Page 43 of Invincible
“It’s eleven in the morning!”Tyler answered with a laugh.Changing out the K-cup, she started one of dark roast for Greer.
“Same thing,” her roommate growled.
“You know you and Knox deserve each other.”
Greer actually snarled at her, snapping her teeth together.
“That man makes me want to break things.”
Tyler had to hide her smile with her coffee cup as she followed Greer into the living room to join her on the couch.Picking up her phone, she checked for messages, finding one from Dex asking if they wanted to meet for a late lunch.
“You know, Ty.I thought you were just getting him out of your system.It seems to me that he just keeps digging his way further and further into it.”Tyler knew she was grinning like an idiot, but she didn’t care.
“Can I tell you something?Swear you won’t mention it to anyone.”
Greer made the sign of a cross over her chest, then zipped her mouth.
“I think I’m falling for him.”
“Well, no shit.Anyone can see that.And Dex is so far gone for you it makes the rest of us gag.”
“Man, I forget how bitchy you are in the morning.”Tyler said as she bumped shoulders with Greer, making Greer fight a smile.
“Tell him I won’t take less than the Bubba Gumps on the boardwalk down in Kemah, so they’d better pick us up,” Greer growled.“Be sure he’s fitted Knox with his muzzle before they get here.”
Two hours later, they were settled in the car heading toward the boardwalk again.Dex had offered to drive, so Tyler sat up front with him to navigate.That left Greer and Knox, him sitting awkwardly sideways so he fit in the back seat.
Shifting again, he tried to stretch out his legs a little more, bumping into Greer.Tyler rolled her eyes at Dex as they heard Greer growl at Knox.
“What do you want me to do?”he asked in exasperation.
“Is it too late to tell you to lay off the steroids?”she replied with a snap in her voice.The car grew quiet instantly.
Turning around to look in the back seat, Tyler found Knox staring out the window and Greer looking anxiously at him.She knew, even if she had a tough exterior, Greer had a heart bigger than anyone she knew.She would never want to truly hurt Knox.After a moment, Tyler was relieved to see a spark in his bright-green eyes when he gave Greer a side-eye.
“Don’t think I’ll let that go.I’m just working on my rebuttal in my head.”
Greer rolled her eyes but smiled, turning to look out her own window.Tyler heard him chuckle when Greer huffed out a breath of frustration.
“Okay, kids.We’re here,” Dex said, pulling into the parking lot.“This is why I’ll never do one of those cross-country National Lampoon vacations you hear about.I’m not subjecting myself to listening to that for hours.”
Sliding into an empty space, Dex turned off the engine, quickly climbing out.Tyler met him at the back of the car while they waited for Knox to extricate himself from the back seat.
“I spoke to Memphis this morning,” Knox began when they had settled into one of the booths.“He checked on Mia.They’re still in the same location as far as he can tell, but she told him there has been an increase in activity in the warehouse.She feels they are getting ready to do something.”
“Shit.The office here hasn’t found anything that sends up red flags about the Mariposa Bonita.That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but they don’t have grounds to search it.”Dex sat thoughtfully for a moment before adding, “We’re running out of time.Usually it can take at least a month for cargo to leave the port, but they must have some way of expediting it.”
“What if I try to get hired on as a deckhand?That would at least give us a couple of extra weeks to discover something,” Knox asked.
“Once they hit international waters, we wouldn’t have much recourse anyway.Probably best to stick to the bouncer job.”
“Couldn’t we contact Interpol?”Tyler asked.
“Only if we had substantial cause.If we can’t get enough information to give to the authorities here, I don’t think Interpol will be interested.”
“Aren’t there organizations that specialize in tracing women sold into slavery around the world?”Greer asked.
“Yeah, and they might be our last resort.They have their hands full as it is.With estimates of around forty million people forced into slavery globally, four million alone in the sex industry, it’s an impossible battle.”Dex shook his head sadly.“We have to find them before they leave.”
