Page 54 of Unbearable
Unfortunately, his gaze never wavered from hers. It was a shame. She would much rather charm this man than press him. Then again, she still had some anger to work out. He would do as well as anyone. With a sigh, she set her beer back on the table and nodded at his notebook.
“Keeping a list of the lives you’re trying to ruin?”
Slowly, his gaze left her to return to the opened notebook. He took his time clicking the button on his pen before setting it onthe table. He reached over and closed the notebook. She wanted to tell him there wasn’t anything in it she was interested in. She was only interested in one thing.
“That’s a bit dramatic, even for you. I’m working on a lesson plan for a class on statistics and probability I’m teaching next year,” he finally said.
She had dropped out of school at sixteen when it was discovered she was having an affair with one of her teachers. It was easier to leave on her terms than wait to be kicked out. Of course, the teacher only got a slap on the wrist. She found out later he was transferred to another school.
“Isn’t that better done at home. I think I heard Chicago?”
They sat in silence for a moment while he seemed to size her up. She straightened in her chair slightly hoping to appear more in command of the conversation. The other brother, the cute one, would have been so much easier to deal with. He had been approachable. This one was not.
“What do you want, Brooke?”
“Are you this hostile to everyone? Your wife might get off on it, but I’m not going to put up with it,” she said, pressing on. His eyebrow rose, she hoped in surprise. “Now that I have your attention, there’s something we need to discuss.”
“Please, lead on,” he said, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. “I can’t wait to hear this.” She took a moment to admire the tree trunks he had for forearms. Even the worst male asshole had some decent qualities. There was no denying Knox had a few.
“Let me dumb this down for you,” she finally continued.
“By all means, give it to me in simple terms so I can understand.”
She sneered at him before she could stop herself. Edmund always told her that she would never be successful in life if she couldn’t learn to control her emotions. But Knox’s attitude wasbeginning to piss her off. She would give anything to strap him into the machine and watch the life slowly be choked out of him. It would be worth making Edmund angry to lure this man into the back alley. Emotions be damned.
“It’s really very simple, you see. Pack up, go home, and stay out of my business.”
“Mmm,” he said after a few minutes. “Nah, I think I’ll stick around for a while. I’m in the middle of a family reunion.”
“You’ve seen them. Go home. Besides, I would hate for you to stay, and those babies grow up without a father. Bad things can happen in this city. Just ask your sister.”
“Are you threatening my family?” he growled. If she wasn’t so angry with him, she might be intimidated. His eyes shone brighter as he leaned forward in his seat. She decided to lean forward too, just to hammer her point home.
“You can call it a threat, warning, or whatever you want,” she snarled back. “I don’t care. Just stay away if you know what’s good for you.” She stood abruptly and stomped away from the booth.
It would take more than just a threat. She had known men like him her whole life. Thought they were God. She would teach him how wrong he was about that. He would pay one way or the other for not heeding her warning.
Now she just had to get Fox back in line. He would do whatever she told him to not lose Ethan. Her son made the perfect pawn. He guaranteed she had a decent place to live with all the bills paid. Fox would be easy.
Bailey, on the other hand, might be more of a problem. She was partial to Ethan also, though, one more well-placed threat might just warn her sister off.
She’d think about all that later. According to her phone, she was going to be back late from lunch. Her boss would be more than happy to dock her pay for it. Someday she would own herown place, then they could all go straight to hell. She’d show them she wasn’t a woman to be messed with. She’d show them all.
Dover was bent over one of the tables in the incident room studying the latest autopsy report when Knox walked into the room. She had given up keeping him out of the investigation when Dex secured him a visitor’s pass. Returning to her report, she waited for him to speak. She’d learned there was no use rushing him.
“I just had a very interesting lunch date,” he finally said.
“Yeah?”
“Actually, I’ve had lunch dates two days in a row.”
“Okay.”
“Just FYI. Bailey knows about us. That was my first lunch date yesterday.” Both Dex and Dover stopped what they were doing to stare at him. “She needed to know if she’s joining this fight.”
“What fight?” Dover asked, exasperated. When did whatever he was doing turn into all of their problem?
“That’s what the second lunch today was about,” he continued. “Why would the girlfriend be so pissed off about her ex-husband being sent inside?”