Page 4 of Rising Storm

“You could have stayed with me,” Liam answered. “I could put you up in my room, give him the guest room and take the couch.”

“We’ll be coming and going at all hours and you don’t know Helix, so this will be easier on us all.” He pointed to Helix. “Helix Rossington, this is Liam Swift, one of my closest friends.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Helix said, offering his sweaty hand.

Liam shook his hand, then walked around to open the trunk so they could store their suitcases. Once in the car, Helix watched the scenery with interest. He’d never made it to Oklahoma for any of his steals, so the flat landscape surprised him. He was talking Flat with a capital F. The land stretched out so he could see for miles and the sun beat down on everything, turning large swaths of grass to brown. He guessed the recent rain hadn’t been enough to keep up. Luckily, the car was nice and cool, making his damp shirt instantly cold against his skin.

He was in the backseat and this gave him a perfect view of Gareth as he caught up with his friend. A small rivulet of sweat dripped down the side of his neck and he absentmindedly wiped it away. Helix looked away from him, uncomfortable with the knot that had formed in his belly.

He was attracted to the guy for some inexplicable reason and it annoyed him more than anything else. Gareth was too big, too nosy, too…friendly.

If someone had told him he’d be in a car in Oklahoma with two ex-cops a year ago, he would have laughed. Now, he felt little amusement. Instead, he thought about his brother. Hayrick had had two main bases of operation—Maine and Oklahoma. And Helix would have run into his brother if he’d been taken to Maine.

He tightened his hands into fists in his lap. He knew this Bet was his Sayer.

It had to be Sayer. His gut was screaming that this was the one. Chances were if it was Sayer, then the cop he would have killed would have been a local one—someone these guys would have known. Possibly. He wasn’t sure how big the force was here. So, he worried about the meeting, and hoped he’d find a way to do it alone.

“There’s the motel now.” Gareth pointed at a small two-story place nestled between two fast-food restaurants. The pool looked like it hadn’t been used in years and some of the paint on the building was peeling. “It doesn’t look like much but I stayed here once when I was in between apartments and they kept it very clean.”

“You guys still could stay with me,” Liam offered as he pulled the Jeep into the parking lot and parked. He glanced over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind the weird hours.” He turned back to Gareth. “Are you pulling one of the jobs here then?”

“We are. We’re also hoping to find another of the thieves. The woman who handles our computers in Maine says one of them is here. She’s supposed to set up a meeting.”

Helix had wondered if Shelli had mentioned the thief to Gareth and now he had his answer.

“Who’s your target?” Liam asked as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

Gareth turned toward him. “Wealthy guy by the name of Barnette Kavaugh.”

Liam whistled. “You mean you don’t know who that is?”

“You do?” Gareth lifted his eyebrows.

“He supposedly got involved with some shady dealings in the past, but there was never enough evidence to convict him. He owns several of the buildings in Bricktown and OKC. And he’s often found running around in our circles. Apparently, has a gorgeous young husband he doesn’t let out of his sight. I’ve never seen him. I’m surprised you don’t remember who Kavaugh is. You haven’t been gone that long.”

“I never really ran in your circles—you know that. Wasn’t into the bar scene outside of that bouncer job I had. And unless I was the one investigating him…” Gareth trailed off with a sheepish shrug.

Helix pictured Gareth as a bouncer and felt like squirming. Had he had to wrestle guys out of bars? Show off all those muscles? His dick perked up, making him scowl.

Liam chuckled. “His home will have top-notch security.”

“Rumor is, he keeps what we need in one of his buildings downtown,” Helix said.

“You guys have quite the operation going then.”

Gareth clasped his shoulder. “I keep telling you that you and Carter need to move up there and help out. We have a massive basement full of items they’re researching. It’s a huge job.”

Helix knew he was talking of another cop friend. So many damn cops.

“We’re honestly thinking about it,” Liam admitted. “We haven’t managed to get anything going here. As you know, Carter took your old job as a bouncer, but he’s not happy there. I just don’t know if I can see us breaking into places to steal, you know? Too many years on the opposite side.”

“Which gives you inside knowledge, and remember, we’re taking things back to who they really belong to. We call them re-steals. But there’s enough work at the house to keep you busy.” Gareth glanced over his shoulder at Helix. “Some like Helix here prefer to be out in the field stealing the stuff back, but there’s a lot to return as well. They just started streamlining the whole thing. Reorganizing the database to do searches by location, so they can start making more local returns. Isaac and Lane’s database is awesome.”

“Definitely sounds interesting,” Liam said. “You want to meet us out for dinner tonight?”

“How about tomorrow night? We’re casing out the joint tonight.”

Liam laughed. “You just had to phrase it like that, didn’t you?”

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