Page 69 of Unbearable
Her hand reached up brushing across the sting at her neck. Something warm trickled onto her blouse. She only had a moment to contemplate the red streaks on her fingers before her legs buckled. It felt like the world was rolling by in slow motion as she slumped toward the floor. Her gaze landed on the couch in front of her. Red was sprayed across the cushions.
She opened her mouth, but no words would come out. Then it occurred to her. Edmund had killed her. But why? She was the one who always came out on top. Not her drug-addled mother, not her backstabbing sister, not even her shit of a boyfriend. She was the winner. It was her last thought as her life bled from her.
Fox was exhausted, but for the first time in a long time, it was a good exhaustion. The work on the townhome was almost complete. He would soon be free of this nightmare and back to the job he loved.
He had broken up with Brooke. She should be out by now, and Bailey already had Ethan. His offer still stood to take care of the boy. He doubted she would agree at first, but he had some money set aside he could sweeten the deal with. He wasn’t beyond bribing her to sign over her rights to him.
He rocked back on his knees to look at the new floor he had just finished installing in the attic. The house had settled into silence since the crew left for the day. The remodel was one of their best, and he wasn’t bragging just because he was involved. The whole crew had done an outstanding job.
Standing, he quickly cleaned up what he had to. The rest could wait until tomorrow. With any luck, by the time he got home, his apartment would be just as silent.
He had no idea where Brooke would go, and if he was honest, he didn’t care. The thought of relaxing in silence on the couch tonight after Ethan was in bed while nursing a beer, sounded like heaven.
He wasn’t sure what he would do if she was still there. Probably head to his sister’s place to sleep on the couch. Anything would be better than being in the same room as Brooke. His fingertips brushed the remnants of the bruise on his face. How could two sisters be so different? He was really looking forward to getting to know Bailey better.
The smile on his face grew just thinking about her. His mind could already see the three of them, him, Bailey, and Ethan,spending holidays and weekends together. There were so many things he wanted to share with them.
He stepped out of the townhouse and locked the door. He would just run home for a minute to change and check the apartment. Traffic was already past rush hour, so it didn’t take him long to get home.
He found a spot along the curb not far down the street and parked. Climbing the stairs to his apartment, he paused for a moment to take a deep breath. He needed to be prepared if Brooke was still inside. The key slid into the lock, and he stepped inside his living room.
His gaze landed on the couch first. There was something wrong with the upholstery. Parts of it were darker than normal like something had been spilled. His eyes moved down until they found Brooke lying on the floor in front of the coffee table. None of what he was seeing made any sense.Why would she be lying there?
“Brooke?” he asked, stepping forward. “What’s going on?” His mind quickly moved on. “Ethan?” he called before remembering Bailey had picked him up.
A sharp prick bit into the side of his neck. His hand moved by instinct to protect the area but found nothing there. He took a step forward only to find his knee giving out. He just needed a place to lie down for a little while. He couldn’t use the couch, since it was covered in something. The floor would have to do. It rushed at him as if by invitation.
He could feel someone moving around him. His eyes couldn’t focus enough to see who it was. Reaching out, he tried to touch Brooke. She was just too far for him to get to. He knew she would hate to know that her beautiful blonde hair was tinged pink. His mind floated, unable to put together what was happening.
His eyes had closed when he heard a knock at the door. A familiar voice called his name. He tried to warn away whoeverwas there or maybe he was going to beg for help, but he couldn’t form the words. Then he heard the thud of something large hitting the floor before he was wrestled off of it.
He fought to open his eyes only to find himself being carried over someone’s shoulder down the stairs. His eyes fell closed once again. Finally, he felt himself rolled onto a solid surface, but it was the last thing he knew before he lost consciousness.
Dover felt frantic when she pressed the number for her brother’s phone again. Just like the last five times, it went right to voicemail. She didn’t bother to leave a message this time. If he was going to hear it, he would have already responded to the first four.
“No luck?” Dex asked. He was studying the video from the bar where Peter Hansen was last seen. “Hand me the photo again.” He held out his hand, and Knox handed him his phone.
Pulled up on it was the photo he had taken of Brooke earlier. At the time, he told them he took it so he would remember who they were following. Little did he know it would be used to compare to a grainy video.
“Why don’t I go to his apartment to check on him,” Knox offered.
“That’s probably a good idea. Until we can say for sure that’s who it is, I’d hate to get everyone else involved,” Dover agreed. She watched as he walked out of the incident room before turning back to Dex. “Anything?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s her. We should take that photo to the bar to be sure.”
“Let’s go then. Danny, can you see if they can get us a better copy? We also need someone to go back over all the other video and see if she shows up.”
“Got it,” Danny said before walking out of the room.
“I need to let the captain know about this on the way,” she said.
“I’ll meet you at the car.”
She felt almost giddy following Dex out the door. Finally, they had a break. It might be a small, blurry break, but it was one nonetheless. She didn’t even stop when she was waved directly toward the boss’s office. It only took her a few minutes to update him before heading outside to join Dex.
“Knox sent me the photo,” he said as she slid into the driver’s seat. “I forwarded it to Danny.”
“This is it. I can just feel us getting closer,” she said almost vibrating in her seat. Adrenaline coursed through her at the thought of someone identifying her brother’s girlfriend as a person of interest. Hell, she was possibly even an accomplice. “I can’t believe she was under our noses all this time.”