“C’mon,” I said to Hailey after Dylan paused his questioning long enough to take a sip of beer. “Let’s get a drink and check out the rest of the place.” I excused us.
Not far from us, a girl headed up the staircase tucked in the corner. A guy followed her, his hand on her lower back. Hailey started walking toward the bar. I grabbed her arm and gestured with my chin toward the stairs. “Where do those go?”
“The club’s private party rooms.”
My insides clenched at what she meant and at the possibility she’d used the rooms herself. That wasn’t to say I hadn’t been in a few, which was why I knew what could happen there. “Can you see the dance club from up there?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been up there.” My insides partly unclenched.
I turned back to Kayla and Dylan. “Do you guys know if you can see the dance club from the private rooms upstairs?”
They both shrugged.
“Okay,” I said to Hailey, “let’s go.” I nodded toward the bar.
We squeezed past the growing crowd. I kept my head down to avoid having anyone recognize me, which would make searching the nightclub impossible. Once we were at the bar, I asked her again if she’d seen him. She shook her head, disappointment sitting heavily on her shoulders. She wanted to find him tonight as much as I did, maybe even more.
I ordered our drinks. When the bartender returned with them, I asked him about the private rooms.
“The music from the club is piped into the rooms, but there are no windows in any of them. Other than the doors, they’re cut off from the club.” He quickly added, “But there’s a bouncer at the top of the stairs to make sure nothing bad goes down.” I wondered if he figured I was an undercover cop making sure no one could be sexually assaulted there. I nodded my thanks and turned back to Hailey.
“At least we now know if he’s here, he can’t watch you from upstairs. If he shows up, we’ll see him.”
We returned to our friends. Keeping an eye on the area, I joined the conversation until the girls decided to dance. Since I didn’t intend to let Hailey out of my sight, never mind letting her dance with another guy, I grabbed her hand and led her to the floor.
Figuring I’d be safe from people approaching me while I danced—the Tyler me, that is—I removed my hat. Hailey ran her fingers through my hair. Her fingertips stroked against my scalp. The skin tingled at her touch, and for several seconds I could only stare into her warm brown eyes, mesmerized by the gold flecks in them.
Her fingers remained in my hair and her lips parted. Around us, people moved to the fast beat, but we just stood there, uncertain what to do next. I felt myself lean down, my lips drawn to hers, craving her, the way it had been since our first kiss.
I paused inches from her lips. I barely heard the fast rock music pounding through the space. I barely noticed the people around us. All I could see was Hailey.
Someone knocked into her from behind and she stumbled into me. I wrapped my arms around her to steady her, our bodies touching. The music faded away, to be replaced by a slow song. I was about to ask her if she still wanted to dance when she whispered, “He’s here.”
I murmured in her ear, “Where?” I didn’t want to alert him that I was looking for him, but I needed to know his location so I could tell Brandon.
“He’s at your seven o’clock.”
“Okay.” I sent Brandon a text. “What’s he wearing?”
Hailey’s gaze darted briefly over my shoulder. “Light blue shirt. Jeans.”
I fought the urge to turn around, and sent Brandon another text. The plan was for him to take a picture of the guy without him knowing, which was the hardest part given the lack of lighting. Brandon was then to contact the detective involved in Hailey’s case. I had already told the cop what we were up to. He’d told me to get in touch with him as soon as Hailey spotted the guy, but under no circumstances were we to talk to him. To do so might’ve jeopardized the case.
I might not have been allowed to tell the asshole to fuck off when it came to Hailey, but no way would I let him believe he could watch her the way he had been.
I murmured in Hailey’s ear, “I want him to think you’re with me.” I ran my stubbled jaw against her cheek. She sucked in a soft, shaky breath, and my body trembled slightly at her reaction. “I’m going to kiss you,” I said, voice husky.
“Okay,” she breathed, the puff of air warm against my cheek.
I closed my eyes for a millisecond to gain strength for what I was about to do. When it came to Hailey, a single kiss wasn’t enough. But that was all I’d get. I traced my lips against her jaw, memorizing the soft feel of her skin, until I found her mouth.