Page 44 of Invincible
“We’ll find them,” Knox said quietly, his gaze locked intently on Dex.“If we have to turn this entire fucking town upside down, we’ll find them.Don’t stop believing that or they’re already lost.”
Tyler studied her older brother for a second.She had no doubt Knox would do just that if he had to.Dex gave him a hard nod, which Knox returned immediately.They ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts for a while.
“Okay, I know what we’re going to do,” Tyler said, setting her fork down.“They already think I’m some airhead bimbo that’s staying at their hotel.I’ll just make sure I’m added to the shipment.”
“No,” Dex answered immediately, shaking his head.
“Wait, listen.Knox, you said Memphis was able to find you without even having anything personal of yours.Maybe it has something to do with all of us sharing the same DNA.He can try finding me a couple times to see if it works.Between him and an FBI personal tracker, you would just have to follow my trail.If they take the bait, you can just track me to the warehouse.”
“Absolutely not, it’s too dangerous.What if they knock you out or kill you in the process?”Dex argued.
“Help me out, Knox.You know I’m stronger than most men, I can survive what they’re willing to hand out.It might be the only way.”She looked at Knox, willing him to agree.She could see Dex shaking his head at the big man, mentally begging him to shoot down her idea.
With an apologetic shrug, Knox split a look between them.
“It’s not a horrible plan.It’s not the best, but it could work.Maybe we table it until midweek.If the tracker hasn’t led us to the warehouse by then, we revisit the idea.I promise, Dex, she’s freaky strong.I’ve seen her take down guys twice her size on the football field.”
“But this isn’t a football field, Knox,” Dex spat out.“These aren’t just some high school guys trying to break through the line.These are men that don’t even think twice about selling a young girl to be raped repeatedly until she’s dead.”
“I know.We’ll just have to come up with a better plan,” Knox said.Unfortunately, they all knew it was the best plan they had come up with so far.
When they had finished, Knox picked up the bill, ignoring the protest from the others.Walking outside, he looked around, narrowing his eyes on Greer.
“Want to ride the roller coaster?”he asked.
“You fit on the roller coaster?”she answered.Tyler was as skeptical as her roommate that it was even possible.
“We’ll never know if we don’t try or are you too chicken?”
“Whatever,” Greer said, rolling her eyes.“Come on.”Grabbing his hand, she dragged him toward the rides.
“Are your hands always this warm?”she asked when they reached the ticket kiosk.
“Pretty much.”Fishing out his wallet, Knox bought tickets for all of them, handing Dex two wristbands.
“You should probably have that checked.”
“Okay,” he said with a smile, pointing toward the roller coaster.Tyler shrugged when he gave her a knowing side-eye.
“What am I missing?There is obviously some kind of inside joke about his hands,” Greer asked Tyler before turning to Knox.“It’s fine, I’ll just have to torture it out of you later.”
“Are you going to get in or just stand there yapping?”
Knox had chosen the last two cars of the roller coaster.Trading with Dex, he shoved Greer into the very last seat.
“More whip in this one,” he said with an evil grin.
It had been years since Tyler had been on a roller coaster.Growing up, her family used to make the trek over to Arlington to spend the weekend running around the amusement parks.The weekend usually involved a baseball game and entirely too much junk food, but she had loved it.
She turned to ask Dex if he enjoyed amusement parks as a child when the car lurched forward.As they crested the top of the first hill, she heard a bloodcurdling scream from behind her before Knox’s laughter drowned it out.
Climbing off at the end of the ride, Greer came out swinging at Knox.They were both laughing, so Tyler decided no intervention was needed.She wasn’t sure when it became her responsibility to mediate between the two of them, but here she was anyway.
They chose to ride the Ferris wheel next, which resulted in the same response from Greer.She wasn’t sure what kept going on behind them, but by the third ride, Knox and Greer were both doubled over in hysterics.
“What do they keep doing?”Tyler whispered to Dex as they bought a round of funnel cakes.“I’m not sure the kids even have that much fun.”Handing one of the cakes to Knox, she studied him as he held it for Greer to pull a piece off of.“This was a great idea.It felt good to be distracted for a little while.”
“I haven’t been to an amusement park in forever,” Greer agreed.She was taking turns pulling off pieces of funnel cake, splitting them between herself and Knox.He held the plate while she popped pieces into his mouth.
“I used to come here when I was in college.A bunch of the guys and I would spend the day hitting on the college girls,” Knox said with a powdery smile.“Convince them to ride the rides with us.It’s why I knew I’d fit on the roller coaster.”
“Mr.Monroe,” Tyler said in mock horror.“I had no idea you were such a player.”
“A player?Not me, I was never much to follow through.Just catch and release.”He laughed.
“I was explaining to Greer that there is a mathematical formula that will help you figure out which car will be hit if you throw up.Most of it, I figured out from experience.At least one of us would eat or drink too much every time.”
Dex grinned.So that’s what they had been laughing about.
“That’s disgusting, but funny.”Tyler made a face at him.“I guess we should head back, we have an early start tomorrow.Knox, you take the front seat this time.”With a communal sigh, they headed back to the parking lot to return to real life in a few short hours.
