“So Landon’s the asshole.”
Jason narrowed his gaze. “No changing the subject. How did you fuck up with Scarlett and can I help?”
Tanner ran a hand over his face, about to explain when both of their phones began to buzz at the same time. Alarmed, they both grabbed for their cells.
“Yeah?” Tanner asked.
“Someone called in a bomb threat. We’re evacuating,” Landon said.
Tanner had no doubt Landon was getting the same call from security. They both jumped up from their chairs and headed downstairs, unsure of what to expect or whether or not it was a credible threat.
* * *
“I don’t understand it, Leigh. One minute he was sitting here listening to me pour my heart out and him doing the same, and the next he couldn’t leave fast enough.” Scarlett sat in her office, hours after Tanner had abruptly walked out, and she still had no better comprehension of what had occurred.
“You said he told you something personal, right? Maybe he just couldn’t handle talking about it.”
Scarlett nodded. “Maybe. I told him about Hank, he reciprocated about Levi, something spooked him, and he left.” She played with her bracelet, which she’d had fixed as soon as possible after Tanner had returned it.
“Look into his background,” Leigh suggested.
Scarlett whipped her head up to meet her friend’s gaze. “What? No. He told me what I needed to know.” Exposing herself to another person didn’t come easily to Scarlett, so she didn’t hold it against Tanner that he hadn’t found it easy either.
But he’d seen her family drama firsthand. She’d confided in him about Hank. Why had he felt the need to take off?
“Come on, Scarlett. You told me his best friend died in a hazing incident in college. That’s not a typical thing to happen. Don’t you want more details?” Leigh crossed her legs in front of her, staring Scarlett down. “I’m certain the information is available online.”
“No.” Scarlett had already done her own surface search. He’d told her enough.
Besides, after Tanner’s departure, she’d finally gone onto Club TEN29’s website and scrolled around, coming to the About page regarding the three partners. Full-color photos of each man greeted her, and though she hadn’t met the other guys in person, they were all good-looking, though none had the rougher appearance that Tanner had, the darker look in his eyes that drew her to him.
She’d scrolled to a dedication that brought tears to her eyes now that she knew the whole story. Club TEN29 is named in memory of Levi Bennett, who died in a tragic accident on October 29, 2009, beneath the photograph of a young man who appeared almost identical to the older photo of Landon.
She swallowed hard. “I’m not going to go digging any further. He’ll tell me more if he wants to confide in me. Besides, I doubt I’d find anything that would explain his behavior.”
Leigh pulled her phone out of her pants pocket. “Fine. If you’re not curious, I am. A few taps of my finger…” She typed something into her browser and wrinkled her nose as she scrolled down the screen. “Aha. Hazing death at Manhattan U involving four freshmen. Tanner’s name is here.”
“Cut it out, Leigh. I need to get back to work.”
“Fine. But if he were my guy, I’d run a background check. Just saying.” She shrugged her shoulders, gave one last glance at the screen, and laid it down on her lap.
Scarlett braced her hands on the desk and stared at her friend. “You checked out Cliff?” she asked of the man Leigh was now steadily seeing, horrified at the prospect.
“Damn right I did. I need to make sure the man’s record is clean and there’s no wife I don’t know about.”
She shook her head. “You’ve got trust issues, my friend.”
Leigh flushed but she didn’t back down. “I’m just saving myself a lot of trouble. Why fall hard for a guy if he’s only going to turn out to be someone you can’t be with for whatever reason? Better to know sooner rather than later.”
“Go away,” Scarlett moaned, laying her head in her hands. If Tanner needed space, she’d give him space. It wasn’t like they had a commitment or anything. But the stricken look on his face had stayed with her as did the twisting in her stomach when he’d left so abruptly.
For someone who claimed not to have the time or desire for a relationship, she was certainly letting him work his way into her life … and her heart. As it was, she’d had to work late tonight to make up for all the frustrated daydreaming and wondering she’d done all afternoon. Not to mention the morning she’d lost remembering Hank. Leigh had a big robbery case and she’d stayed late as well, which had brought her to Scarlett’s office for a break. This was their schedule, their lives.