Sexy Hers

by Carly Phillips

  How was she supposed to think with her brain when her body just wanted to jump him where he stood?

  “So you’ll find out about Victor?” He brought them back to the point at hand.

  She nodded. “I’ll give you a call as soon as I find out something.”

  “Thank you.” He started for the door.

  His sudden departure took her off guard. “Why are you leaving?”

  “I’m going to give you time to work through things in that pretty head of yours. You know where to find me.” He walked out, shutting the door behind him.

  Alone, she returned to the living room and settled on the couch, wondering why life threw the one man in her path who challenged her on every level. The one man she couldn’t resist.

  Chapter Seven

  “Good morning!” Leigh popped her head into Scarlett’s office. “I hear someone’s going to be doing actual witness questioning in court next month!” She slid into the chair she always chose and crossed her legs in front of her. “Go you.”

  Scarlett grinned. “Kyle told me this morning during our team meeting.”

  “I told you you’re proving yourself. That’s a huge case for him to loosen the reins on.”

  “I’m happy.” Scarlett folded her hands on her desk and glanced at her friend. “So? How’s things?”

  “Same old. How’s your mom?”

  Scarlett scrunched up her nose. “Not great. My dad’s now able to sign off on her getting ECT since she’s a threat to herself … but he’s scared to do it. He’s afraid she’ll blame him and be angry. Not that she’s had any real emotion in so long. But I understand how tough a decision it is for him. I don’t blame him for struggling.”

  She’d visited her mother once a week since she’d been put in the home, but nothing had changed. No acknowledgment of her presence, nothing. The sad truth was that Scarlett had long since given up hope of having her mom in her life as a real presence. She’d done enough reading that she wasn’t even convinced that ECT would bring her back after all this time.

  “Okay so on to happier things, how’s your hot guy?” Leigh changed the subject.

  “How’s your hot guy?” Scarlett threw back at her friend.

  Leigh held up her hands and laughed. “Fine. I’ll go first. Cliff is awesome. He texts during the day, he isn’t pulling away or acting like a commitment-phobe … so far really good!” She leaned in closer. “I answered you, so now you can’t avoid my question. How’s your club owner?”

  “He’s … complicated, Leigh. He’s got what amounts to an expunged record for assault and yet he’s a good guy. I can sense that in him.” And she’d been around enough criminals to know the difference.

  “Honey, relationships are complicated. And it’s a known fact that opposites attract. So you like a bad boy. This isn’t a terrible thing.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.” She’d tossed and turned last night, unable to reconcile his past and the promise she’d made crying over her brother’s grave. “I need to think about how I really feel.”

  “Don’t think too long. A guy who looks like him won’t be on the market for long,” Leigh said as she twirled a strand of her brown hair around her finger. “Know what I mean?”

  Scarlett ignored that comment. “Listen, I need to make a call,” she said as she picked up the phone on her desk.

  For Tanner.

  “Sure. I have work to do. Catch you later!” Leigh stood and left the room.

  Scarlett opened her computer and pulled up Victor Clark’s mug shot. His face filled the screen and she opened her mouth in shock. “That’s the guy who threatened me at the club.”

  She immediately grabbed her cell, the desire to tell Tanner overwhelming, but she paused, putting the phone down and forcing herself to think. Tanner had a history with Victor, one that pushed his buttons and caused him to act out. Did she really want to tell Tanner the man he despised had threatened her? He’d beaten up Victor once before.

  She glanced at the screen and shivered, finding it difficult to convince herself it was a coincidence that he’d been hanging around the club the night of the bomb scare, that he’d threatened her, and didn’t know she was connected to Tanner.

  Based on her knowledge of cops, even if she mentioned the situation to friends on the force, they’d tell her there was nothing they could do with what amounted to a threatening gesture. Which meant she was on her own. Unless she told Tanner. He deserved to know. And she couldn’t deny this would be a test of how well he handled his temper these days.

  With shaking hands, she found and touched his number.

  “Scarlett?” He answered immediately.

  “Can you come to my office? Now?” she asked, closing out of the page because she did not want to look into those cold eyes another second longer.

  “I’ll be right over.”

  While she waited, she made use of the time it would take him to show up. Picking up the phone, she made a few calls. It wasn’t difficult for her to find out in which prison Victor had been incarcerated. From there, another couple of leads and she’d discovered how and why he’d been tagged for early release, giving her the answers Tanner wanted.

  “Mail call!” Marty, the intern pushed a cart as he knocked and stepped into Scarlett’s office. “This came for you, Ms. Davis.” He handed her a plain manila envelope addressed to Scarlett Davis, Esquire.

  “Thanks, Marty.” She accepted the flat packet and he walked out, heading for his next office stop.

  She held the envelope and glanced at both sides. “That’s odd. No return address. Hmm.” Slicing it open, she pulled out a white sheet of paper with red writing.

  You’re dead.

  No signature.

  Her stomach turned over at the sight, her mind immediately going to Vic and his threatening gesture. She dropped the letter and called for forensics to come pick it up, though she knew, like most evidence delivered here, there wouldn’t be fingerprints or anything to find.

  All she could do now was wait for Tanner.

  * * *

  Tanner hadn’t expected to hear from Scarlett any time soon. He assumed she’d need time to decide how she felt about his past, and he’d had every intention of giving her the space she deserved. So when his phone rang and she asked to see him, to say he’d been shocked was an understatement. If she merely had discovered information on Victor, she could have just told him over the phone. His gut screamed something deeper was at play.

  He crossed town and arrived at her office as fast as he could get there, opting for the subway to take him the fastest way, cutting out traffic.

  Michelle, a full-figured woman at the front desk who knew him by now, waved him on by. Scarlett’s office door was closed, so he knocked and waited for her to tell him to come in.

  At the sound of her voice, he pushed open the door and stepped inside, shutting it behind him when he realized they were alone.

  “Hey. Is everything okay?” he asked, out of breath from the way he’d rushed to get here.

  She toyed with the pen on her desk, biting into her bottom lip as she met his gaze. Clearly something was very wrong.

  “Talk to me,” he said, walking over and sitting on the edge of her desk, close enough to be affected by her peach scent.

  “Fine. First things first.” She glanced at a paper on her desk with her handwriting on it. “I made the call you asked and I know how Victor acquired early release. Simple answer to that question. He snitched on his cellmate to the feds. Gave them information they needed to close a huge drug case, and in exchange, he walked early.”

  “Son of a bitch.” His hands immediately curled but he caught the movement before he formed fists. Instead he forced air into his lungs, aware of her watching him warily. “Okay, at least I have my answer.”

  “There’s more.”

  “Okay…” He braced himself and waited.

  “Something happened the other night and I didn’t mention it before because I brushed it off. I thought … well
, it’s Manhattan. I figured it was just a crazy person. And–”

  He grabbed her hands, which she was wringing in front of her as she spoke, clearly upset. “Scarlett? You can tell me anything.”

  She visibly swallowed hard. “Okay, well, when I was outside the club the night of the bomb scare, a guy I’d never seen before looked at me. He smiled in this really creepy way and then he took his finger and sliced it across his neck. Like this.”

  She repeated the gesture and Tanner’s blood ran cold. He didn’t like the idea of anyone threatening her, especially outside of his club. “You should have told me.”

  She rolled her shoulders. “You and your partners had already disappeared. You’d probably gone inside. I yelled for Frank, the cop, but when I pointed to show him the man, he wasn’t there.”

  Worry and concern wrapped icy tentacles around him. “What aren’t you saying?”

  Her wide eyes met his. “When I pulled up Victor’s mug shot, I recognized him. He was the guy who threatened me.”

  “That bastard is using you to get to me.” Anger and pain lanced through him.

  She nodded. “I had that thought myself although I’d prefer if it was a coincidence.”

  He shook his head. “There are no coincidences where Victor is concerned.” Ignoring the rush of blood to his head that signaled the anger that always accompanied thoughts of Vic, first and foremost, he focused on Scarlett. “If he’s targeting you, it’s because of me.”

  She looked at him, utterly calm. “I’ve been the subject of threats before. It’s all in a day’s work in this job.” She even smiled to reassure him.

  It didn’t work. “You don’t know this man. I do.”

  “Okay, well … I received a threat today.”

  His gaze whipped to hers. “What?”

  She opened her phone and showed him a photo. “I took this before I had forensics take it to examine. And before you get upset and jump to conclusions, it could be related to the mob case I’m working on.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “You don’t believe that any more than I do. It’s Vic. Showing me he can get to you.” Tanner pulled out his phone and began to text.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Calling a meeting. I want to talk to Jason and Landon. Fill them in.” It was his fault Scarlett was in the middle of this.

  “Tanner, I also spoke to one of the cops who works with us. They’re aware, not that there’s anything they can do with nonspecific threats.”

  He heard the calming tone in her voice, but it wasn’t working to soothe him. This was all Vic and it was his fault she was in his sights.

  “Okay, well, if that’s all, I have a lot of work to get through today.” She patted the top of a pile of case files with a fake smile on her face.

  He shook his head. “I want you in the meeting.” He was already working up a plan on how to protect her. One she wasn’t going to like and he wanted backup when he presented it to her. Landon would help. Jason would be the key because he’d been in a similar situation with Faith and taken comparable action.

  Hmm. Maybe he should have Faith there too. He continued to text the guys, making his wishes clear.

  “Tanner, come on. There’s no reason for me to be in on a meeting about Vic. He doesn’t know who I am. He…”

  “Might have been following me all the times I brought you lunch. Or when we went out. How else would he know you to single you out the other night?”

  She groaned. “After work then, okay?” This time she pointed to the pile of work, exasperation in her features.

  She wasn’t taking this as seriously as he was, but that was because she didn’t know what Victor Clark was capable of. Tanner did. And after over a decade in prison? Yeah. No way would Tanner blow off the man’s threat. It was all he could do to remain calm. Not to lose his mind and scare her away.

  He glanced at his phone. Both Jason and Landon would be at the club this evening and Jason said he’d bring Faith. “I’ll pick you up after work,” Tanner told Scarlett. “Name the time.”

  “Seven? I really have a lot to get done. I can meet you at the club–”

  He shook his head. “I’ll be here.”

  He confirmed the time with his partners and tried not to focus on the fact that Scarlett was in danger because of him. But he couldn’t shake off the feeling of responsibility he felt toward her. Partly because Vic was involved and more because his heart was.

  * * *

  Scarlett walked into Club TEN29, and with Tanner’s hand on her back, he led her to the elevator and up to the office, where his partners waited. She hated to admit the pull she felt toward him, how much she liked the heat of his palm against her shirt, the possessive way he touched her. As if telling everyone around him to back off. She was taken.

  Although the club wasn’t that busy, it being early in the week, she noted a big security guard was present, arms folded across his chest. Apparently the guys were taking no chances, because she didn’t remember him being so visible the last time she was here.

  This was the first time she would be meeting Tanner’s partners and close friends, and it was under a stressful situation. Although she didn’t know what he planned, the fact that he wanted her present for the conversation meant it involved her in some way beyond the obvious.

  They entered the doorway and the low murmur of conversation stopped, all eyes focused on her. She looked over the two men she’d seen on the website and then saw Faith, Jason’s wife, sitting close to her husband.

  “Faith! What are you doing here?” Scarlett asked.

  The other woman was dressed similarly to the day they’d met, in a pair of jeans and a Sweet Treats tee shirt. Obviously, she too had come straight from work.

  Faith glanced at Jason, then rose from her seat. “You’ll see soon enough.” She glared at the men in the room.

  “Scarlett, I’d like you to meet my partners and best friends, Jason Dare, Faith’s husband, and Landon Bennett. You already know Faith,” Tanner said.

  Landon walked over and took her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” Jason said with a grin, earning himself a nudge from his wife. “All of it good,” he rushed to add.

  “Thank you.” Scarlett glanced at Tanner for guidance on this meeting.

  “Here. Let’s sit.” He gestured to the couch and led her to the sofa, where he settled in beside her. “Thanks for being here, everyone. I’ve had the afternoon to fill them in on the situation and the fact that Vic knows who you are and has targeted you.”

  She raised her hands and dropped them to her lap. “We don’t know that,” she reminded him. And the rest of them, for that matter.

  “However, we do know that Vic has it in for our club,” Landon said, leaning against his desk, a powerful presence in his black jacket, white dress shirt, and black slacks. Nightclub ready, she mused.

  “We’ve had issues with Daniel Sutherland, another club owner, targeting us for petty vandalism, but there is the fact that if Vic is going to go after anyone, it’s going to be Tanner.” Jason spoke.

  “Because he beat him up on campus years ago?” Scarlett asked.

  “No, because I’m the weak link,” Tanner muttered.

  She hated his self-deprecation and reached out to squeeze his hand in silent support before letting go.

  He continued to scowl as he spoke. “And since I’m the one whose buttons Vic can push hard enough to make me go after him.”

  His words surprised her. Yes, he knew himself, but he’d also gone to great lengths to convince her he’d learned to manage his temper. Was he changing his mind?

  “I wouldn’t have phrased it like that,” Jason said with a scowl. “But if he wants to get to any of us, I agree he’ll choose you.”

  “Because at the very least he believes I’ll be the one to lose my shit and end up behind bars.” Tanner shook his head. “Retribution at its finest. And that puts you at risk,” he said, once again taking Sc
arlett’s hand in his larger one.

  She cleared her throat, ignoring the warmth of his touch. “As I told you, I’ve dealt with threats before in my line of work. I can handle myself.”

  “But you’ve never dealt with Victor Clark. And since you’re in trouble because of me, I’m going to be the one to protect you.” He rose to his feet, a large, looming, sexy presence.

  She raised an eyebrow at the same time Jason, who sat across the room, Faith now beside him, snickered under his breath.

  Faith slapped his arm. “Cut that out.”

  “What’s so funny?” Scarlett asked.

  Faith sighed. “He’s just listening to Tanner butter you up so he can step in and take care of you. Sort of like Jason did for me.”

  Scarlett thought about Faith’s situation with her brother, recalled her explanation of what had happened. “You already mentioned you had some problems and Jason moved you in with him… Oh, no,” she said, realizing exactly what this meeting was about. “That is not happening in this case.”

  “Here’s the situation and correct me if I’m wrong.” Tanner paced, something she was coming to learn he did when he was upset. “Victor is targeting our club. It’s looking like he’s teamed up with Sutherland to bash cars, graffiti walls, and even gone so far as a bomb threat … but we can’t prove it was him. With me so far?”

  She inclined her head. “Yes.”

  He stopped his pacing directly in front of her. “You saw Victor outside the club, he looked right at you and…” Tanner duplicated the neck gesture, never breaking eye contact. “Yes?”

  She squirmed in her seat. “Yes.”

  Across from her, the guys and Faith were silent. She didn’t take that as a good sign that they were on her side.

  “And today you received a threatening note in what looked like blood.” Tanner’s eyes turned darker.

  She shivered. She’d tried not to think about that part of the note. But he was right. “Again, correct. But for some reason you think this means I need to move in with you?”

  “I think you need protection. Will your cop friends help you?” He cocked his head to the side. “Or will they continue to tell you there’s nothing they can do without proof of who’s targeting you?”