Page 18 of Hell Breaks Loose

Now they are as icy as the ocean.

Snapping my eyes open, I sigh, my breath shuddering out of me. Rising up in bed takes me a few minutes of stiff, grunting pain. Then I just sit there in the early morning on the edge of the bed, letting the cold sweat on my forehead dry, the sick sensation in my core subside.

The house is quiet, cool.

It’s a cute little two-bedroom. No clue where, exactly.

Looking around the small living area, I take in the decor. Warm, well-designed. Norris always loved his creature comforts and had an eye for interior design. A plush couch, enough pillows to make sitting on it impossible.

Several minutes of finagling with the coffee maker later, and I’m swallowed up by those pillows with a steaming cup in hand.

And completely exhausted.

The smell of bacon perks me up.

Oops. Fell asleep.

“I thought you snuck out when I first woke up.” Norris chuckles, eyeing me over the bar as he stirs something in a pan.

“Your pillow monster couch ate me whole.”

“It’s a dangerous creature.”

“Yeah. No wonder you never make it through the end of any movie.”

“Or it could be that I work sixteen-hour shifts.”

“Touché.”

The mood is light as I dig my way out of the couch and plop down gingerly on a stool. It’s a strange, not-quite-tense, not-quite-comfortable, but not-at-all-awkward morning. Breakfast. Coffee.

And before I know it, I’m unloading on my old friend, the past few months of utter insanity after a brief summary of the years since I saw him.

Of course, I leave out anything to do with the Sinful. Evan’s job, Gavin’s job, the Ball, Hellena’s shooting, Alaya’s attacks, the mysterious discoveries surrounding Hell’s dad…

So it’s a story chock full of gaping holes.

But he’s always careful about what he asks and never digs where the subject might lead into violent waters.

Plausible deniability?

Or just a wise decision.

Too many of the people I’ve worked with and for could and would try to use Norris’ and my friendship against me. It’s the main reason I disappeared those years before in New York, didn’t tell him where I was going. Because I worried he might want to follow.

And in the years since, it seems he’s gained a sense of wariness.

A very keen sense.

Even so, there’s more than enough to paint a very bad picture.

“So basically, you pissed off a very bad man and he nearly killed you for it?”

“Yeah. And it gets worse.’

Norris rubs his forehead before nodding, giving me permission to continue.

“That bad man took Hellena. She let him. To save my life.”

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