Page 37 of Intangible
“Where do we go?” she asked. Knox was deep in thought when he heard Memphis croak out an answer from the passenger seat.
“We go home, Thayer. Do you remember where I said my home would always be?” he asked, looking over at her with his brilliant green eyes. She nodded her head.
Turning back to Knox, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. At first the big man stood stiffly, but she felt when he finally pulled her into him, lightly kissing the top of her head. Gently easing her into the driver’s seat, he fished out a fistful of cash, handing it to her along with his credit card.
Looking over, he leveled a stare on Memphis. “You’d better guard her with your life. Do you understand me? If anything happens to her, I’ll rip your fucking heart out.”
Memphis nodded once. “You won’t have to. If anything happens to her, it won’t exist any longer to rip out.”
Knox tapped the top of the SUV twice as Thayer pulled away. He watched them disappear from sight before walking back to his car. He had to track these fuckers down, he was running out of time.
Fishing his phone out of his pants pocket, he searched his contacts until he found what he was looking for.
“Agent Dex Tanaka,” said the voice on the other end of the line.
“Agent Tanaka, it’s Knox. We have a situation,” Knox continued, telling Dex everything that had happened in the last couple of hours.
Hanging up the phone, Knox knew Dex would find out everything he could about who the men were when he showed up here in a couple of hours. They had agreed it was best for Knox to limit the amount of exposure he had to the incident.
After securing promises from both Jon and the receptionist to leave his involvement out of what happened tonight, he pointed his rental car back toward the hotel room. It only took him a few moments to gather up his bag before heading to the small airport several towns over. He had one more phone call he had to make after touching base with the pilot, but he was dreading it.
Pushing the speed dial on his phone, he sighed deeply when the sleepy voice of Senator Kent answered.
Chapter 15
Thayer drovefor hours before she dared to stop for gas. She was still shaking from what had happened earlier as she replaced the dressings on Memphis’ arm and side in a parking space by the back of the convenience store. He didn’t say anything, but she could hear him hiss through his teeth as she pressed the bandages in place. Jon had done a good job, but the wound in his side had started bleeding again.
She debated ignoring the instructions Knox had given her and taking Memphis to a hospital, but she was terrified whoever had traced her to the cabin would simply find them there.
Somewhere in Missouri, she realized Memphis had slipped into unconsciousness when his hand dropped from the barrel of the shotgun he had been holding.
Pulling over, she set the gun on the back seat before trying to wake him. It was no use, he was pale and sweaty, even with the air conditioning on. She was lucky that the Bronco had a GPS system on the windshield. Consulting the coordinates on Memphis’ ribs, that evening she pulled up in front of a nice two-story house in Tennessee.
“I don’t guess you can tell me if this is the right house?” She looked at Memphis, he was still out cold and his bandages were bloody again. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” Leaping out of the car, she ran up to the front porch.
With a deep breath, she rang the doorbell. When no one answered immediately, she began banging on the door with her hand, calling out to anyone inside.
The foster house Memphis had spent his high school years in was a large two-story home typical of the south. It was painted a cool yellow with white trim and looked well cared for. A large front porch contained several rocking chairs and large pots filled with flowers. The ceiling under the porch was painted a sky blue to encourage the birds to build their nest somewhere else.
“Can I help you?” an older woman asked, opening the door. She was at least a couple inches taller than Thayer, with the most beautiful caramel-colored skin.
“Um, do you know a man named Memphis Prescott?” Thayer stood awkwardly for a moment, rocking nervously from foot to foot before the woman responded.
“Of course, I know Memphis. He’s one of my boys. What do you want with him?” Thayer breathed a sigh of relief.
“We need help. He’s been hurt and told me to come here. He’s in the Bronco,” she said, pointing behind her. “Please, can you help us? I’m sorry just to show up, but I don’t know where else to go.” Thayer waited anxiously, hoping this beautiful woman would help them.
“Boys!” she called over her shoulder. “He’s in the car?” she asked Thayer, heading toward it with a quick clip. She gently opened the passenger door, holding Memphis up. “Oh, my good Lord. That’s more than a little hurt. Boys, help me get him inside. Jordan, go call Jay and tell him to get over here.”
They eased Memphis out of the car, carrying him into the house. “Girl, that’s a big gun in the back seat. Can I expect trouble?”
“I hope not,” Thayer answered. The woman nodded at her before instructing one of the young men to bring the gun into the house before parking the car in the garage on the side of the house.
When Thayer made it inside, Memphis had been laid out on one of the beds. They had eased his shirt off and pulled the covers up to his waist, pressing fresh gauze against his gunshot wounds. Looking at his pale face, Thayer felt herself start to gasp for breath uncontrollably.
“Slow down before you hyperventilate. Go bring me some tea,” the woman said to one of the kids. The young girl scooted off into another room as Thayer was eased into a chair.
“You tell me what happened. Did Memphis get himself shot up doing something stupid?” Thayer shook her head, trying to focus on slowing her breathing down. She didn’t want to pass out in a houseful of strangers before she could make sure Memphis was taken care of. “Are you his girlfriend? I don’t see a wedding ring. What kind of trouble are y’all in?”
