Page 39 of Intangible
Thayer laughed “Yeah, he has a tendency to pop in at the worst times.” She continued her story until the end. “I’m so sorry to bring this to your doorstep.”
“There’s a garage apartment you are both welcome to stay in as long as you need. When he’s well enough, we can help you get him up there. I’ll have Hettie come over tomorrow to go pick you up what you need. Tonight, I think we’ve all had enough excitement. There’s an extra toothbrush in the drawer in that bathroom. I’ll set you up in one of the upstairs bedrooms.” With a nod, Miss Beulah stood up, bringing everyone else to their feet as well.
“I’m going to check on Memphis one more time, then I’ll be back tomorrow,” Jay announced, leaving the kitchen. “You need to let Randall know,” he told Miss Beulah. Ben and Shaun followed him, leaving Thayer alone in the kitchen.
When the front door finally closed, she moved back into Memphis’ room. Pulling a chair next to the bed, she watched his chest rise and fall with each breath. Slowly she felt the fatigue overcome her until her head slowly rested on the side of the bed. Before she realized it, she had fallen asleep slumped over on the edge of the bed.
* * *
Memphis felt himself come out of the darkness sometime in the night. When he finally convinced his eyes to open, he took a moment to look around. He vaguely recognized the room, but it had been rearranged since the last time he saw it.
Raising his right hand, he found it was connected to an IV that hung above his head, so he assumed Jay and possibly Ben had been here. Looking over his left arm, it felt like it was on fire. He noticed the blonde head by his thigh. He tried to touch her hair, but the best he could manage was brushing it with his fingertips.
The light brush was all it took for Thayer to come instantly awake. With eyes that looked like they ached from fatigue, she gazed at him.
He couldn’t describe the relief he felt when she gave him a small smile. Memphis could feel his eyes burn as they stared at each other in the quiet. It was as if they had somehow walked through the fires of hell and had made it out the other side.
“Why are you crying? Are you hurt?” Memphis somehow rasped out in concern as tears started to roll down her face.
“I was so scared I had killed you,” she whispered.
“Come here,” he responded, carefully holding the blanket open for her.
“I don’t want to hurt your side.”
“Then climb in carefully. I promise to be a gentleman,” he said with a slight chuckle before groaning. Thayer stood, climbing in slowly until her head lay on his good shoulder. She was careful not to brush his injured side. “Close your eyes, beautiful. I’ve got you.”
Memphis knew they should be worrying about what tomorrow would bring. They should be talking to Knox about how they were going to lure the man out from the shadows who had ordered him shot. He heard her sigh deeply as he held her tighter. There were a lot of things they should do, but for right now, all he knew was that they were both alive and together. Everything else could wait.
He gently kissed the top of her head as she drifted off. Yes, it could all wait for tonight. But tomorrow, there would be hell to pay.
Chapter 16
The next morningThayer woke slowly to the sound of whispering. “I have to move her to check your side.”
“You can move her when she wakes up.”
“She told us what happened last night. Memphis, you finally got out of finding bodies. What the fuck were you thinking? Not even good pussy is worth this.”
“Fuck you, Jay! You don’t know anything about us.”
“Guys!” Thayer said, sitting up. “I’m going to go get some air so you can finish your pissing contest in peace.” She stalked out of the room, passing Miss Beulah in the kitchen. With a nod, she pushed out through the front door, walking over to the curb.
Turning around, she leaned up against one of the cars to wait for Jay. He might be an ass, but she needed his help. Closing her eyes, she tried breathing exercises to calm down. She had almost fallen asleep on her feet when she was startled by a deep voice in front of her.
“I apologize for what I said. It was crass.” Opening her eyes, she found Jay standing in front of her. “In my defense, Memphis is the closest thing I have to family. I don’t like patching him together because of some shit he shouldn’t have gotten involved with in the first place.” He stood with his arms crossed against his broad chest, watching her. “But for what it’s worth, I don’t think this shit is your fault either.”
“Look, it doesn’t matter if you like me or not. I don’t know why I’ve been targeted by some lunatic, but it ends now. Memphis has already taken two bullets for me, they won’t get another chance at a third. I need you to help me.” Thayer stood in front of Jay with a look of determination on her face.
After a few minutes of studying her, he nodded once. “Good. I’m calling in reinforcements. We’ll meet back here tomorrow morning.”
“Anyone I know?” he asked, scowling when Thayer ignored his question.
“I also need your help to find us a secure place to stay away from this house. There are children living here and I won’t bring the devil to their front door. I need it by tonight so you can help me move Memphis out later. Can you do that?”
“He shouldn’t be moved yet...” He held up a hand when she started to argue with him. “But I don’t want trouble brought here either. I think I know somewhere. I’ll get Ben to help us move him.”
Slumping in relief, Thayer fought to hold back the tears threatening. “Thank you.” She stepped aside so Jay could get in his car. After closing the door, he rolled down the window, leaning out.
