After taking care of their vehicles, the guys left, and Tanner headed upstairs to the apartment they kept above the club. He left a message for Tyler Germaine, the owner of Germaine Security, to check the outside video camera footage in the morning, then changed into the clothes he wore to walk the club floor during business hours.

Dressed and ready, he headed back downstairs for a long night of music, dancing, and hopefully plenty of repeat and new customers having fun and enjoying Club TEN29.

* * *

Scarlett put the glass to her lips and tossed back the frozen vodka shot, her third of the night. “You can multiply that by ten and call it a day,” she informed Leigh with a laugh. “Thirty, get it? But no more birthday shots for me.” From now on, she’d be nursing a drink and dancing.

She rose to her feet, taking a second to steady herself in her heels, and pulled at the little black skirt Leigh had lent her because it tended to inch up around her thighs. She was feeling ditzy but not totally drunk, and she had to admit coming here tonight had been a good idea.

The club atmosphere was fun. The live singer was an up-and-coming pop star, or so she’d been told by the friendly bartender. And Leigh was flirting up a storm with a guy she’d met once before and had been texting with ever since. Scarlett didn’t think it was coincidence he was here tonight. She’d obviously planned to meet up with him.

“Can I get you something else?” the bartender, a sexy man with his hair buzzed on the sides and longer on top, asked, leaning over the bar to get closer to her.

Although she could admire his looks, he wasn’t her type. Too long, lean, and blond. She sighed because it just didn’t matter. She had no time for any man in her life right now. “I’ll have a pink lemonade on ice, please.”

“Gotcha.” He snatched up a tip from another customer and turned to work on her order, handing her a glass a few seconds later.

“It’s so warm in here,” Leigh said, waving her hand in front of her face.

“I think it’s all the alcohol you consumed. You’re flushed. Do you want to go outside for a few minutes?” Scarlett asked her friend.

She shook her head. “I don’t want to leave Cliff alone for some other woman to swoop in and grab him.” She tipped her head toward the tall, dark-haired man who was ordering himself a drink and Leigh a glass of water.

Good. Her friend needed a break from drinking.

Looking around, Scarlett studied the mirrored and dark wood bar, turning to check out the other sights just as an elevator door across the way opened. A well-built man dressed in a black suit, with thick jet-black hair and a scruff of beard covering a definitely handsome face stepped out. His imposing and commanding presence couldn’t be denied. Now he was her type.