Addiction (36 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CASE

I can hear her crying from the other side of my bedroom door. I hang my head as I place my hand over my racing heart. I told her everything I have felt for her, and I saw it in her eyes that she feels the same way. She wants to hate me but instead, it’s worse—she loves me.

I hear a sob and I turn to face the door. Placing my hand on the knob, I start to turn it but stop. This wasn’t supposed to be this hard. This wasn’t supposed to end like this. Hurting her. But I can’t walk away from what I know. My job. And she deserves more than a man who would put his job first. And this entire situation has proved I will place it before her.

I place my forehead on the door and release a heavy sigh. Why is it so hard? Why is it that the one thing I want most in this world is the one thing I have to let go?

“Case?”

I spin around when I hear a man say my name. I let out a ragged breath when I see Blane standing in the hallway with a terrified looking Savannah standing next to him. I look down to his hand holding hers, and I hate that I can’t do that for Taylor. That I can’t be the rock she needs.

“I didn’t hear you come in,” I say finally.

“We came right away,” he says, pulling her to his side.

“I need to talk to you. Privately.” I need to let him know I’m going to catch up on some sleep, but after I go to the hospital tomorrow, I won’t be returning to my house. Taylor needs me out of the picture, and she is safer here than anywhere else. As soon as I get the son of a bitch who tried to kill us all this morning, she’ll be able to go back home and live a normal life without me.

He looks down at Savannah, and she looks up at him. “I’m gonna go talk to Taylor,” she says softly. I know she’s still crying because we can all hear the soft cries coming from the door behind me.

“Okay.” He leans down and kisses her on the forehead. I look away and walk past them toward the kitchen. It may just be a little past eight in the morning, but all of a sudden, I feel the need for a stiff drink.

I reach up and grab a glass out of my cabinet. I then go over to the fridge and pull a bottle of bourbon out of it.

“Are we gonna talk about this?” I hear Blane ask as he enters the kitchen.

I close my eyes for a brief second and count to five to try and not throw this bottle at a wall. “Is there anyone who doesn’t want to talk?” I ask out loud. “I’m so fucking tired of having people want to talk about shit that doesn’t matter.”

“Hey!” he snaps. I open my eyes and turn around to face him. “That is my sister in there crying and she fucking matters.”

I look down at the empty glass in one hand and the bottle in the other. I slam the glass down on the countertop and decide to just tip back the bottle. I suck in a breath as it burns my throat. “Of course, she matters.” I sigh heavily. “That’s the problem.”

He looks around the kitchen as if confused and lost. “I don’t understand what happened. I don’t understand how you got to her.”

“How I got to her?” I question.

“Yes. How you managed to get her to believe all your lies,” he hisses. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to lie to her?” He shakes his head in confusion. “And she hated you.”

“I lie for a living,” I remind him. “And, well, she still does hate me.” I salute him with the bottle before I take another gulp.

“No. I mean she hated you. She thought you were this awful person.”

“Aren’t I?” Another drink.

He sighs heavily as he looks at the bottle in my hand and then up at me. “I may not agree with you sleeping with her, but we both know you saved her life tonight.” And the other night he doesn’t know about. “I know that no matter how far you two went, you had the best intentions at heart.”

I snort. “I wouldn’t be so sure,” I say honestly. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” I thought I could use her. I should have called off the entire operation with Blane the moment I found out the girl I wanted to fuck was his sister.

“I don’t know either. But at least she’s safe.”

I look at him and speak the only words I can think of at the moment. The only words that I know are true. “And I will continue to make sure she is safe. I will finish this.”

“I know you will.”

I lower my head to look down at the bottle again, and I hate how tight my chest feels. How empty my soul is once again. I’m just meant to live a life of deceit. But I don’t have to continue doing that to Taylor. I can make a change and the change is gonna start with her. And I know just what to do.

TAYLOR

When I wake, it’s dark, and for a second, I forget where I am. But his smell hits my nose and I remember I’m in his bed.

“Hey.”

I give Savannah a half smile as I see her lying next to me. She came in here earlier to talk to me. She apologized for what Blane had done more times than I can count. She swore she had no idea what was happening or what Blane had been doing and I believed her. She didn’t even have to explain all that; I knew she was as in the dark as I was.

“Still mad at him?” I ask.

She nods. “I plan on being mad at him for a long time,” she says matter-of-factly, and I give her a small smile. At least, she knows when she finally forgives him that he will still be there.

Case won’t be there for me. He already told me. He may have feelings for me, but he doesn’t plan to act on them.

“What time is it?” I ask stretching. I’m still tired, but I can’t sleep all day and night. My schedule is already fucked up.

“Eight forty-three.”

Great! It just got dark outside. I slept the entire day away. I get out of bed and make my way into the kitchen wanting to see if he has coffee or a water.

I find my brother sitting at the kitchen table. “I was wondering how long you were going to sleep,” he says to me.

“As long as I want,” I reply flatly.

He spins around in his seat to face me. “Taylor. Please don’t be mad at me too. I had no choice.”

“You always have a choice. You just chose to lie to us,” Savannah snaps walking in behind me.

“What was I supposed to do? I needed his help. I never expected you guys to get involved in it.” He looks at me with narrowed eyes. “Or for you to sleep with the man. I mean, of all the women I have ever known, you’re not the type to jump into bed with anyone.”

I take a deep breath and grip the coffee mug tightly; I really wanna throw it at his face. “You think I planned this? You think I wanted to get hurt?” I snap.

“Get hurt?” he asks confused. “You can’t blame me for getting hurt. You’re the one who got too close to him.”

“Too close? I fucking love him, Blane.” His eyes widen. “I have been seeing him for over a month.” They narrow at that. “You think you were the only one keeping a secret? Well, we had one of our own. And I blame that on you,” I shout.

I look away from him to search the house. Where is Case? Did he hear that? Oh God, I hope he’s still asleep somewhere. I don’t want him to find out I love him by my screaming it at my brother.

“He’s not here,” my brother says softly.

I look back at him. He looks at me with soft eyes. “Where is he?”

“He slept for a few hours and then left earlier today. He went up to the hospital to spend time with Brecken.”

I sigh in relief. “That would have sucked if he had heard that,” I say out loud, but I’m mainly talking to myself.

“Taylor.” My brother stands from the table. “He’s not coming back.”

I feel my chest tighten. “What do you mean?” I ask slowly.

He runs a hand through his dark hair. “I spoke to him this morning. Once you girls fell asleep, he went into his room and quietly packed a bag. He is gonna get a hotel in town. He’s not coming back here because he thinks you don’t want him around. You told him you hated him.” He looks over at Savannah and then back at me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand he meant so much to you. When I saw you at his office this morning, I just thought it was something sexual and I got pissed.”

“But …” I start to panic. “He said he brought us here to keep us safe. How will he keep me safe if he’s not here?” I ask quickly.

“He said that no one knows about his house. No one knows how to find you. That he doesn’t need to be here in order to keep you safe.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Why does everyone just want to hurt me?

He looks over at Savannah as she gives him a go to hell look, and he sighs. “Because if you love him half as much as I love Savannah, then you need to let him know.” He speaks to me but keeps his eyes on Savannah.

I bite my bottom lip nervously. “What if he doesn’t care how I feel?” What if he tells me he’s changed his mind? That it’s not love he feels for me?

“You have to try.” I look up at Savannah. “I know you better than you know yourself. And although I’m pissed at Blane, I agree with him. You’ll never know what you’ve lost unless you know what he’s willing to offer you.” She smiles softly. “At least give yourselves a chance to try.”

I nod my head at her. “I gotta go,” I say turning away from them and walking to the garage. I pause when I open the door and see his Corvette is gone and I don’t have a car here. I turn to ask Blane if I can borrow whatever he drove to get here when I see Case’s keys to a truck hanging on a nail on the wall. They go to the exact same black GMC parked in the garage. It has to be Case’s because I know it sure as hell isn’t my brother’s. Making up my mind, I grab them and close the door behind me. Not even caring that I’m still dressed in Case’s clothes and haven’t had a shower.

***

I walk around the hospital for over forty-five minutes trying to find Brecken’s room. Every nurse I ask looks at me with a confused expression when I ask for Brecken. So I quit asking and just start looking. I know he’s in the ICU, but I never thought that could consist of so many rooms.

So I was extremely excited when I opened a door and there he was lying in a bed. But my excitement fell when I saw Case wasn’t in there with him.

“He went to get some coffee,” Brecken all but whispers when he looks over to see me.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” When I looked in here, his eyes were shut.

“You’re fine. Don’t get much sleep in here when the nurses come in to poke at you every thirty damn minutes,” he mumbles.

I smile at how good he looks for someone who was just shot. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been shot in the chest,” he growls

I chuckle. “Well, you look good,” I offer. He has several machines hooked up to his chest, an IV in his right arm. The machines chirp loudly, and I can see how hard it would be to get some rest in here.

“Thanks. But I have a feeling you didn’t come here to see me.”

“I need to talk to Case,” I say looking at the floor.

He chuckles and then hisses in a breath at the pain it causes him. “He won’t shut up about you.” I look up at him. “Another reason I can’t get any sleep.”

“Is he telling you how much he hates me?” I ask softly.

“Stupid girl,” he whispers with a smirk. “He loves you.” His eyes slide to mine. “And you love him.”

“I don’t know him,” I say in denial.

“What is there to know?” he asks in all seriousness.

“Well, for starters, his real name.”

“Why?” he asks as if that’s crazy. “It’s just a name.” I go to say something, but he continues. “Plus. He already told you that,” he says matter-of-factly.

I narrow my eyes on him. “Does he tell you everything?”

“Yes,” he replies simply.

I run a hand through my hair. “Well, that’s not enough,” I reply sharply. “He hasn’t told me about his family …”
“He doesn’t have a family,” he replies as he tries to sit up in his bed. I walk over to him and help him adjust his pillow, as he gets comfortable.

“Yes, he does,” I say once he’s situated. “I saw the picture. I’ve tried to ask about them before and he shuts me down. And his sister … I saw her in a picture at his house.” I sigh heavily. “Who doesn’t want to talk about their family?”

“Nicole.”

The name makes my skin break out in goosebumps and I stare at him wide-eyed. “What did you say?”

“Nicole,” he repeats with a long sigh. “That’s his sister’s name.”

My brows pull together in confusions. “That is the name he has tattooed on his wrist.”

He nods. “Nicole was his sister.”

“Was?” I ask in horror.

He looks away from me and stares straight ahead at the white wall for a few seconds. “Nicole was his twin sister …” He pauses. “And the love of my life.”

I feel my legs give out, and I find myself falling into the chair next to his bed. Case’s twin sister? Brecken was in love with her?

He looks over at me with a small smile on his lips. “I was fifteen and was new to their town. Nicole was in my first period. She turned to me and introduced herself. I actually told her the wrong name.” He chuckles. “She had me tongue tied. She was so beautiful. And the way her hand fit in mine. I fell in love right then and there. It was love at first sight if you can believe in that type of thing.” He shrugs. “But what did I know? I was fifteen. The next day was a Friday. And she had on a little cheerleading uniform. I knew what I had to do. I joined the football team. That was when I met Case. He was just as nice as Nicole, but not as great to stare at.” I let out a laugh. “We became best friends, and it only took me three miserably long months to prove to Nicole that I was the guy for her.”