Twice as Sexy (The Sexy 2)

A peek at her email showed her nothing had come in overnight, so her best bet was to begin to prep the next case. She finished her mug of coffee, rinsed out the cup, and placed it on the counter when her phone dinged. She knew it had to be Leigh, and after a happy birthday exchange, she settled in for a long discussion on last night’s events but found she wanted to keep the details to herself.

What she had shared with Tanner was a night out of time, something special she’d always cherish. She wanted to hold it close to her heart and keep it safe. She didn’t want to talk about it, even with her best friend, so she left things as vague as possible in her texts, but she couldn’t hide the fact that the night had meant something to her.

She placed her phone on the table and glanced at her wrist, realizing for the first time her bracelet was gone. Her stomach twisted and her eyes filled with tears. “Hank.”

She drew a deep breath and rushed around her apartment, checking her bedroom, bed, the floors, the bathroom, and the shower. Assuming it hadn’t gone down the drain, it wasn’t here.

Sitting down on the bed, she forced herself to calm down and think. “When was the last time I saw it on my wrist?”

She recalled looking at it in the office late yesterday. And she’d noticed it when she paid the bill last night, reaching her hand across the counter to give the bartender her credit card. Which meant the bracelet was either in the club or in Tanner’s bed.

She closed her eyes and groaned. With no choice, she Googled Club TEN29 on her phone and dialed the club’s number, avoiding the About page that would tell her anything about Tanner, the man she couldn’t get out of her head.

* * *

Around noon, Tanner pounded downstairs in a pissed-off mood. On top of Scarlett’s disappearance, the security company hadn’t checked the footage from last night yet, setting Tanner off even more.

He bit the head off of the cleaning crew that got in his way, then pulled the credit card receipts just because he could. The stack would take him hours to go through, and Scarlett could just as easily have paid in cash. Then he’d have to find a needle in a haystack, searching for her in every borough.

“Stalker much?” he muttered to himself, wondering how this one woman had gotten to him so badly that the thought of never seeing her again was like a punch in the gut.

“Hey.” Jason joined him at the bar, sliding into the stool beside him. “I heard the staff talking. What bit you in the ass this morning?”

“Yeah, well, they were under my feet and annoying the shit out of me.”

Jason narrowed his gaze. “Why didn’t you just go upstairs and hang in the offices until they were gone?”

“Because I had something to do. What’s with the third degree?” Tanner braced an elbow on the bar and faced his friend.

“What’s with the credit card receipts all over the counter?” Jason asked.

Tanner groaned and swiped a hand over his face. Screw it. If he was going to admit what was bothering him to anyone, it might as well be the friend who was already in deep with a woman, not the one who wouldn’t understand.

“I met a woman.” He didn’t need to say more.

Jason would understand how profound a statement that was. “Yeah? What’s her name?”

“Scarlett.”

“Pretty name. Scarlett what’s her last name? Who introduced you? Why are you in such a piss-poor mood then?” His friend shot off the questions as they came to him.

“I stepped off the elevator last night and I lost my fucking breath. That was it. Stupid cliché but we locked eyes and I was done for.”

Jason shook his head and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Tanner had thought, of all people, Jason would understand.

Jason placed a brotherly hand on Tanner’s shoulder. “I was laughing because it was Faith’s ass I saw first but forget about me. That’s seriously how it happens. One minute you’re going about your life and the next you’re knocked off your feet. So again, what’s the problem?” He leaned back in his chair and waited for an answer.

“We didn’t exchange last names, we went upstairs, I got a call from the club, and when I came back to the apartment, she was gone.”

“Hence the credit card receipts.” Jason’s gaze scanned the counter. “Any luck?”

“I’m wasting my time. A last name’s not going to get me anywhere in a city this size. I’m just doing it to feel like I’m doing something.”

“Hey, boss! Phone call,” Felicia, their daytime hostess, called. They liked to keep someone at the club to handle calls and schedule parties.

“Which one of us?” Tanner asked.