Page 17 of Unbearable
“And a duffel bag?” she added as he pushed his way past her.
“I thought I’d stick around for a couple more days.”
She watched as Knox crossed to her kitchen island and started unloading bags of food. Letting the door slam closed, she stomped after him.
“So you thought what, you’d stay here instead of a hotel?” she snapped. She looked over the selection of food. “No pizza?”
“Why would I buy pizza in Boston? I live in Chicago, remember. Might as well have carved up some cardboard to eat.” He took the plate she pulled out of a cabinet and helpedhimself to a heaping spoonful of shepherd’s pie. “Your pub food, however, is pretty solid.”
“Yeah, it is. Our Italian is fucking amazing too.”
“Tomorrow night,” he answered.
She begrudgingly filled her plate with food and followed him to the table. He had already opened two beers he’d pulled from one of the bags. “You can’t just force your way in here,” she said around mouthfuls. “Sharing a biological sperm donor does not make us siblings.”
“Technically, it does.”
“In name only. Are you this aggressive with Memphis?”
“I save the worst for him.” He took a long swig from his bottle. “I haven’t even tried to set you on fire yet.”
“You’re just scared I’ll kick your ass again.”
“Pfft. I teach high school. Nothing scares me anymore.”
They lapsed into silence as they finished eating. She tried glaring at him, but he ignored her, so she gave up. She put the leftovers away while he loaded the dishwasher. They took their seats in her living room, her staring at the television and him staring at her.
“What?” she finally asked.
“Memphis and I dropped in on Fox last night.”
“Okay. So?”
“So, we’re worried about him. His girlfriend’s moods flip like a bad penny.”
“Why is that your problem?”
Knox blew out a breath and ran his hand through his hair. His gaze landed back on her. It was the same one she saw every morning in the mirror. “Damn, you’re prickly.”
“Prickly?”
“Yes, prickly. Ready to take offense and generally difficult,” he snarled. “It’s our problem because he’s our brother. We don’t walk away when one of us isn’t okay.”
“I just don’t understand why it matters to you. Especially now after forty years.”
“Because it took me years to put this family together, and I’m not walking away. So stop fucking arguing. I’m here now, and I’m not leaving until this is settled. If you want to try to push us away, that’s fine. Doesn’t mean we’ll let you, though.”
Dover sighed. She took a few minutes sizing Knox up before rejecting the idea of trying to physically toss him from her apartment. Last time she took him down, she had the element of surprise on her side. This time, however, he had his guard up. Brothers were a pain in the ass. All of them, apparently.
“I’m pretty sure she’s seeing someone behind his back,” she said. She might as well cave. He obviously wasn’t going anywhere. “Fox suspects so too, although he won’t admit it.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I’ve been there when she’s getting ready to go out with her ‘friends.’ Her aura slowly morphs to black. I only see that in violent offenders. It makes me stress out about Fox and Ethan’s safety. If she was just having an affair, I would usually see yellow. But the hues I see can go either direction. Just because you glow yellow doesn’t mean deception. It could mean you’re cheerful. Black though? It’s a bad sign.”
“That sounds confusing.”
“It is. Red is very hard too. My boss glows red, but so do a lot of the people I arrest. It’s either confidence or aggression. Anyway, I think it’s more than just an affair. I just don’t know what.”