I stare blankly at him. “Alexei?”
“Yes, Alexei.” His eyebrows lift. “Maggie, the man has approximately seven thousand terrifying suits and enough emotional intensity to accidentally start a small war.”
“That doesn’t make him a stalker.”
“It doesn’t eliminate him either.”
I cross both arms over my chest. “It’s not Alexei.”
The answer comes too quickly and way too certainly.
Jules notices immediately. His eyes narrow. “Oh wow. You trust him already.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Mhmm.”
I ignore him. Mostly because I don’t actually have a good explanation for why I know it isn’t Alexei. I just know. The idea feels wrong down to my bones.
“He wouldn’t do this,” I say matter-of-factly.
Jules studies me before sighing dramatically.
“Fine. We’ll temporarily remove the Russian hitman from the suspect list.”
“Thank you.”
“But if he suddenly starts lurking outside your apartment reciting poetry in the rain, I reserve the right to revisit this conversation.”
Despite everything, I snort out a laugh.
Then his expression turns serious again. “What about Ryan?”
My stomach clenches.
Ryan. Not exactly the name I wanted dragged into my morning.
“No,” I say quickly.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
Ryan and I dated for approximately six exhausting months before I realized he thought “supporting my career” meant complaining every time I missed date night because an abandoned dog or cat needed me. The breakup hadn’t exactly been peaceful. But I know it’s not him.
“This isn’t him,” I say firmly. “Ryan was selfish, not criminal.”
“Those overlap more often than you’d think,” Jules insists.
I shoot him a look.
Jules sighs and rubs both hands over his face. “Okay. Fine. Angry client maybe?”
“That’s more likely.”
Unfortunately, that’s actually possible. We’ve dealt with ugly situations before. Denied adoptions, animal-seizure reports, and people who were furious that we wouldn’t return neglected pets. Most eventually calm down. Some don’t.
One woman threatened to “ruin my life” because we refused to let her adopt a husky while she lived in a camper with six cats and no electricity.
