Page 48 of Intangible
“More like she’s a free spirit. She was afraid a retirement community would hold her back until I found one with residents just as crazy as her.
“She worked at the PX on base since I can remember until moving to Louisville. I always just assumed our father was one of the soldiers stationed there until I was around ten. She told me he had been a government contractor on base for a brief period. He moved on before I was even born. Mom told me she knew he had another son out there, just didn’t know where. She never explained how she knew about you. It took me another couple of years to find that out,” Knox answered.
“You would love Sunny Monroe,” Thayer added enthusiastically. “I did from the moment she moved into the big house with Knox. For one summer, it felt like I had a mother again or at least an awesome aunt. Mrs. Monroe regaled me with stories of adventure and mayhem. I never really knew what was real and what was made up, but it didn’t matter, I would listen to them for hours.”
It also had been obvious that summer that Knox adored his mother, treating her with constant respect and love. It’s part of the reason Thayer had never been scared of him. No one could be fearful of the giant man once they witnessed him fluffing pillows to make his mother more comfortable.
“Yeah, well, I do love my mom. However, her life has been a cautionary tale of what happens if you have too wild a weekend of sex, drugs, and rock and roll,” Knox said.
“Is she an Amazon like you?” Memphis asked with a smirk at Knox. Knox simply returned the smirk with a scowl.
“Seriously, I’d like to meet her sometime, if that’s okay. My mom was amazing. She was so stubborn, though. She would never tell me anything about our dad. I don’t even know his name,” Memphis added, shaking his head.
“Mom worked at a diner near St. Jude’s while taking college courses one night a week at the University of Memphis when she was diagnosed with cancer. We would sit at the kitchen table while we did our homework together.”
“I can arrange for you to meet her,” Knox said before returning to his dinner. “I don’t know that she knows too much, though, but you’re welcome to ask. She’ll definitely tell you whatever she can.”
When they had managed to eat everything Thayer had fixed, the men cleaned up the kitchen in silence before settling into the living room for the rest of the evening. Knox flopped into one of the armchairs, picking up his paper while Memphis and Thayer took the couch. Memphis began lazily scrolling through the Netflix options as Thayer snuggled into his side. Settling on some action movie on low, he tossed the remote on the coffee table, sliding his good arm over her shoulders.
“Do you think it’s political?” Memphis finally asked.
“I keep thinking it has to be because of the blackmail attempt, but I don’t know what it would be,” Knox answered. “I’ve combed through every contribution to the campaign, talked to the representatives of every political action committee he deals with, and even hunted down the various aides of the other senators. Nothing stands out. It could always be something confidential, but if so, I don’t have access to that information.”
“Maybe tomorrow something will turn up,” Memphis said. “Anyway, I think Thayer and I are going to call it an early night. She can barely keep her eyes open. We’ll see you for breakfast.”
Memphis eased Thayer up until she stood groggily. “You head to bed and I’ll be there as soon as I walk Murphy.” She mumbled her good night to Knox before heading toward the bedroom.
“I’ll deal with the dog.” Knox stood up, crossing to the door. “I doubt I’ll get much sleep tonight anyway.” Thayer watched as he walked over to the door. “Murphy.” When the dog leaped off his bed to greet him, he bent down, giving him a good head scratch. “Let’s take you for a walk before I turn in, how about that?” He took a moment to hook the leash to the dog’s collar by the door before letting him lead them down the stairs.
Thayer turned back toward the bedroom. She didn’t worry about falling asleep herself tonight. Just knowing Memphis and Knox had her back made her feel safer than she ever had.
* * *
Curtis stood in the shadows with his two remaining men watching the senator’s lackey and the dog walk off.
He had been stunned to hear the details of their assault on the cabin. He already knew several of his team had been found with fatal gunshot wounds.
That wasn’t what was the most shocking though, it was the added lines about an incendiary device that had caused the fire. He knew his men hadn’t had anything that could cause the explosion and complete destruction of the house. But, if it wasn’t his men, then who had shown up with a military-grade flamethrower capable of such destruction?
He was beginning to suspect that the two men guarding Thayer had more skills than he had believed. Curtis wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating them again.
It had been made plain to him that if anything happened to cause Lehman Group to fail to secure that contract, Curtis would be held responsible. Mr. Robert’s veiled threat had left him with the impression that there was more than just his job in jeopardy this time.
He and his men had already cased out the warehouse. As best as he could see, the building was almost impossible to gain access to. There were no visible windows on the first floor and just two heavy steel doors.
He knew the apartment they were in was on the second floor, but it was too high off the ground to access. He had yet to find anywhere that made the old building easy to breach. They would need to eliminate Thayer’s bodyguards while grabbing her somewhere else.
He watched as the man and dog came back into view. Vaguely, he could hear Knox Monroe speaking to the dog. He had to admit it was a beautiful animal with that long, dusty golden hair. Maybe the dog he would spare.
Curtis watched as Monroe typed a code into the keypad before pulling the heavy steel door open and disappearing inside. He had already debated, then threw out the idea of using a passcode device on the system. There was no guarantee it wouldn’t send out a silent alarm to the local authorities.
“I see no way to get inside, sir,” his top man said, looking through the field glasses.
“No, but I have an idea. Let’s return to the hotel early tonight for some rest. I think we’re going to need it these next couple of days,” he answered.
Turning away from the warehouse, he walked briskly back toward the dark SUV they had parked several blocks away. Curtis was more than aware that his deadline was quickly dwindling. They had to act soon. The clock was quickly ticking down on the SASC vote.
* * *
