Page 124 of Jay Bird

The word normal popped into her mind again.

Mia hugged her before heading toward her SUV.

“Tell Jay Bird I said hi.”

“I will.”

“And think about the puppy.”

Willow pointed at her. “No.”

Anna Grace laughed as she headed toward her own vehicle.

“Night, Willow.”

“Night.”

Willow walked toward her CR-V and unlocked it with the key fob, but before opening the door, she paused and glanced back at the clinic. The place meant more to her than she knew how to put into words.

It wasn’t just a job. It was proof that part of her old life still existed, and that she could take what remained and build something new from it.

Willow smiled, climbed into the driver’s seat, and started the engine.

Elias watched the woman across the street step out of the veterinary clinic, completely unaware that for the past three days, he had been tracking her every move.

He’d done jobs for Chen and his people for more than a decade, but this was the first one that had brought him to Virginia Beach.

So far, it had been boring as hell.

Mia Watson left her house every morning, drove to the veterinary clinic she owned, worked most of the day, occasionally left for lunch, then went home. Her husband had shown up once, although Liu had been very clear that Elias was to keep his distance from the man.

The guy was a Navy SEAL. Elias didn’t need Liu to explain why getting too close would be a bad idea.

Over the past three days, he had watched people come and go from the clinic, but none of them had meant anything to him.

Until today.

Elias reached for his binoculars as Mia crossed the parking lot with two other women.

He tracked them as they walked toward a row of vehicles. But his eyes were focused on one in particular.

She wore scrubs like the rest of the clinic staff, her hair pulled back, and she carried a bag over one shoulder as she walked toward a dark Honda SUV parked several spaces away from Mia’s vehicle.

Elias sat forward as he zoomed in on the woman.

“No fucking way,” he said out loud.

He reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed his phone. He pulled up the photo that Liu had sent him and enlarged it.

He then lifted the binoculars again and looked at the woman. Her hair was a little longer, and she looked like she had put on a little weight compared to the photo. But the face was unmistakable. That woman was Willow.

For three days, Elias had been watching the front entrance and the section of the lot where Mia normally parked. Today, Mia had parked on the opposite side of the building.

Which meant there was a damn good chance Willow had been walking in and out of this clinic the entire time, and he simply hadn’t had a reason to notice her until now.

He lifted his camera and snapped several pictures as Willow hugged the other women, then stopped beside the Honda.

Liu had sent him to Virginia Beach because Chen believed Willow might eventually contact Mia Watson or Riley. But no one had seriously expected her to walk straight out of Mia’s workplace.