Page 36 of Invincible
“The name of the ship is the Mariposa Bonita,” Greer continued, ignoring her seatmate.Dex pulled a small notebook out of his pocket and began to write everything down.“I got the impression the crew was from a different country but all spoke English.Isn’t that what you thought, Knox?”
He nodded back at her before taking up the story.
“I did.I visited with them a few minutes after I pulled Greer off the one’s lap,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her.With a roll of her eyes, she picked up her glass, taking a long drink.“I gave them a couple of coupons for a free drink.If they come back tonight, one of us can follow them.Greer thinks she should see if one will take her home with them so she can get more information.Dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”
“Absolutely not going to happen,” Dex said, looking over at Greer.Now Tyler understood what had Knox so worked up.
“You could follow to make sure nothing happened.Maybe I could get them to take me to the girls,” Greer answered.
“No,” both men said at the same time.
“I have to agree.Sorry, Greer, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.I’m just not willing to take that chance,” Tyler agreed with the men.She had the strength to outmuscle the men if necessary, but even she couldn’t fight a gun.There was no way Greer was putting herself in harm’s way.“But I do think we should plan to follow them.Do you think they’ll come back tonight?”
“I do,” Knox said.“I think half that place is filled with men that just come in to appreciate Greer’s...assets.Even more than the dancers.”
Greer opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by the waitress delivering their order.Without a thought, when Greer’s salad was placed in front of her, Knox leaned over with his fork to pick the tomatoes out.
When he was done, he fixed the pancakes he had ordered before scooting them toward her.He also repositioned his plate so she could share his hash browns.Looking up, he found Dex and Tyler staring at them with opened mouths.
“What?”he asked.“She likes pancakes.”
“Nothing,” Tyler said, shaking her head.Sharing a look with Dex, they quickly picked up their forks.
As they were finishing their meals, Knox’s phone rang.“It’s Memphis.I’ll be right back,” he said, sliding out of the booth to walk outside.“Sugar, I’m done with the hash browns if you want the rest,” he answered his phone as he pushed through the door.
“I’m going to go call the office so they can start tracing this ship,” Dex said with a shrug at Tyler.Standing up, he walked toward the door after Knox.
Tyler took a long drink of her tea before carefully placing her fork on the table.Looking over at where Greer was covering Knox’s hash browns with ketchup, she frowned.
“What the hell is going on, Greer?”she asked.
“What do you mean?”Greer’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
“I mean, what is going on between you and Knox?One minute you two act like you’re about to rip each other’s heads off, the next it’s like you’re celebrating fifty years of marriage,” Tyler answered, nodding at Knox’s food that Greer was now finishing.
“What’s going on with you and the FBI agent?”Greer asked, trying to deflect.
“Oh, you know damn well I’m trying to bang him out of my system.”
“Is it working?”
“Not even a little, but we’re not talking about Dex and my fucked-up relationship.We’re talking about you and Knox’s...whatever,” Tyler said, waving her hand in a general circle at Greer.
“There’s no ‘whatever.’He gets on my absolute last nerve.You know him, you tell me what his deal is.”
“I knew him as Mr.Monroe, my math teacher.Oh, God.”Tyler looked at Greer with wide eyes.“I used to discuss what we thought the size of his junk was with my friends after class and the whole time I was discussing my brother.I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.”
Greer burst out laughing.
“Everything okay?”Knox asked, sliding back into the booth.
“Yeah, Tyler was just telling me about math class her senior year,” Greer answered, wiping her eyes.
“Hmm,” he rumbled, as Dex sat back across from him.“Memphis said there’s one of the girls who said she scratched some guy who showed up with two others last night.”
“Then this has to be our guys.Tyler, are you willing to go to the club tonight with me to follow the men if they show up?”Dex asked.She nodded her head quickly.“Good.When we’re done for the day, we can rest up this evening and be ready later tonight.If we can find where they’re staying, then Knox and I can track them to the warehouse they’re hiding the women in.
“In the meantime, I have the Houston office working on gathering information on the Mariposa Bonita.If anything turns up, I can have the harbor patrol search it.”
