My guess? She was none other than Chloe.
Kelton scowled, clearly not liking that the girl was trying to direct his attention away from me. Either that or he was irritated that someone would try and tell him what to do. Which didn’t surprise me. Kelton had never liked to be told what to do. Even when my father told him he wasn’t allowed to see me anymore, Kelton didn’t listen. The boy had a mind of his own. All his brothers were like that. Even at a young age the Maxwell boys had been brazen, not taking crap from anyone, at least not at school.
Dropping her hand, she said, “At least introduce me to your new friend.”
“Pardon me,” I said. “I need to work.” I bolted. Once inside the kitchen, I let out a loud sigh.
“Animals out there?” Wendy asked.
I laughed when I should be fleeing. As I set down the serving tray, the girl in the white dress bounced in.
“Did I say something to make you run?” She placed a strand of hair behind her ear, exposing a large solitaire diamond earring. She definitely came from wealth. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Kelton can be an ass, and I just want to make sure he didn’t upset you.”
What! I wanted to hate this girl. I wanted to tear her big brown eyes out of their sockets and wiggle my nose, hoping she would turn into a toad. But I couldn’t. Her voice was soft. She had a pretty smile, and she seemed genuine. Kelton would be the luckiest man alive to snag a beautiful and nice girl like Chloe.
“I’m sorry. I was the one who was rude.” That was the first true statement I’d said in the last hour.
“Hi, I’m Chloe.” She held out a dainty hand.
“I’m Emma.” We shook.
“Chloe, have you been here the whole time?” Wendy wiped her forehead with a dishtowel.
Chloe placed a hand on her flat stomach. “I have, but I’ve been in the ladies’ room. I think I ate something last night that didn’t agree with me.”
Wendy went over to her purse and returned with a Pepto-Bismol tablet. “Take this.”
After Chloe chewed the tablet, the two began talking about Chloe’s graduation party. I closed my eyes and counted to ten to get my heart to stop racing. As I did, I slipped my hands into the pockets of my apron. My hand closed around a business card—the key to finding Terrance Malden.
4
Kelton
A booming bass pulsed as I strutted into the back entrance of Rumors, shrugging out of my tux jacket. The damn bowtie was enough to strangle me, especially when I stood beside Emma. Her jasmine scent about choked me with memories of Lizzie. The more I talked to her, the more I swore I knew her.
I pushed past a long line of girls waiting for the restrooms. They were all ages, shapes, and sizes for a Friday night. A handful smiled at me suggestively. I’d picked up one or two on occasion after Chloe and I had broken up. But I wasn’t trolling tonight. I was here to listen to my brother, Kody, perform. He’d written a new song he was trying out.
When I passed the last two girls in line, one of them flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. “Did you see? Dillon Hart is here. I can’t believe he’s in a trendy club like this. I’m going to try and talk to him,” she said to her friend. “I would love to get my hands on him. He’s hot.”
Her friend choked. “The only way you’re talking to him is if you’re a homeless girl under the age of twenty,” the other girl said in a high-pitched voice. “And how do you know he’s here? No one really knows what he looks like. My brother tells me he’s a ghost in this city.”
Dillon Hart’s name had been mentioned once or twice in conversations among the locals who frequented the club on occasion. Word on the street was no one could pick him out of a lineup. But he did offer food and a warm bed to runaway girls who wanted to get off the streets and away from their pimps. I wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but I was curious. If Dillon Hart was in the club, then I’d like to meet him so I could shake his hand for helping keep girls safe. I slowed my pace.
“I caught a glimpse of him when I overheard the bald guy I bumped into call his name,” the girl with the dark hair said.
I ducked into the manager’s office not too far beyond the girls.
Kade whistled from behind his metal desk. His copper eyes grew wide. “My baby brother in a tuxedo.” He sat back in the chair.