Page 18 of Rising Storm

“I am.” She was silent a couple of moments before sighing.

“What’s wrong, Shelli?” He knew he surprised her by asking, by showing any interest in her life and her small gasp proved it.

“We heard from another thief and I was hoping it was my brother, but it wasn’t.”

Like Helix, Hayrick had held Shelli’s brother over her head to get her to do what he wanted. She’d been trying to find him without any luck. The last she’d heard—he’d actually been overseas. “I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is. Lane and Quincy are flying out to meet this guy. He’s been stranded in Wyoming.”

“Well, I’ll take care of the one down here.”

“How’s the re-steal going?”

He sighed because she obviously wanted to chat. He glanced at Gareth, who was watching the road, but no doubt listening. “We’re on schedule still. Been watching the place and cased out the inside. We should be able to get the statuette within a week or so.”

“How’s it going with Gareth?”

“He’s right here if you’d like to ask.”

She chuckled, a warm, vibrant sound that made him smirk. He got along with Shelli even if she didn’t think he did. He kind of liked the way they bickered back and forth. It kept him on his toes.

“No, that’s okay,” she said with another laugh. “As long as you two don’t kill each other, I’ll call it a success.”

He thought of the kiss they’d shared and had to smile. “No worries,” was all he said. After he hung up with Shelli, he looked at Gareth to find the man watching him. They were at a stoplight.

“That was quick thinking with the janitor back there,” Gareth said, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. “Didn’t feel very fake, though.”

Helix didn’t say anything. What could he say? His strange attraction to Gareth unsettled him and he didn’t know how to handle it because it was completely out of his wheelhouse. He could have sworn he didn’t like the man very much, but he wanted to be underneath him more than he wanted to breathe. He hadn’t planned to do anything about it, but he was fast changing his mind.

The light turned green and Gareth hit the gas. Neither said anything else as they drove to the motel. The text with his brother’s address came over his phone but he didn’t tell Gareth about it. He planned to go see his brother without the cop-looking Gareth to scare him away. The fact that his brother lived with Kavaugh was a whole other problem.

Chapter 8

That night, Gareth went out with his friends and Helix took the car to the address Shelli had given him for the thief. He felt a little bad about not sharing his plans with Gareth, but wanted to see Sayer on his own.

He watched his brother’s house. Also, Barnette Kavaugh’s house and that knowledge had him reeling. Ostentatious, with floor-to-ceiling windows on both the first and second floors, it held no soul. A box of a thing without even a view to give it life. The affluent neighborhood surprised him and he supposed he’d always thought of his brother living in the same circumstances—scraping to get by as he had. But it seemed Sayer had moved up in the world and Helix couldn’t help but wonder if where he lived had anything to do with the supposed long con he was on. Kavaugh was obviously a client of Hayrick’s because he had the Monteague.

God, he had so many questions for his brother.

Hours passed and it grew dark, his legs cramping in the front of the car. He shifted, unable to take his eyes off the house. There were no cars in the driveway, but lights in the house let him know someone was there. It was all he could do not to sneak into the back and look through the windows. Or better yet, break in and just confront his brother.

As he watched, someone came out of the front door with a large, white bag of trash. He leaned forward, heart in his throat, and when the streetlight fell on the face, he was out of the vehicle fast.

Sayer put the lid back on the trash, spotted him and turned like he was going to run back into the house, but something stopped him and he swung around to face Helix. Stark shock froze his brother’s features.

Helix thought his heart might beat through his chest. “Sayer?” he whispered, then cleared his throat and tried again. “You are Sayer, aren’t you?”

His brother nodded, eyes wide as he stared hard at Helix. He hadn’t grown as tall as Helix, but the resemblance was uncanny. “So thatwasyou. You’re alive. I wasn’t sure.”

Helix took a step closer, wanting to hold his brother so badly he just kept moving. He pulled him into a hug and felt his brother wince, so he hurriedly let go and frowned, trying to look his brother over in the dim light from the streetlamp. There was a dark bruise on his jaw and it looked like one on his neck.

“You can’t be here, Helix. If he sees you…”

“If who sees me?” Though he knew.

“My husband. Plus you’ll ruin everything so you have to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I just found you.” He clued in to what his brother said, his eyebrows crawling up his forehead as he remembered something Gareth’s friend, Liam, had said. That Kavaugh had a gorgeous, young husband he didn’t let out of his sight. “Wait, husband?”

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