Page 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.

Ava gives my shoulder a slight squeeze as she walks away, and I turn back to the laptop. Inside, I’m scared for Rex and what might be happening to him, but I know I’m not alone in that. It helps to have others who feel the same way near and helping in every way they can. Even Axel has come to the clubhouse to help, and I know that’s got to be hard for him. Baily and little Charlie were only released from the hospital a couple of hours ago.

Maybe I’m overstepping my boundaries, but I stand from the chair and walk to Axel’s side. He’s studying a city map but looks up when I stop next to him.

“Hey. I appreciate you being here, but you should be home with your new baby. Rex would totally agree with me on that. Go home. Be daddy for a while. I’m sure Gunner will call you if he needs something.”

“Rex wouldn’t leave his desk if it was me missing. He barely did when we were looking for Chubs unless someone forced him to or he passed out from exhaustion. I can’t do any less for him. I have a lifetime of being a dad ahead of me, but I’m here to make sure that Rex has that same lifetime to be my daughter’s uncle.”

Nodding because I understand what he’s saying, I ask, “Is Bailey okay? Does she need anything?”

“Bailey’s probably happy as hell that I’m here and not at home hogging our newest member. She’s enjoying the time with the girls, I promise. She’ll call if she needs anything, and besides, Lucy is there with her,” Axel says with a grin.

I nod and then return to my seat. I get back to looking for anything that will help us find Rex.

It’s hours later when Gunner answers a call, and the room goes silent. It takes me a few minutes to clue in that everyone is listening to Gunner’s side of the conversation. When I do the same, I realize it’s my brother that Gunner’s talking to, and he thinks he might have something.

Gunner, phone to his ear, moves to my side and leans over the map that Freddy’s been marking. Running his finger along the route, he relays the address of the last sighting Pigeon and I have found of the SUV. He then disconnects before looking at Pigeon.

“Chubs thinks he knows what neighborhood they took Rex. He’s been asking around and finally found someone who recognized the mugshots. Said he’s seen them in this neighborhood,” Gunner explains as he points it out on the map. “See what you can find in that area. Reeves, can you do what Pigeon’s been doing with the CCTV and cameras?”

“I can. I’ve watched Pigeon, and I think I can do that part,” I say.

“Okay, great. You take over for Pigeon, and Reeves can do your part of things,” Gunner states, and Reeves nods in agreement.

“Horse, Pooh, Trigger, Cash, Vex, and me will head toward the neighborhood Chubs is checking out. Axel, take a break and go home. We’re good for now. Petey, you relay the information as they find it,” Gunner orders.

Bella walks through the kitchen door with Ava following. They have platters of food, and they set them along the bar. Ava disappears back into the kitchen, but Bella turns to Gunner.

“What can I do?”

“What you’re doing. Stick close, and be the runner when needed. Keep the coffee going and just be close enough to help when someone needs it. And thank you, Bella. Appreciate the help,” Gunner answers before turning and heading for the door.

Bella moves to my side and watches silently as I try to work my way into a business’s security system. I have to back out of what I did and try something different when Bella points at the screen.

“Click on that. Now this. Yeah, that’s right.”

I look up at her, shocked at her knowledge of hacking. She grins.

“I’ve been around Rex for most of my formative years. I’ve picked up a few things,” she says, and I instantly reach over and pull a chair close.

“Take a seat. We’ll do this together.”

Bella takes the seat, and we get back to the work of hacking half the businesses in Denver.