Page 18 of Rex

“I’m curious what that little menace in a child’s body has done to piss off Rex and Reeves. Very curious. Care to share?” Axel asks with a hopeful look.

“No, we don’t. You ready, Pooh? I’m first,” I say while rocking my head back and forth, trying to loosen up a little.

“What’s going on?” a voice asks from behind me.

I turn and find Candy standing there, face red, indicating she’s been working out.

“Rex and Reeves, for some unknown reason, want to kick Pooh’s ass because of Craig,” Axel answers. “Do you know what Craig did to them?”

Ignoring Axel, Candy looks up at me, and her eyes narrow slightly.

“That true, Rex? Reeves?” she asks in a low and somewhat gravelly tone.

“Well, yeah. Kind of. I mean, it’s not like we can kick Craig’s ass. He’s a kid, and that just wouldn’t be right, you know?” I mutter while wilting under her gaze.

I feel a moment of relief when her eyes leave mine and find Reeves.

“It was Rex’s idea,” Reeves states, and my feeling of relief flees instantly.

“It’s not very honorable of them, is it, Candy?” Pooh asks with a voice full of sunshine and fucking roses.

“Honorable or not, I get why someone would want to do damage to you, Pooh. Axel, too, for that matter. But Rex and Reeves—wait. I get it now. It’s Rex, Reeves, and Craig. Makes sense to me, and my advice would be to prepare for pain, Pooh,” Candy says before calmly walking away.

“Wait, Candy! Tell us why!” shouts Axel to her retreating back.

“No one left to save you, Pooh. Ring time,” I state before walking to the ring and stepping inside.

“Hey, Rex,” Chubs says as he walks into my office.

“Hey,” I answer while turning away from my monitors. “What’s up?”

“Did you find anything out about those names I gave you?”

“Yep, I found a few things,” I state while shuffling papers on my desk, looking for the information I printed out. “Both have extensive police records. Neither are good guys, and both are currently living in Denver now.”

“Damn. I was hoping they’d moved on by now,” Chubs responds while looking at the paperwork I handed him.

“I wasn’t sure what I was looking for at first, but I figured it out pretty quick when I saw their arrest records. Is this something the club is going to keep an eye on?” I ask.

“I’m taking it to Gunner when I leave here. Talk on the street is they are most likely responsible for the GHB and ketamine inside a few of the clubs in town lately. Using date rape drugs will only increase their trafficking of women if they stick to their usual M.O.s. Gunner may want to contact the Morales family, too. I’m sure this will be of interest to them,” Chubs explains.

“It seems like Denver has suddenly become the hub for trafficking,” I say with disgust in my voice.

“I think it’s the same as a lot of other places have been for a long time, but because of Bella’s situation, we’ve become more aware of it happening,” Chubs states. “It’s happening all over the world, and these people aren’t being hunted like they should be.”

“Keep me posted on anything you need on this. Speaking of clubs, which ones are being targeted that you know of?” I ask.

“Names I’ve heard are The Loft, Charlie’s, and Sinner’s, but I’m sure they change up often so they don’t draw too much attention to themselves,” Chubs answers.

I suddenly sit up straight in my chair, my mind racing with chaotic thoughts. Trying to pull them together, I start silently counting the strange things that happened the night we all went out together. Realizing where my thoughts have headed, I force them to slow down and let me reason through them. Turning back to look at Chubs, I ask, “Has Club Ace come up in any of the conversations you’ve had about this happening?”

“No, it hasn’t, and that’s why that’s the club I suggested when we all hit the town. Also why I wasn’t too concerned leaving Aria and Lisa there, but that was mostly because I knew you and Reeves would keep an eye out for them,” Chubs answers but does so with a slow narrowing of his eyes. “Something happen that I should know about?”

Before I can answer that question, my phone rings, and I quickly answer it while shooting Chubs an apologetic look. While handling my customer’s call and answering his questions, Chubs moves to stand in front of my desk with hands on his hips. While jotting down information from the call, I look up at Chubs and give my head a definitive shake. Watching him hesitate before slowly relaxing gives me a moment of relief before the guilt setsin. When he turns to leave, I lightly rap my knuckles on the desk to gain his attention. When I get it, I hold up one finger, silently asking him to wait. I finish up my call and disconnect before giving Chubs an answer without revealing too much.

“I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary that night as far as what was going on in the club. But with that said, both Reeves and I have little memory of what happened after we made it to the clubhouse, though. Makes me wonder if the last shots we ordered were intended to be someone else’s drinks. All was fine until then.”

“Who drove back to the clubhouse?” Chubs asks with concern painting his voice.

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