Page 106 of Rex

“Is Chubs going to talk with Aria?”

“No. I sent him to the streets to see what he can find out. He knows everyone and who to ask and who to avoid. I told him that I would do it,” Gunner says while he grinds the heel of his hands into his eyes. “I’ll also shoot off a text to everyone, letting them know the clubhouse is off-limits except for members. You shouldn’t get too many interruptions that way. Get searching whatever video you can, and if you need help, let me know.”

I turn back to my laptop and start the search for my friend.

Chapter 15

Aria

My first instinct when I see Gunner standing at the front desk is to be happy to see him. The look on his face, though, stops that instinct. I wave for him to follow me, and we walk down the hall and then enter my office. As soon as he closes the door, I speak.

“Just tell me. Who’s hurt or dead?”

“Rex is missing,” Gunner states in a low rumble.

“No, he’s not. He left early to go to the office today,” I reply logically. “If he’s not there, maybe he’s at the prosecutor’s office. He wanted to talk to them about Dale’s case.”

“He’s missing, Aria. Taken, after a fight, from the security office. Marti’s dead. We know who took him, but we don’t know where he’s at yet. Pigeon’s working on that now,” Gunner says in a softer tone.

“Marti’s dead? Was Rex hurt? Do we know?” I ask in rapid-fire succession.

“Yes, we know he’s injured, but not how badly. We’re going to tear Denver apart until we find him, Aria,” Gunner assures me.

“Oh God. Oh my God. Okay. So, he’s hurt, and you’re looking for him. Have you called the police? Are they searching too?”

“No. We’re not involving them unless we have to. I know that’s probably hard for you to understand, but it’s better for everyone if we handle it quietly,” Gunner states. “There are other reasons why that is, but I can’t explain those yet.”

“I don’t care about any of that. I just want Rex to be found. How can I help?” I ask, noticing my hands have started to shake.

“Not sure you can, but if so, I’ll let you know. Can you get out of here for the day? You can come to the clubhouse, or I can take you to your mother’s instead?”

“You said Pigeon’s working on finding him, right? I want to go where he is,” I answer instantly.

“I can make that happen. Let’s tell your partner you need to leave, and you can ride with me.”

The ride to the clubhouse was quiet except for his phone pinging constantly. Each time, I’d get my hopes up that Rex was found, then deflate when it wasn’t that. It was a stressful ride, and I was glad to see the clubhouse come into view.

Walking inside, we find Pigeon hovering over his laptop, but his expression screams his frustration. Horse and Reeves are at a nearby table working quietly. Taking a seat next to Pigeon, I ask, “How can I help?”

“Are you good with technology?” he asks.

“Not on Rex’s level, but yes, I’m pretty good with it.”

“Can you put some coffee on? We’re going to be here for a while. Then, I have some video you can watch. Extra eyes would help a lot,” Pigeon says while still staring at his laptop.

Without answering, I make my way behind the bar and put a pot of coffee on to brew. Grabbing cups, I line them up without asking who wants some. Ava walks into the main room with a couple of huge bakery boxes in her hands. Gunner takes them and sets them on the bar, flipping the lids open.

Ava walks to my side and wraps her arm around my waist. I lean against her, and we stand quietly together. She’s here to support, and her silent strength is welcomed. When the coffee is done, I move away then fill each cup. Ava and I each grab a couple and hand them out.

I return to my seat next to Pigeon, and he silently pushes a laptop toward me. I open it and wait for it to load up. When it does, Pigeon shows me what he needs done, and I get busy. I’m watching videos of the SUV that left the office this morning with Rex. I pick up where Pigeon stopped, and my job is to write down business or street names that I see in the background. Parks, schools, anything that will give us an idea which part of town they took him. As soon as I give Pigeon names, he looks to see if there are CCTV or security cameras in that area. If so, he tries to hack into that system. On the times that he can, I take over that footage looking for anything extra. By using the maps that Gunner printed of the city, we’re making progress. Freddy marks those maps and the route we’re calling out to him. We may not know where Rex is, but so far, we know their direction of travel.

“Eat this, Aria. You’re not going to be any help on coffee alone,” Ava says softly as she sets a small plate next to me.

“Thank you,” I say absently but take the time to look down at the plate when she taps her finger on the table.

A cinnamon roll the size of my head sits on the plate, totally covering it. A fork is balanced on top, and I have to admit, it smells amazing. I smile up at Ava in gratitude and use the fork to lever some to my mouth. My eyes shoot back up to hers when I taste how amazing it is. No wonder my brother loves Ava.

“Do you accept A-L-As? Aria loves Ava? Because if so, let’s start a tab,” I say and smile at her laugh.

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