Unbearable (The Inhuman Protectors #5)

Prologue

Being the youngest detective in the Boston Police Department was no walk in the park. Especially as a woman. But Dover had settled into her role on the force without much fanfare.

That was, until today, when she and her partner answered a call early this morning about a body found at one of the local private secondary schools.

The victim was a white male around thirty years of age.

He was laid out in the grass of the soccer pitch with his hands resting at his sides.

There were no clothes, no driver’s license, nothing to identify him.

There was nothing about his body to indicate he was homeless or displaced.

He appeared healthy and well-kept. He was someone who would soon be missed.

Dover followed her partner closely as he led the preliminary investigation into her first staged murder scene as a detective. It was quickly discovered that the death hadn’t taken place at the dump site.

She wasn’t new to murder, but in the past, they had usually involved an angry spouse, close friend, or dealer. Never an unknown. The crime scene techs scoured the area collecting anything and everything. The medical examiner retrieved the body. Still there was nothing.

That was exactly what they discovered when they started trying to put a name with the face. She spent the day harassing the handsome new medical examiner for answers on cause of death.

Fingerprints were run, and the victim’s steps traced, only to have everything peter out after tracking him to a bar he’d been in almost twenty-four hours before his death. No one recognized him. No one remembered him. It had been a busy night.

Now, Dover was exhausted. She needed a little downtime before returning to work.

The bar down the street would be the perfect place for a break.

After all, it was most of the workforce’s quitting time.

A quick beer and a sandwich would do nicely.

Her partner waved her off when she mentioned the idea of them taking a break.

“Go home, Dover,” he said. “We’ll pick this back up tomorrow. I was heading out myself.”

“I just want to organize what we’ve found.

Maybe another hour, but I’m starving. I’ll just grab a sandwich.

” All she wanted was at least an hour to digest the information they had already collected about the victim.

She thought best when it was quiet in the office.

By the time she was done with her dinner, the office should be empty.

“Suit yourself. See you tomorrow.”

She grabbed some cash from her purse and walked out of the building. The day was still sweltering even at seven in the evening.

The summer had barely started, and the city was baking. It promised to be a long summer. August would be absolutely brutal. By the time she reached the bar, she had sweat running down her back. She grabbed several bar napkins and swiped at her face.

“Can I get whatever you have on tap,” she told the bartender as she slid onto an empty barstool. “Bring me a roast beef as is while you’re at it.” The beer arrived icy cold. She took a long sip.

Pulling out her phone, she mindlessly scrolled through her emails until her sandwich arrived. Her stomach growled just smelling the beef when the bartender slid the plate in front of her. She was going to enjoy this.

Dover saw the two men the moment they entered the bar. Actually she had noticed the rental car they’d sat in as she walked toward the bar earlier. There hadn’t been any reason to question why there were two men sitting in a car in the sweltering summer heat. People did strange things all the time.

Now, though, they had walked inside. The smaller man headed toward the restrooms, while the giant with him found a booth in the corner.

There was something about them that didn’t sit well with her. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but they screamed trouble. The smaller man looked tame enough, but the other one—she wasn’t so sure. His size, ponytail, and scowl made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

The one returned from the restroom shortly and took the seat across from the larger man. Something they passed between them had their attention for a few minutes. From what she could see, it looked like a photo.

Then they turned their attention to her. She caught them staring at her back in the mirror behind the bar. Something was definitely going on with those two.

Whatever they wanted, she wasn’t interested. Downing the rest of her beer, she tossed some money on the bar and moved toward the door. She was almost to the side alley when they both stepped outside. Looking around, they must have caught a glimpse of her because they started in her direction.

It didn’t matter. She’d soon lose them in the narrow maze of the Boston back alleys before she returned to her office. She chose another one and turned down it.

Her brother didn’t live far from here, so she’d just head that direction. At the very least, they wouldn’t follow her into his building. Pausing for a moment, she heard footsteps not far behind her.

She didn’t panic. She never panicked if she could prevent it.

Her training taught her to stay calm and handle whatever situation presented itself.

Her pace sped up only to be matched by the two men following her.

One of the men had even broken into a jog.

Well, if she couldn’t outrun them, she would do something different.

Turning another corner, she waited. Her legs spread slightly for better balance. Her arms prepared to strike.

She just wished she knew which one would be first, but at least she had the element of surprise.

If she could overpower the one, she had a gun to handle the other one.

She left it secured in its shoulder holster for now.

She wanted both hands free. Listening closely, she waited for the first man to turn the corner into the alley and struck.

Of course, it had to be the behemoth first. She quickly latched onto his arm, spun, and launched him onto the ground over her shoulder.

Her gun was pointed at his companion with the first man trapped under her knee in seconds.

Then something she hadn’t expected happened. It was a first in her career.

The smaller man began to laugh.

“Who are you, and why are you following me?” she asked, knowing she needed to maintain control of the situation. The other man laughed for several more seconds before he could compose himself enough to say anything.

“Man, you just got your ass handed to you by a woman,” he said, shaking his head. “That was epic. Not the first time though.”

“Fuck you,” the big man growled. “I think she ruptured my pancreas. I could be dying.”

“Of embarrassment maybe. She’d have to stab you to rupture your pancreas,” the smaller guy answered. “You’re such an idiot.”

“Shut up! Both of you,” Dover yelled over their squabbling. “You have five seconds to tell me who you are, or I’m rupturing both of your pancreases. You chose the wrong woman.”

She reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulled out a wallet. Flipping it open, she showed them her badge.

“You thought she was a convicted felon?” Small guy started laughing again. “You were following a cop, dumbass. How did you not know she was a cop?”

Dover quickly patted the big man down for weapons before pulling the wallet out of his back pocket. Just for good measure, she slipped a pair of restraints onto his wrist.

“Sweetheart, the last woman that felt me up like that I married,” he mumbled with his face to the bricks.

She flipped open the wallet.

“Knox Monroe,” she read. “Chicago, Illinois. Forty-three years of age. Damn, are you really six foot seven?” She looked up at the other man. “Toss yours over too, pretty boy.”

“Memphis Prescott,” he said, fishing his wallet slowly out of his back pocket. He tossed it to the ground at her feet. “Minnesota. Not nearly as old and normal size.”

She checked his license, then slid both wallets into her pocket. “And,” she said, motioning for Memphis to keep talking. Knox started to push himself up, but she shoved him back down with her knee.

“And, we really do have a legitimate reason for tailing you,” Memphis began. “We have documentation, back in the car, that leads us to believe that…well, we think you might be our sister. Half sister if you want to get technical.”

She decided they must be high on something. She had one brother, and he was currently in his apartment. It wouldn’t hurt to get a little more information before calling patrol to pick them up.

“Look,” he continued. “We’re sorry to spring this on you. I suggested we set up a meeting, but he likes to do things his way. We think we’re related through a shared male donor.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What documentation?” she asked.

“DNA match. Background check,” Knox mumbled from the ground. “All legally obtained.”

“And how would you legally obtain my DNA?” She moved Knox into a seated position and waved for Memphis to join him. She debated restraining his arms also, but decided if he wasn’t a problem yet, he probably wouldn’t become one. Besides, she still had her gun.

“We have a brother-in-law who’s with the FBI.

He has a program on his computer that alerts him to any possible matches that he shares with us,” Knox said.

“We were following you because when he pulled up the information, there was a sealed juvenile arrest record associated with it. I wanted to see who you were before we made contact.”

“You didn’t tell me any of that,” Memphis answered.

“I didn’t tell you Flint called to tell me his mom is now dating Detective Moore either. So sue me,” Knox snarled.

“Really? That’s good, I think.”

“Did you know his name is Aaron?” Knox asked.

“No. How did we not know what the man’s first name was? Did you?” Memphis asked. “Seems like something we should have known. Well, I’m happy for them, anyway.”

“Do you always talk this much?” she asked, returning her gun to the holster. No one would blather on like that if they intended her harm. She didn’t think so anyway. She pulled out her knife and cut the restraints from Knox’s hands.

“He does,” Knox said, nodding at Memphis.

“Show me these DNA tests,” she said. Memphis pulled Knox off the ground. “And I’m not the one with the arrest record. That’s my brother. He’s also not a felon. He just boosted a car when he was a teenager.”

“There’s a brother?” Memphis asked. He met Knox’s eyes in confusion.

“A twin actually. I was on the way back to my office when I noticed you following me, but I think we should continue this with him,” she answered.

“We should go back to your car and get this documentation. We can review it at his place. If what you claim is true, he’ll need to know too.

” She motioned for them to start down the alley.

“Knee?” Memphis asked when Knox limped forward.

“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.