Twice as Sexy (The Sexy 2)

The sound of a throat clearing interrupted them. “Excuse me.” The cop in charge of the bomb threat investigation stood in the office doorway, Rhodes by his side.

“Yes. What can we do for you?” Jason asked.

Tanner watched Frank warily.

“I just wanted to let you know we’re finished for tonight. If you need us, give the station a call. Otherwise we’ll be in touch,” the man said.

“Grayson.”

Tanner folded his arms across his chest and met Frank’s gaze. “Scarlett? She’s too good for you. And now she knows all about you.”

“Rhodes, let’s go,” his superior said.

“My pleasure. My job here is done.”

* * *

Tanner walked into the gym, anger pouring through him in waves. Emotion he had to unleash before he went to see Scarlett. He wished he was just going to bring her lunch and everything was normal but it wasn’t. Vic was out of prison and she needed to know about his past and hear it from him.

They strode through the large workout area. Because it was past nine a.m., most people were at work and the gym was on the quieter side. Although he ought to be exhausted, he’d gotten no sleep after the cops left and he and the guys talked late into the night, he was revving for a fight.

“Come on. Let’s get some of this aggression out of you,” Landon, who’d been silent and let Tanner brood, said as they approached the big black bag in the corner.

Tanner sat while Landon wrapped his hands, protecting his skin and knuckles from the beating he’d otherwise take, then slipped the gloves over his hands.

Landon held the bag while Tanner went off, punching at the heavy bag, pretending it was Vic’s face and body he pummeled, as he worked his hands and unleashed his anger and frustration on the inanimate object. The son of a bitch had changed his life forever, destroyed his dream of showing his bastard father he was better than the man believed.

College? Gone because he’d gone off on another member of the fraternity and gotten himself thrown out in the wake of Levi’s death. Levi, full of life and fun, his entire future ahead of him … dead. Running from the demons in his head, he’d ended up in jail after a bar fight gone bad. Tanner knew he had himself to blame for the wrong turns he’d taken. But Victor was the devil inside him he needed to exorcise.

Hit after hit, sweat poured down his face and onto the floor until he was heaving and finally needed a break. He stopped, leaning down, hands braced on his thighs as he caught his breath.

Landon collapsed onto the bench beside him, also breathing hard from handling the bag while Tanner went off.

The ring of his cell phone sounded and he grabbed it from the bag on the floor. Scarlett’s name flashed on the screen.

Stomach twisting, he answered. “Yeah.” He was still finding it hard to pull in air.

“Tanner? We need to talk.” Her soft voice penetrated the haze around him left over from his workout.

He inhaled deeply. “We do. I’m at the gym. I can shower and meet you somewhere,” he said, not wanting an audience at her office for the things he needed to tell her.

“Let’s go to my place. Noon?” she asked, sounding both tired and serious.

He hadn’t thought to ask how she’d come to the club last night but he assumed she’d heard it on the scanner at her office or the news. “I’ll pick up something to eat and meet you there,” he said and disconnected the call.

“You okay?” Landon turned his head toward him.

“Fuck no. I’ve got to tell the one woman who’s ever caught my attention that I fucked up my life and got a pass. She, on the other hand, puts guys like me away.” He hung his head, pissed at the turn things had taken.

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself and not giving her enough credit. But time will tell. In the meantime, let’s hit the showers. You can’t go anywhere smelling like this.”

“Fuck you,” he said with a grin. He really didn’t know what he’d do without the guys in his life. They were his family. The people he’d live and die for.

Landon chuckled and they headed for the locker room, where he cleaned his body while he hoped Scarlett accepted his soul.

* * *

Scarlett had tossed and turned all last night, unable to sleep after the adrenaline rush of first the bomb scare, then Frank’s warning about Tanner, and the scary guy who’d seemed to threaten her before disappearing into the dark night. She didn’t take the man all that seriously. Plenty of sick people wandered the streets of Manhattan, and she doubted his throat-slashing gesture had been aimed at her. Still, she’d double-checked her locks and had a difficult time falling asleep.