Page 41 of Unbearable

She was moving to the back of the room toward the exit when her gaze landed on someone she knew. Sitting in the last row in the back corner was Fox’s long-lost half brother. She couldn’t quite remember his name. She just thought of him as the giant one, as opposed to, the pretty one. Her eyes narrowed as their gazes met.

He didn’t look away but continued to glare at her as she continued down the aisle.Why would he be here?He must have something to do with this. It was the only explanation as to why he was here.

She pulled Ethan through the door before he recognized the man. He already went on and on about how amazing he was. Her head churned with the possibilities of how he was involved.

Pulling open the back door of her borrowed car, she waited impatiently while Ethan climbed into his car seat. She quickly buckled him in and slammed the door closed. By the time she reached the driver’s side, she was positive Fox had something to do with that man being here.Knox. That was his name. It rhymed with Fox. The whole family had stupid names.

A thought hit her so hard, she paused with her hand on the door handle.Did they all have something to do with Jimmy being busted for possession?

She jerked the door open and slid into the hot seat. The blast of cold air was a welcome relief once she got the car started. It did nothing to cool her temper though. She needed to get to the bottom of this.

“Momma’s going to take you to a friend’s house to play. Fox and I need to talk. Undisturbed.” She checked the rearview mirror. Ethan was watching her, but he stayed silent.

She raced the car through town, dodging around cars going too slow. The car horn got a workout as she wove through traffic. Finally, she pulled up in front of a walkup in Dorchester.

She unhooked Ethan from his car seat, grabbed his hand, and marched him up the stairs to the stoop. Locating the correct apartment number, she pressed the buzzer. “Yeah?” answered a few seconds later.

“I need you to watch my kid for a couple of hours,” she answered.

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t report you when you brought yours to work.” She heard a door close somewhere upstairs before a face appeared at the glass a few minutes later. The door opened and Brooke pushed Ethan forward. “Just a couple of hours. Here’s his backpack,” she added, handing over a small dinosaur pack.

“Sure,” the woman answered. Brooke turned and walked to the car before her coworker could change her mind. She was going to have it out with Fox about his fucked-up family, and she didn’t need Ethan in the way. “Hey,” the woman called as Brooke opened the car door. “Am I supposed to feed him supper?”

The car door closed before she could answer. The woman could figure it out on her own. If she wasn’t back by dinner, then feed him. It wasn’t rocket science. She drove into the nicer neighborhood they lived in and found a parking spot not far from the building.

Fox’s apartment was one of the reasons she stuck with him. It was in a decent neighborhood with better neighbors. It just sucked it was so close to his sister’s office. It also didn’t have an elevator which was ridiculous. That wasn’t worth giving up the apartment for though. Sometimes the good outweighed the bad.

She walked in the door to find the place still empty. She had at least an hour before he got home.

It was closer to two hours before Fox arrived home. Brooke jumped up from the couch where she had been stewing over the afternoon. “Where have you been?” she snarled.

“At work,” he answered. “I was at the townhome I told you about.”

“Sure you weren’t in Lowell setting Jimmy up?” She crossed her arms over her chest so he would know how mad she was.

“What are you talking about?” He looked around the living room like he would find the answers hidden somewhere among the furniture. “Where’s Ethan?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” she said, poking him in the chest with her forefinger for good measure. “I had to spend the afternoon waiting in a courthouse to see if Jimmy would get bail. Guess what? He didn’t.” Her voice rose in pitch the angrier she became.

“Where’s Ethan?” he said louder this time.

“None of your fucking business. Did you set Jimmy up?”

“Brooke, listen to me,” he said, taking hold of her arm. “I don’t know anything about Jimmy. Tell me where Ethan is.”

“If you don’t know anything, then why was your overgrown brother in the courtroom? Don’t tell me he just happened to be there. I don’t believe you.” She was yelling.

Fox narrowed his eyes and stared at her. It only made her angrier. She was positive he knew what happened, he just wouldn’t tell her.

“Calm down,” he said in a soft voice.

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down.” He took a step back in surprise. She wondered if he was surprised that she wasn’t doing what he wanted for once.

His eyes narrowed once again as if he was trying to mesmerize her. That’s when she slapped him. It was hardenough to make him back away, but when he looked back up at her, blood poured from his nose.

“Brooke—” he started.