Page 3 of Unbearable
“It’s fine. Just needs some ice.”
“Did you know anything about a brother?” Memphis looped his arm around Knox so he could use him as a crutch. Knox threw his arm over his shoulder. Dover could not understand what was happening. It was like she had arrived in the Twilight Zone.
“There was nothing about a brother. It doesn’t make sense. They wouldn’t have the same DNA since they’re fraternal twins,” Knox said. “I’m going to need my money back from Paul. Private detective, my ass.”
“You had me followed by a private detective?” She couldn’t believe someone would do that. Even more disturbing was that she’d never noticed.
“Not me. He did,” Memphis said. “I wouldn’t get too excited. Guy sounds like a real Sam Spade.” He smirked.
“More like Frank Drebin.” Knox snorted.
“How old are you?” Memphis gave him a feigned look of disgust.
“Greer likes old British crime shows. I haven’t touched the remote in over a year.” They reached the car, and Memphis pulled the messenger bag from the back seat.
“Let’s go. And who’s Greer?” she asked.
“Wife,” Knox answered. So they weren’t your typical stalkers. “She’s back in Chicago.”
They followed her back down the alley while she tried to puzzle out the DNA results. They reached her brother’s apartment building, and she handed the test back to Memphis. Pulling out a key, she opened the door. Her brother, Fox, had given her one when he moved in just in case.
“Let’s go, old man,” she heard Memphis say behind her on the stairs. He managed to drag Knox up the two flights. She didn’t bother to wait for them but left the door open to the apartment figuring they would find it eventually. With any luck, she would have just enough time to warn her brother before they arrived.
CHAPTER 1
Fox trudgedup the stairs of his apartment building. It had been a long day at work. Fires had just seemed to erupt everywhere. Not actual fires, the metaphorical ones.
The three-story in Revere the team was tearing back to the studs was demanding more of his attention than it should. The house had become a broken record with one problem after another. That meant he couldn’t get to the new build in Brookline as often as he should.
With one of his regular clients chomping to begin his townhome remodel in Cambridge, Fox didn’t know how he would ever get any time off. The driving back and forth between sites alone was enough to drive him crazy. His boss kept assuring him that everyone wanted him to oversee their projects.
He knew he was good at his job, but that didn’t mean they needed to assign him to all of them. There were two other site supervisors who were perfectly capable. Not as good, but still capable.
He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but the stairs to his apartment seemed to get longer every time he climbed them. There should be just enough time to get in the shower before his sister came banging on his door. His girlfriend would show upnot long after that. Then he would get to enjoy the two women sneering at each other the rest of the evening.
Fox really wished his sister would just leave well enough alone. This relationship was hard enough without her in the middle of it. But Dover had been watching over him for the last forty-one years. She truly believed that being born sixteen minutes earlier meant she got to interfere in everything where he was concerned.
He left his boots by the front door, threw his clothes in the hamper and stepped into the shower. He didn’t do much of the heavy labor anymore at the job sites, but he still seemed to get just as dirty.
The water finally ran clean, and he stepped out to dry off. He pulled on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt before heading for the kitchen. He had just turned the oven on when he heard the door open. That would be Dover.
“Hey,” she said, walking into the kitchen. “I need some ice. You got any plastic bags?”
“You know where they are,” he answered. “Hand me that casserole dish on the top shelf of the fridge while you’re over there.” He slid it into the oven when she set it on the counter.
“Come into the living room with me. There are some people I want you to meet.” She stood with the bag of ice. He shook his head when she walked out of the room just expecting him to follow. He did just that and found two men sitting on his couch. One was nursing a swollen knee. Dover tossed the bag of ice to him.
“This is my brother, Fox,” she said. She didn’t introduce either one of the strangers. She had always been a little rough around the edges.
“What happened?” he asked. He pulled over a chair from the table for the man to rest his leg on.
“Your sister beat him up,” the other man said.
“Mmm,” he acknowledged. “I believe that.”
“Fox, these two claim they’re related to us,” Dover said, settling in a chair across from them.
“Really?” he said. “I guess it’s possible. We don’t really know anything about our biological parents. The Addamses adopted us while we were still in the hospital.”