Page 7 of Rising Storm

“I’ll get dressed,” he said. “Make yourself at home.” He grabbed his bag and walked into the bathroom. He dressed in jeans—wishing he wore shorts—and a blue T-shirt. He stared in the mirror and touched the burn scar at the base of his throat, which was courtesy of Hayrick Letsen and his cigarettes. He had them on his arms as well. He thought of his brother and not for the first time, wondered if Hayrick had physically hurt him, too.

Sayer the cop killer.

That taunt from Hayrick had given him nightmares. God, he needed to know what had happened to his brother. What had caused him to be driven to take someone’s life. And he wondered if the stain of it lived like a black and ugly tumor on his soul, too. Helix had killed. And he’d been around to clean up from Hayrick’s kills. One in particular still haunted him to this day. The ghost with the face.

Judy had been a scrappy, smart-mouthed teen. Like him, she’d been forced to steal, but she’d snapped one day and sworn to go to the police. He’d heard Hayrick had extinguished her life without hesitation. Helix hadn’t been there until the deed was done, but he’d never forget moving her thin, light frame or seeing the blank expression on her face.

His own bleak expression in the mirror made him close his eyes.

Would he ever be free of all the memories? With each return of stolen goods, he’d been feeling like he was making reparations.

But the list was so fucking long. Would he stick around to return them all before disappearing for good? Probably. But he didn’t know what would need to be done once he found his brother.

He brushed his teeth and packed everything into his bag. When he left the bathroom, Gareth was seated on the end of his bed. He looked like his normal, peppy self and Helix wondered about him—who he really was. Why he had left his former life to help a bunch of thieves.

“So, pancakes?” Gareth asked as he stood.

“I’m more of an eggs and bacon man,” Helix replied. “Let’s hit that diner.”

They drove to the restaurant even though it was within walking distance, and once seated across from each other, Gareth stared so hard at him Helix finally crossed his arms on the table and lifted his eyebrows. “What?”

The restaurant smelled of bacon, maple syrup, and coffee. Noise clattered from the kitchen. It was a small place with people packed into the booths and tables like sausages—always a sign that the food was good. A server stopped by to bring them coffee and take their orders before she went to the next table.

Gareth’s stare hadn’t wavered. “I can’t figure out if it’s just me you don’t like or if it’s everyone.”

“Pretty much everyone.”

“I’ve seen you laugh with both Lane and Shelli, so that’s not true.” Gareth picked up his coffee and sipped it before cradling it between both hands. “So, why do I receive more of your snarls than everyone else?”

“There you go with that arrogance again.”

“Look, it’s not my imagination. Something about me sets you off. Is it just because I was a cop?”

Helix couldn’t tell him the real reason. The attraction. “Your eyebrows are too high.”

“Doesn’t that mean I’m an intellectual?”

“Did I say high? I meant too close together.”

“You’re saying I have a unibrow? Or a middlebrow?”

Helix growled in frustration. “You wanted to know why you annoy me and I told you.”

“You have something against my eyebrows, then. Got it.” He sipped his coffee. “So what did you want to be before Letsen ruined your life?”

Startled at the question, Helix sat back in the booth. Murmured conversations from the tables around them filled the room along with the sounds of utensils scraping plates. Someone dropped a glass in the kitchen, which was followed by a muffled curse. Whoever sat behind him in another booth was a heavy smoker, the scent warring with the better breakfast smells.

“Come on, you had to have some kind of dreams.”

Helix could tell he wasn’t getting out of this conversation. Damn, the man was tenacious. “I didn’t. I was a stupid kid with no direction and when Hayrick came into my life, I just stole for him.”

“How did you eat? Pay bills?”

Helix shrugged, faintly ashamed at admitting that he’d had nothing of his own. “A lot of different odd jobs because it was hard to keep them when I was being called away so much.”

“Like what?”

“Gas stations, mostly. Some construction-type stuff.” He’d enjoyed the construction. Enjoyed working with his hands and doing honest labor.

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