Page 23 of Rising Storm

“I can be pretty damn stubborn, especially when I want something this much.”

“Why? Why do you want this so much?”

Gareth shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s just a feeling I have.”

“God.” Helix groaned. “I don’t feel up to this serious discussion. Let’s just agree to see what happens for now, okay? There’s no reason for you to be taking this to such a level at this point.”

“I know what I want and that’s you.”

He stared at the man, never having met someone so forthcoming in his life.

“You mentioned your brother last night. Tell me more.”

Not only had he opened up emotionally, the night before, he’d endangered his own plans. He shouldn’t have said anything about Sayer—not with him being a cop killer. He needed to keep these two apart. “There’s really nothing for me to say other than he’s here and I’m trying to get in touch with him.”

“So, that’s why you wanted to come on this re-steal?”

Helix nodded, then winced when pain shot through his head. “Look, give me a few hours to sleep off this hangover and then I’ll talk to you about Sayer.”

Gareth surprised him by leaning over and pressing a kiss to his forehead. The gesture was so damn sweet, his teeth hurt. He stared up at the man, not sure how to take him. Gareth just gave him an even sweeter smile and left.

* * *

Gareth went backto his room, grabbed his laptop and settled on the bed. The air conditioner kicked on and he appreciated the cool air as he booted up. He spent an extraordinary amount of time searching for a Sayer on social media. He finally narrowed it down when he spotted a man who looked a lot like Helix. But his blood ran cold.

Sayer’s last name was Kavaugh. What were the odds? It was an unusual last name.

Sayer, Helix’s brother, was married to their mark. Barnette Kavaugh. Why hadn’t Helix told him? He ran his hands through his hair, staring at the screen, at the man who looked so much like Helix. He clicked through the images he could see without being friends and noticed the big man next to him had an eagle tattoo on his arm. So Kavaugh had been the one to break into Hayrick’s home.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. What the hell was going on here? Why wasn’t Helix telling him everything? They were supposed to be a team.

He went out to the car and pulled up the history on the GPS, taking note of the neighborhood Helix had visited without him. He had told Helix he wouldn’t go with him for his next meeting with his brother, but he’d thought Helix would at least tell him when he went. But to keep his brother’s husband a secret? He sat there a moment, staring at the address, then with anger pulling at his insides, he stalked back to Helix’s door and banged on it.

“It hasn’t been several hours,” Helix gritted out as he opened the door and winced. He lifted a hand to his head. “I still need to sleep this hangover off.”

“Where did you go yesterday and the night before?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Helix backed up.

“You went to see Sayer, right?”

Helix frowned. “You knew I was going to try and find him on my own, so why the anger? Yeah, I went to see him and I finally got to talk to him.”

“Why didn’t you tell me your brother is married to our mark?”

Helix blinked at him, his mouth falling open. “Because I didn’t know they were married.”

“You didn’t go onto his social media?”

“Never even occurred to me.” He sat on the bed, frowning and rubbing his head. “I just found out he was married, but from what I can tell, Kavaugh might be abusing him. So your anger—”

“You’re not being honest with me, of course I’m angry.”

“I just talked to my brother, who seemed really scared. And he promised to meet me then didn’t show up. I was worried, hence the Jack.”

“We’re supposed to be a team here. How can I help you if I don’t even know what’s going on?”

“Look, it’s my brother and you knew I was going to see him without you.”

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