Page 61 of Intangible
“Whatever,” she said before swinging off of him. Sitting back up, he watched her walk into the bathroom, wondering if he would survive letting her go home.
For all of their talk about her staying with him, he still knew in the back of his mind this would be over soon. The thought made his chest hurt in a way he had never experienced. For the first time in his life, he had fallen completely in love.
With a sigh, he hoisted himself off the bed to walk into the kitchen. Knox already had sausage set out while he continued to cook up a stack of waffles. Walking over, Memphis picked one up, leaning back against the counter where Knox was cooking.
“So, if nothing happens today, you think she’ll be safe at home?” he asked as the big man opened the waffle iron to check on his latest creation.
“I do. She can be surrounded by security there.” Knox set the fresh waffle on the plate before adding more batter to the iron. “I’m sorry, this is how it has to be.” Memphis looked over at him expecting a smirk, but Knox was serious. “I really am.”
But they both knew her safety was more important than the feelings Memphis had for her. They had stayed up late last night after Thayer had fallen asleep on the couch discussing all of their options.
“No, I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.” Knox nodded as Memphis took a deep breath, plastering on a smile for Thayer as she walked out of the bedroom. He knew until Knox found someone, he really wouldn’t totally understand the problem Memphis was having with this.
“Papa Bear made waffles!” Thayer shouted out, planting a quick kiss on Knox’s cheek before scooping up one of the plates laden with waffles. Memphis heard the grumbling from Knox, but he also caught the smile when he thought no one could see him.
“Did I hear something about waffles?” Ben asked, sitting up on the couch. Murphy stuck his head up from where he had been stretched out over Ben’s feet. With a woof, he hopped over the back of the couch, trotting over to Knox. Shoving a waffle in his pocket, Knox shut off the iron before grabbing Murphy’s leash from the hook by the door.
“I’m walking the mutt before we leave.” Hooking the leash to Murphy, Knox gave the dog a piece of the waffle before pulling open the door.
“That dog’s going to be so spoiled by the time I get him home, I won’t be able to do anything with him,” Memphis said, popping another piece of waffle in his mouth.
* * *
Walking down the stairs, Knox hunted around for any sign of the men from the other night. Reaching a school playground he had discovered on one of their walks, he unhooked Murphy, letting him stretch his legs for a bit. The dog only made one lap around the playground before he returned to wait for Knox to produce the ball he knew he always had in his pocket.
Knox threw the ball until his shoulder started to ache. He was actually going to miss this stupid mutt when he went home tonight. Memphis had already decided to stay another day before driving his receptionist’s Bronco back north. Knox had planned to have the senator’s plane waiting for them the second they finished their last stroll around the downtown area.
With a whistle, Knox called Murphy over, securing the leash to his collar. According to Memphis, you could control this dog with an entire series of whistles, but he hadn’t had time to learn all of them yet. Yeah, if he ever found another dog this smart, he might have to buy it. Murphy sat at his feet, using his nose to push at Knox’s hand.
“What is it,” he said, kneeling. “Not gotten enough attention today?” The dog’s feathered tail thumped on the ground as Knox rubbed down his golden coat.
Pushing back up from the ground, he gave the hand signal to heel. Murphy quickly fell in step next to him as they slowly walked back toward the loft. He hated to admit, even to himself, that he was going to miss living here surrounded by Memphis’ foster family. As much as he enjoyed living by himself, it often got lonely.
Returning to the loft, he had a moment of panic when no one seemed to be upstairs. He knew that Ben had to report to work this morning, but where were Memphis and Thayer?
Remembering Randall had mentioned a home gym on the first floor, he soon found them playing a round of horse on the makeshift basketball court.
He stood in the shadows, watching them laugh as they came up with crazier shots after every letter. It seemed Memphis’ arm was healing nicely based on his layup technique. He watched as the ball missed the hoop. It was a good thing his brother had settled on baseball.
Knox shook his head, smiling at their ridiculous antics, not sure when he had seen two people more suited to each other. Even with his brother a solid dozen years older than her, his laid-back attitude seemed to complement her more driven personality.
How, after everything Memphis had gone through over the years, he could still be so unjaded was beyond him. He guessed it had to do with DNA but if it came from their dad, he hadn’t gotten any of it. In the back of his mind, he wondered if things were different, would Thayer ultimately leave with Memphis?
“If you kids are done with your game, maybe we could go hunt a kidnapper?” he growled at them. They were starting to get a little too into each other in the filtered lighting and Knox had experienced enough of that to last him a lifetime.
Thayer just smiled over at him while Memphis rolled his eyes. Somehow during their time together, he had lost his power of intimidation over both of them, if he had ever had it in the first place. He’d have to think about that. What was the point of being a giant if people weren’t terrified of you?
Setting the ball down, they followed him out the door.
“Remember to give us a fifteen minute head start to get into position before you leave the parking lot,” Knox said, walking to the front of the building.
As he suspected, one of his men was already waiting in one of the black SUVs for him. They had followed the same routine every day, with Memphis and Thayer waiting until they had their shadows in place before leaving, but it never hurt to go over the rules again.
“Yeah, we know,” Memphis mumbled, standing next to the Bronco. Knox grunted before climbing into the SUV. As he headed out of the industrial park, he turned around to catch one last glance of Thayer wrapped in Memphis’ arms.
“Maybe today’s the day we catch them,” Fisher said. Turning back around, Knox stared out the windshield.
“Maybe.”
