Page 3 of Invincible
CHAPTER1
“Doyou mind if I join you?”Dex Tanaka asked, walking up to a table sitting outside of one of the local coffee shops along the Thames River in Connecticut.He was forced to stand for an awkward moment while the large man stared at him through his mirrored sunglasses.
Dex had been introduced to Knox Monroe the first time when he was assigned to find a Connecticut senator’s daughter.His first impression of Knox had not been a favorable one.
He had found the man not just ridiculously large, but overly hostile.There had been glares cast, insults hurled, and threats issued, the whole conversation being observed like a tennis match by the senator.It had become quickly apparent to Dex that Knox wasn’t simply the girl’s bodyguard, but her protector, who fiercely adored his young ward.
Knox had parted ways with Dex in Tennessee, leaving him with a marker he could call in if ever in need.It was why he now found himself staring back at the large man stretched out at an outdoor table, watching as the Coast Guard Academy training vessels eased by.
He looked the exact same as he had the last time Dex saw him six months ago, only now there was a lanky looking sheepdog asleep at his feet.
Whatever Knox was looking for, he must have found it, acquiescing with a shrug of one shoulder.Dex laid his messenger bag next to the table before going for coffee.After the last couple of days, he needed all the caffeine he could ingest.
Sitting down, he began by getting the pleasantries out of the way.“I understand that congratulations are in order.”He had heard through the grapevine that Thayer Kent had actually married Memphis only a month ago.Though he didn’t know either one of them well enough to consider them friends, he had sent them an appropriate gift and wished them much happiness.
Knox responded with a grunt, returning his gaze to the river.
“So what brings you to Connecticut?Am I just on the receiving end of a social call?”Knox asked.
Dex sat sipping on his coffee as he weighed what he was about to ask.It was a long shot, but he hoped the man was serious when he had offered a “no strings attached” favor.As much as he had wanted to let the man live his life in peace, Dex couldn’t come up with a better plan.
He debated easing into the subject, but decided that Knox would just get even more irritated than he usually was if he didn’t get to the point quickly.Besides, beating around the bush wasn’t exactly Dex’s strong suit.
“I’ve tracked you down to call in that marker.The one you offered at the hospital after Thayer—”
“I know what I offered.What do you want?”Knox growled, cutting him off.Was the man never in a hospitable mood?
“I need someone with certain...shall we say...abilities that aren’t obstructed by bureaucratic scrutiny,” Dex began.He waited until Knox’s attention moved from the river flowing by to where he sat.
Once Knox nodded for him to continue, he pulled one of the folders out of his case.
“Less than a week ago, I received a phone call about a teenage girl who had disappeared.When I looked into it, even though she is a troubled girl who runs away from home on a regular basis, something didn’t quite add up.”
“Go on,” Knox answered when Dex stopped.He let Knox pull the folder to him as he continued.
“She always eventually turns up at home after a short while.Her father agreed that she was rebellious, but that in the past she has always contacted him to let him know she’s okay.I guess a runaway with a conscience?I don’t know.Anyway, she usually just runs to a relative’s house for a couple of days before returning home.”
“Have you found any trace of her?She’s not just hiding out at a friend’s house?”Knox asked.
“Do you really think I didn’t check?”Dex asked incredulously.
Though Knox tried to keep a scowl on his face, Dex had developed a keen ability to read others over the years.He could almost feel the man’s slow acquiescence.Finally, Dex slid another one of the folders over he had brought with him to Knox.
“I started pulling files of known missing runaways in the area.Many of them, of course, wound up in the morgue or hospital or simply showed back up at home.But there is a significant number that has simply vanished.Enough to raise questions in my mind.I think she is one of these girls.”
Dex held his breath, waiting for Knox to take the bait.He already knew the man had an impressive instinct to protect.It would be hard for him to not want to find what had happened to her.
With a sigh, Knox looked up from the folder at him.“So what do you think I can do?”he asked.Hiding a triumphant smile, Dex reached into the case, bringing out an evidence bag with several bracelets in it.He desperately needed help and these two brothers were his last hope.
“Her mother gave her the set for Christmas before she passed away.I thought maybe you’d talk to your brother, see if he can find any trace of her.”Knox’s gaze snapped to him.“Yeah, I know he has an almost supernatural ability to find people.I figured it out in West Virginia.It pays to hold on to certain information in my line of work, you never know when a piece may prove useful.”
Dex wasn’t stupid nor was he lazy.He had hunted through documents until he had a fairly clear picture of the two men.
“Then you know the toll this takes on Memphis,” Knox stated.
“I do and I wouldn’t ask if I had any other option.Just ask him—for their sake.”Dex spread the remaining photos of the missing girls on the table.
Knox stared at the photos.They were girls ranging in age from thirteen to eighteen.As gruff as the man was, Dex knew he could never leave these girls to an unthinkable fate.Knox turned to stare out at the river once more.It seemed like an eternity before Dex finally heard an audible sigh from him.
