Page 50 of Invincible
“Remember, I can phase to other places to find people.Knox overnighted me a couple of your belongings when their leads dried up.His words were ‘either find her or I’ll burn this fucking city down looking.’Turns out an old battered copy ofAlice in Wonderlanddid the trick.”Greer couldn’t help the small chuckle that bubbled up.That sounded just like that big ox.“So other than being drugged, kidnapped, and thrown in a cage, how are you?”
“You left off being sexually attacked, choked, and witness to a murder,” she said, trying to quail the shiver that raced through her.Even in the oppressive heat of the warehouse, she still felt cold.
“Fuck.I’m sorry,” Memphis answered.Mia still sat next to her, nodding her head intently as if Memphis wouldn’t believe it otherwise.
“My head still hurts, but I’m okay,” Greer said, pushing herself up until she sat against the mesh of the cage.“We were right, it was the guys from the club.The man I think is in charge murdered the main one.”
“Yeah, they found him floating in the channel this morning,” Memphis answered.Greer sat in silence.
Finally with a shake of her head, she looked back up at Memphis.She had to cling to the knowledge that she could survive this, they all could.Without that hope, the fight was already over.
“So what happened to Knox last night, he always follows me outside?”
“Something about a fight he had to break up.By the time he made it outside, you were already gone.He’s been beating himself up all night over that.”
“Can you tell him it wasn’t his fault?I should have waited for him.”
“I will,” Memphis said with a smile.“Have you learned anything new I can share with him?”
“I think, when they were still at the club, I heard something about sailing out in two days.”
“They brought in another group of us last night,” Mia said, speaking for the first time.“Will you make it in time?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll make it.If you only knew how obstinate my brother is once he puts his mind to something, you wouldn’t worry.”He smiled at them, trying to boost their spirits, but Greer wasn’t so sure they could pull it off in time.“I’m going to go back so I can report in.Don’t give up, okay.We’ll find you.”She watched as he slowly disappeared from view.
She had heard the story of how Memphis’s wife, Thayer, had been held hostage in a cellar for weeks before he found her.Even though she had never met her, Greer decided if Thayer could keep her shit together, then so could she.
“Come on, it’s still early.Let’s see if we can sneak in a little more sleep before breakfast,” Greer said, lying down again.She held up her blanket so Mia could climb under it.Snuggling against the skinny girl, she soon found herself starting to drift off.
She had no idea how much time had passed since she had been snatched outside the club, but she knew she would need all the strength she could muster.The next two days, with a bad ankle, should prove the hardest of her life.
“I don’t give a flying fuck, Memphis.There must be some way to figure out where they are,” Knox said, yelling into the phone.His brother had found Greer, but he still had no idea where they were among the hundreds of warehouses along the shipping channel.
Dex sat at the table across the room on his laptop, working on amassing enough information to at least narrow down the search.He had been allowed to stay in Houston as long as it took to find the girls.
Tyler had gone to sleep earlier, knowing that she would be on her own tomorrow at work so Dex could keep working on finding her best friend.Dex decided she must be able to sleep through anything if she could ignore Knox roaring into the phone.
“Yeah, okay.I know you’re trying.Let me know as soon as you find out anything.”Knox hung up the phone, dropping unceremoniously onto the couch.“She can’t just disappear, can she?Dex, I don’t want to go through this again.”
“We’re not,” Dex said, stretching at the table to try and relieve the aching muscles in his back.“I’ve got the FBI coordinating with the port authority, the Houston police, and the coast guard.I know Memphis will keep working on his end.Tyler is going to poke around some more today while she’s finishing up.”
“What do we do?I’m not sitting around here on my ass while the clock is winding down,” Knox answered.
“We’re leaving in about ten minutes to go clean up, get a little rest, and then replace the guys I have at the hotel watching in case they return.They have to start loading sometime and I, for one, plan on being there if they lead us to the girls.”Closing his laptop, Dex stood, motioning for Knox to follow him.
Dex drove them back to the hotel, listening to Knox grumble the entire way.He didn’t blame the man, since he knew what the stakes were.If they didn’t find them soon, they might not find them at all.
Both men gave up tossing on their beds after two hours, agreeing instead to head over to the stakeout early.At least they both smelled better, having cleaned up as soon as they reached the hotel.
Pulling up behind the undercover car near the complex, Dex got out, walking up to the driver’s side.
“Any movement?”he asked.
“They’re inside,” the agent answered.
“For sure?”
“Yeah, two of them showed up a couple hours ago.Must have missed the girlfriend,” the agent said, checking his notes.“Been quiet since.”
