Page 64 of Intangible
“Poor orphan kid with an undisclosed drug addiction snaps at the thought of his captive girlfriend leaving him. He kills her, then himself, in the house where it all began. I think I read somewhere that you liked to cut yourself too. Sound familiar?”
“You’re insane,” Memphis growled out. “Those demons left a long time ago. I’ve seen way worse shit than what happened in this house since then.” At least he still sounded tough, even if he was having a hard time staying conscious.
He had been working on the rope that bound him to the corner, but it stubbornly held fast. If help didn’t find them soon, they would wind up dead.
“I have something to get from the car. I’ll return shortly, then we’ll get to experience the live last performance of the two star-crossed lovers. Complete with one of their tragic descent into madness.” Memphis watched him walk out of the room.
“Are you okay?” he asked, looking over at Thayer. When she nodded her head, he started to phase away to find Knox. He stopped when he heard Thayer whimper. “Hey, I’m still here. I need to go find Knox while he’s gone. Can you hold on?” She nodded her head again.
Memphis wished he could assure her everything would be okay, but if he couldn’t get Knox here in time, they wouldn’t be. No matter what happened, he wouldn’t lie to her. This was bad. Settling back, he slowly slipped away as her wide blue eyes watched.
* * *
Knox had called Jay on the way back to the loft to explain what had happened. By the time he pulled up to the converted warehouse, everyone was there waiting for details.
No one had any clue where to start looking or even how to put out a report on the car, since they didn’t know what he was driving. Hell, they didn’t even know if it was a man or a woman or a mixture of both that had finally managed to abduct them out from underneath their noses. At least they had a starting point from where they were abducted.
He had called Dex, the FBI agent, who had insisted on being kept in the loop. With no license plate or description of the vehicle, there was very little he could do to trace it.
After arguing back and forth for what felt like an interminable amount of time to Knox, Dex had finally agreed not to call in the local FBI office. The last thing Knox wanted was to pressure someone into hurting Thayer and Memphis before he could locate them. With the promise of searching through the traffic camera footage, Dex wished him luck before hanging up.
Spreading maps across the table of both Memphis and the surrounding area in Tennessee and Arkansas, Knox and the rest of the men poured over them, running through one theory after another. After fifteen minutes of discarding every option laid on the table, Knox felt himself nearing the end of his sanity.
Needing to clear his head so he could think, he hooked the leash to Murphy’s collar and told the others he was walking the dog.
He stormed the few short blocks to the nearest elementary, with Murphy close to his side. It was as if the dog could sense something was wrong with his master.
Arriving at the school playground, he unhooked the leash, letting the dog run. He watched as the dog made a halfhearted lap around the outer fence. There had to be some way to find them in this town. If Dex couldn’t find the vehicle, he wasn’t sure what to do next.
“Knox!” a weak voice cried out, startling him out of his thoughts. Looking around, he spotted Memphis sitting behind him, only it wasn’t really his brother, just the specter of him.
Knox stood looking at the gash running across Memphis’ chest, oozing blood. Another one ran down his bicep and still another down his thigh. The wonder at Memphis being able to find him in this school ground was only a passing thought.
“Memphis?” he asked, taking a step toward him.
“No time. He’s coming back. Tell Randall the old house. He’ll know.” With that, he faded back into space.
Whistling to Murphy, Knox broke into a run, heading back toward the loft. He felt the dog running next to him as they approached the SUV still parked in front of the loft since they had walked to the park. Opening the door, he waited for the dog to jump in before following him. Flying out of the parking lot, he dialed Randall’s phone, impatiently waiting for the man to pick up in the loft.
“They’re being held in some old home. Memphis said you would know where,” he barked out when Randall answered.
Knox fought to rein in his fury as he waited for Randall to recognize what Memphis was talking about. All he wanted to do was punch the closest thing next to him. Murphy barked in the back seat as if he mirrored Knox’s frustration. Finally, Randall came back on the line.
“I think I know where they are. I’m sending you the coordinates now, we’ll meet you there.”
Chapter 26
Thayer watchedas Memphis returned to the room. She knew it would take a lot out of him, but she was terrified when he seemed much weaker than he did only a moment ago.
The man had left a slice down his thigh when he stood up earlier, just missing a major artery. Memphis didn’t need to lose any more blood than he already had. She watched in silence behind her gag as he fought to maintain consciousness when he returned.
The man returned shortly, carrying a tripod that he set up in front of Thayer. She watched as he adjusted the equipment, then opened a bag he had left on the floor.
It had finally occurred to her what contract he was referring to. She remembered her father worrying over a new military contract that was being reviewed by the SASC he was in charge of in the Senate. He hadn’t told her anything about the particulars, but he had mentioned that the company leading the bids had a less than stellar reputation. She knew he had been in discussions with his committee on awarding the bid elsewhere. Whoever won stood to make a fortune.
“What are you doing?” she heard Memphis ask weakly. He was so pale, she wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out. Pulling out two syringes using gloves, he filled both with something murky from a small jar. Thayer could not understand what he was doing. If he wanted them both dead, why not just kill them back at that construction area? Why go to all of the work to bring them back here?
“The senator has to be destroyed enough he misses that meeting. He’s a stubborn sonofabitch with a stellar reputation, so it has to look good enough to fool even the crime scene experts. No detective with nothing better to do than to start asking questions is going to derail me. It has to be a death sensational enough to fool everyone. You understand.”
