Page 46 of Intangible
Memphis looked at his shoes when she placed her fist on her hips standing in front of him. The woman could still strike the fear of God into all of them, if necessary.
“Accident?” he mumbled. With a snort of disbelief, she cleared off the end of the island.
“Climb up here so Jay can look at you. I swear, you boys will be the death of me yet.” Memphis obediently sat on the end of the island with his feet dangling.
With Knox’s help he leaned back so he was lying down. Ben came back carrying the supplies Jay had requested, as well as new bandages. Thayer had collected his sling from the backyard so Memphis could put it back on when Jay was done.
After more staples, an antibiotic shot, several confusing strings of curse words, and his sling back on, Memphis was back in a chair staring at the dining room table.
* * *
Knox could tell Memphis was trying desperately to wrap his head around the fact that not only did he have an older brother, but one with a special gift as well. He watched as Thayer leaned over to whisper something in his ear while squeezing his hand in hers. Knox could remember the shock he felt when his mother had first mentioned he had a little half brother out there somewhere.
“I started hunting for you when I was still in high school in Kentucky.” Knox began breaking into the cacophony around him. The room grew silent as he took a moment to gather his thoughts.
“My mother helped me as much as she could, she just didn’t know that much about you beyond your name and where you were. She received a call from your mother one evening asking if Mom knew where our dad was. They didn’t talk for very long and I have no idea how she got our phone number,” he continued when Memphis opened his mouth to ask the obvious question.
“It wasn’t until I entered the Navy after college that I finally learned how to access the personnel records I needed. After finding out about that first foster home, I took my next furlough to head to Tennessee. I guess I assumed you wound up in the pen or something. But when I finally tracked you here, one of the kids still living in this house informed me that you had left the year before on a baseball scholarship for college. He filled me in on what he knew about you after I promised to keep the information to myself.”
He looked up at Memphis, who was staring at him with an unreadable expression. “I did manage to catch one of your games before returning to base. You looked like you were doing okay, so I didn’t see any reason to approach you. I even came back for graduation.”
Knox had watched proudly when Memphis graduated with honors. He had left as Memphis’ foster family cheered from the stands.
“By then, I was working under Commander Kent on the base. I became involved in tutoring Thayer and lost track of where you were. I knew you had entered the Army, I assume, to make use of the G.I. bill for vet school.
“One day, I got bored and decided to see what your current assignment was. When I couldn’t find any information except for your recruitment record, I became concerned, but then Thayer’s mother passed away and I didn’t have time to pursue where you were stationed.” Knox cleared his throat when he glanced at Thayer, seeing the sadness in her eyes. He knew her mother’s death still affected her deeply.
“The Commander took early retirement when his wife died to be with Thayer more. When he decided to run for the Senate, he offered me a job if I would chapter out. I would teach at Thayer’s private school while doubling as her caretaker when he was gone. I agreed if he would help me with one last thing before I left.
“When he was elected, he called in several markers to help me locate you. By then, you had been on active deployment for five years and they had decided you were simply too valuable to send home. We did whatever it took to get you released.
“Once you were safely in vet school, I left the Navy, as agreed, and focused on my new career as a math teacher/security guard/babysitter. I swore when I watched you receive your DVM degree, I would leave you alone to start your new life.”
That was, until everything changed. When Thayer was snatched from her dorm room, the senator called in every agency he could to hunt for her. As the first forty-eight hours turned into two weeks, he knew they were out of time.
So here he sat across from the brother he swore he would leave alone. He had been tased, tied up, his house burned down and two bullet holes shot through him, but he still sat here willing to do whatever it took to protect Thayer. He was so fucking proud of his little brother it took everything he had not to swoop him into a bear hug.
But Knox wasn’t the bear-hugging type. He was the badass, long-haired, bearded, Harley riding giant with a head for numbers type.
“So what are we going to do, Knox, to keep Thayer safe?” Jay asked when everyone had finally settled around the table.
Knox was exhausted, he didn’t remember ever talking that much about anything, much less his feelings. Memphis had remained quiet at the end of the story, which Knox couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. He knew it was a lot to take in.
Miss Beulah sat down at the head of the table after passing coffee around to everyone.
“I do know one thing,” Knox answered. “This was no ordinary kidnap for ransom. Whoever this is, they have a bigger agenda than just easy money and until we figure out what that is, we’re always going to be trying to counter their attacks.”
“So how do we get ahead of this?”
“Unfortunately,” Knox said, looking at Memphis. “I think it’s time to take the fight to him.”
Chapter 19
“Everything alright in there?”Thayer called from the door to the bathroom, hearing Memphis moan as the hot water hit his body.
“I haven’t been this sore since being kicked in the chest by a horse on a farm call. Thayer?”
“I’m still here,” she answered.
