She even asked the people manning the front desk at the club, but none of them had seen him, either. If she waited any longer, Garth and his men might actually reach their goal. She wasn’t about to let that happen.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Garth and three men leaving the club and heading for the parking lot. She rushed back to the front desk and retrieved her helmet and backpack with some pants inside. She hid behind another large potted plant in the lobby as she shimmied into her pants.
Once outside, she noticed the men climbing into a two-seater Ford Silver Spruce truck. One of her brothers had a truck like this, so it would be easy to follow.
She dashed to her motorcycle and jumped on. Seconds later, she was following the Silver Spruce. Although she had no clue where Thomas lived, Garth would know, so she definitely couldn’t lose him.
THOMAS WALKED OUT OF a back room after splashing more cologne on his face and making sure his suit wasn’t dirty. Throwing out those very drunk guests was difficult. Thankfully, the club’s security guards helped.
He hadn’t realized until tonight, but at one time – okay, probably more than one time – he had been one of those irresponsible guests that caused problems during parties. He also recalled being thrown out a time or two.
Shaking his head, he frowned. Had he really been that bad? Why had he been drinking his life away? He tried drowning out his problems, but they were always there the next day. Drinking alcohol wasn’t the solution. However, having a beautiful woman occupy his thoughts day and night was.
He grinned as his heart leapt. He’d wanted to kiss Morgan since they were outside her apartment building. He could tell she was thinking about kissing him, too, especially tonight. Maybe he shouldn’t have teased her with that small kiss, but he didn’t want her to leave and go home. He’d given her a reason to stay. At least he hoped he had.
As Thomas headed down the hallway to return to the party, a man turned the corner, heading straight for him. The little man wore the same knee-pants, but this time he had flip-flops on his feet, and he wore a Hawaiian shirt with a lei. Good grief! Thomas groaned and shook his head.
Thomas stopped and waited for Percy to reach him before giving him a scowl. “Did I tell you not to come?” He pointed back up the hallway. “Now go back to where you came from. You’re not invited here.”
“But Mr. Powers,” Percy said nervously, “I need to make sure you are safe, and you are not planning on doing something stupid.”
Holding his breath, Thomas counted to ten. If not, his temper would make its debut and the whole party would hear him cussing. “Percy, I haven’t taken a drink of alcohol, and I don’t plan on it. There are no gambling tables at this party, so rest assured, I’ll be fine.”
“Thomas?” Cole asked as he approached him. His forehead was creased with worry as he scanned the hallway. “Who are you talking to?”
Thomas growled again. Once more, Percy had made Thomas look like an idiot. When would it end?
“No one,” Thomas said. “Don’t worry about it. Hey, did you just get here?”
“Yeah. I was just inside, but Chris said you were out here.” Cole glanced toward the end of the hallway, peering at the guests spilling out of the main room. “New faces here tonight. Good job.”
“Garth Sorenson is here,” Thomas said irritably. “Keep him away from me please. I really don’t want to punch that jerk in the nose, but I will if I have to.”
“Not to worry, man. Good ol’ Garth actually left. I saw him and three other guys leave after I arrived.”
“Thank heavens. I didn’t want him here anyway.” He walked with Cole back toward the party. “Hey, if you happen to see a beautiful lady in a black tight skirt, red shirt and long dark-brown hair, she’s mine.” Thomas waggled his eyebrows.
“You’ve already picked out the lucky girl tonight, huh?”
“Most definitely.” Thomas patted Cole on the arm.
“I’ll keep my eyes open for her. Talk to you later.” Cole wandered off toward a group of pretty ladies who’d been watching them talk.
“Mr. Powers,” Percy interrupted again.
Thomas bunched his hands into fists. “Percy,” he grumbled in a low voice, “I can’t talk to you. People will think I’m crazy if they see me talking to myself.