. “You could have shot yourself,” I hiss. “Do you even know how to use a gun?”

She ignores that question. “Your office. I remember you telling my brother about it right after those guys shot up the club. I didn’t think you’d mind, but I tore up what was left of your desk in order to get your drawer open that was locked.”

Brecken lets out a laugh as he mumbles, “Maybe damsel in distress was the wrong thing to call her.”

I take a step closer to her. “Why do I need a gun, Taylor? And why the hell are we here?” And I already have a gun on me. Brecken and I don’t go anywhere without them.

She walks past me and grabs a hold of Brecken’s arm. His eyebrows lift in surprise. “Brecken and I have to hide,” she informs us as she tugs on his arm. He rolls his eyes but allows her to pull him backward toward the hallway we just came from. “Oh, and hide that gun. That’s just in case.”

“Taylor?” I shout as they disappear down the hallway. “Taylor!” I run down the hallway and find them standing in the middle of it. Taylor has a smile of satisfaction on her face, and Brecken looks amused. “What …?”

I shut my mouth as I hear the front door of the club open and close and Taylor whispers, “Trust me.”

I give her one last glare before I look at Brecken. He gives me a nod and then wraps his arms around her. The smile drops off her face. I don’t know what she has planned, but I know Brecken will keep her safe. I tuck the gun into the back of my jeans and then turn around, walking down the hallway ready for the worst.

“Case.”

My body comes to a halt as my mind tries to comprehend what I see in front of me once I hit the open floor of the club.

“God, I’m so glad you messaged me.” Two arms wrap around me and I push her away. Dark brown eyes search my face as her lips frown. “What’s wrong? Why do you look surprised to see me?”

“Rachel?” I ask in surprise.

She smiles brightly as she steps into me again. She places her hands flat on my chest and runs them up till they wrap around my neck. “I knew you’d want me back,” she says in satisfaction. “That little girl doesn’t have what I can give you.”

I stand here looking down at her in confusion and shock. Why would Taylor tell her to come here? “What did my message say?” I ask stupidly.

But Rachel just laughs it off. “How much you miss me. How much you need me.” Her voice drops to a seductive growl that would once make me hard. Now it just irritates me. “That you couldn’t stop thinking about me.”

I shake my head as I reach up and grab her hands. I pry them from around my neck as I speak. “I didn’t send you that message, Rachel,” I say flatly.

She just smiles up at me. “Wanna play, Case? Okay. Let’s role play.” She runs her hands through her long bright red hair as she licks her lips and pushes her fake tits out for me to see. “Wanna play cops and robbers? Want me to walk outside and come back in as if I’m about to rob the place?” I shake my head as I sigh heavily. What is Taylor trying to prove here? “Come on, Case. You can arrest me. Place your cuffs on me and fuck me however you want.” She lets out a shaky breath as if she’s already getting warmed up just thinking about that. “Want me to scream out no while you fuck me anyway?”

“Rachel …” I growl.

“You wanna force me to my knees and make me suck your cock?” she whispers as her eyes light up with excitement. “You always like it when I try to fight you. It turns you on even more knowing that you have that power.”

I swallow down the bile that starts to rise in my throat. I hate how true her statements are. How twisted I could be in bed with her. I have never once wanted that kind of power over Taylor. I mean, yeah, I can be rough and need control, but I never made Taylor feel like a victim. Rachel always liked it when I did that to her.

“No, Rachel! I didn’t text you to come here to fuck you.” I didn’t text you at all.

“Well, then why did you text me?” she huffs as she places her hands on her hips.

“I didn’t.” I grind out.

She huffs, getting pissed. “Quit lying Case. I got your message …”

“Hi, Rachel.”

Rachel’s dark eyes look beside me, and I see that Taylor and Brecken now stand there. Taylor looks pissed, and Brecken looks as shocked as I felt two minutes ago.

“What’s going on?” Rachel asks. “Why are they here?” She looks at me in question. I just stare at her as I shake my head. Taylor is wrong. Rachel cannot be the one who set my house on fire. Or tried to shoot us here at the club. Rachel doesn’t have those kinds of resources.

“You’re here because I text you from Case’s phone,” Taylor announces. She slides me a side glare. Her eyes run up and down me with a look of hatred. Of course, she hates me. She just heard that I’m a fucking pervert.

“I don’t understand. You said you were sorry and wanted to see me. What is she talking about, Case?” Rachel demands.

Taylor takes a step toward her, now glaring at her. “I asked you here because I need to prove to the guys that you are the one who tried to kill them.”

“I don’t know …”

“Save it!” Taylor interrupts her. “See, it only took three clues to lead me to you,” Taylor announces. I expect Rachel to deny it again, but instead, her eyes narrow on her. She continues. “The first clue was what you said at the hospital. You said that you had heard from a friend that Brecken had been shot. That was a lie. I didn’t figure that out till a few hours ago. I didn’t know you had been fired by Case until after we left there. There were only five of us here when Brecken was shot. And every man who fired on us was killed. There was never any news story about what happened that night and Case had told all the employees that he was remodeling.” Rachel opens her mouth to speak, but Taylor keeps going. “Second clue.” She holds up two fingers. “You also mentioned at the hospital that Case had looked like he had a rough night the night before. You would only know that if you had set the fire.”