Page 8 of Unbearable

“And you know this because he glows pink?” Memphis asked.

“Right. Does that make sense?” she said.

“No,” Knox responded. “Let’s pretend I’m an idiot, and you have to spell it out for me.”

Dover chose not to comment on that. She knew better than to think either one of these men was an idiot. She debated how much she wanted to share with them. The DNA test she studied last night looked legitimate. That didn’t mean she bought into the idea of a bunch of extra siblings roaming the earth.

She was still debating when Knox turned to search the diner. Not finding whatever he was looking for, he faced her. Holding his hands together, he rubbed them in a circular motion. She jumped when he moved them apart to show her a small fireball dancing in his hand. He quickly closed his hand over it before anyone else noticed.

“Your turn,” he said to Memphis.

“How am I supposed to do that?” Memphis responded. Knox just stared at him. “Fine. Move,” he added. Knox moved out of the booth and let Memphis up. “Watch where I was sitting. I’m not doing this for long.” He looked around the diner for a minute until he spotted the sign for the restrooms.

Dover sat looking at his empty seat after he disappeared inside the men’s room. Suddenly, the seat wasn’t empty. Memphis, or a facsimile of him, sat looking back at her.

Then, just as quickly as he appeared, he faded away. The cocky ass even had the tenacity to grin at her as he did it. She couldn’t help it if her mouth hung open like a fish. It was remarkable. Memphis returned to his seat moments later.

“We’ve shown you ours. Time to show us yours,” Knox said.

She debated for a few more minutes before giving in. She just prayed this didn’t blow up in her face. Or worse, in Fox’s face. He had much more to lose than she did.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “Telepathy isn’t the only thing we can do.” She stopped.

“I get it,” Memphis said. “If what I can do reaches the wrong people, it would be very bad for me too. I promise you can trust us.”

“I can see emotions,” she said in a rush. She split a look between both men. Neither one seemed that surprised. She guessed after being able to transport yourself holographically or forming fire with your hands, nothing else much surprised them.

“It shows up through colors. There’s a sort of glow that emanates from each person,” she said. “For example, Knox shimmers between red and orange. It normally means he’s either angry, excited, or horny.”

The men looked at each other and then shrugged.

“Sounds about right,” Knox said.

“My guess is,” she said, shaking her head. “Knox’s ability to produce fire messes with my ability to pinpoint his exact mood.

“No, you got it pretty close,” Memphis said. “What about me?”

“You’re usually blue like Fox. There’s a contented calmness in both of you. He only turns pink when he’s near Bailey. Even on his worst days with Brooke, he never loses his temper. Which brings me to his thing.”

“It differs from you?” Memphis asked.

“Yeah. Fox is more powerful than I am. He can actually control emotions.”

“How does he do that?” Knox said.

“We’re not sure. It began about the time he turned thirteen. Mine started the year before.”

“That makes sense,” Memphis agreed. “We’ve discovered that most of our gifts manifested themselves around puberty. Most of us learned how to control them soon after. Flint is still trying to rein his in.”

“I’ve never learned how to shut mine off. It’s why I wear sunglasses most of the time. They help diffuse the colors.” Dover picked at Fox’s half-eaten food. She didn’t understand how any of this mattered in the end. Fine, they obviously were all connected. But what did it mean?

“So if Fox is so hung up on this Bailey person, why doesn’t he just dump Brooke for her?” Knox finally asked.

“That’s a complicated question,” she answered. “How much time do you have?”

“I guess until my plane leaves on Monday,” Memphis answered. “Knox has even longer if necessary.”

“Then settle in, this might take a while.”