Page 79 of Rex

“Only if spending time with you is being busy,” she replies with a laugh.

“You’re definitely going to be busy, then. Do you want to go out or meet at one of our places? We haven’t had that actual date yet.”

“I’d rather stay in and just be alone, together. I can come to your place if that’s okay. Around six?”

“Perfect. Bring a bag and spend the night,” I suggest.

“I will. Can’t wait to see you again.”

“Did you get your car from Reeves?” I ask, suddenly remembering that Reeves was going to return it to her.

“Yep, I did. You can’t even tell anything happened to it. Trigger is good,” Aria answers with another laugh.

“I think it was Tessie that did most of it. Trigger’s been training her, and she’s become pretty damn amazing at all things cars and bikes.”

“Oh wow! I’ll make sure to thank her because it’s perfect. Speaking of my car, would you go car shopping with me when things settle down for you?” Aria asks in a soft voice.

“Definitely would, but why are you selling your car if it came back perfect?” I ask, confused.

“I kind of fell in love with yours and now want something similar,” Aria admits, and I grin.

“Ahhh, I see. Yep, we’ll do that as soon as we get a chance to, but it might be smart to take Trigger or Tessie with us since they know way more about cars than me. Tessie helped me pick out my car last year,” I explain.

“Really? That’s so cool! We’ll do that then. Thanks, Rex.”

We chat for a few more minutes and then disconnect when her next patient arrives. Before sending out the video of her stalker, I pull it up again and watch it several more times. While doing this, Pigeon walks in and leans over my shoulder, watching it too.

“I don’t know why, but there’s something that tells me I should know who this is,” Pigeon mutters before taking a seat on the couch.

“Me too, and it’s been driving me nuts,” I reply.

“Hey, guys,” Candy greets as she walks into the room.

“Hey, Candy. How’ve you been?” Pigeon asks while I offer my own greeting.

“Good. Ready to get started on this prospecting thing,” she answers in her gruff voice. “Are you busy, Rex?”

“Things are less hectic today. Just getting ready to send out a group text of the guy Aria caught on video. Then, my day is fairly open. What can I help you with?”

“I haven’t seen that video. Actually, that’s why I came here to see if I could. Aria kept saying she thinks she knows the guy but can’t place him. I realized I know pretty much everyone she does, so thought it couldn’t hurt to see the video,” Candy states.

I reach for my mouse and hit play again on the video. Candy walks to my side and watches it intently. When it ends, she orders me to play it again. This happens a few times before she jerks upright, shoulders going back, eyes moving quickly like she’s chasing a thought. When they stop their jerking, they drop to meet mine.

“I think I know who that is!” she shouts and then emits a low growl like Loki does when he’s pissed.

I sit upright and wait impatiently for her to sift through her thoughts again. Pigeon bolts off the couch and joins us at the desk.

“Talk, Candy,” Pigeon urges. “Talk through whatever you’re thinking.”

“His way of walking. He has a sideways movement that isn’t normal. Like a horse loping on one lead when it should be theother. It’s like it’s counterbalanced. Fuck, I know that walk!” Candy says in frustration.

“Holy shit, she’s right! That’s what’s been familiar to me, too, but I couldn’t place what it was until now!” Pigeon shouts even louder than Candy.

Reeves, Horse, and Marti all appear in the doorway being alerted to the loud voices. I hit play again on the video and wait for one of us to figure it out. Now that Candy’s mentioned it, this guy’s walk is all I can see. It’s definitely distinctive and has an odd movement to it.

“Hi. What are you watching?” a voice says before a body appears between Horse and Reeves.

“Hi, Pigeon’s wife. How are you doing today?” Horse says as Ivy pushes into the office.

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