Page 44 of Remote Access

“Are you happy that your name will be cleared and you’ll be able to get your job back?”

“Very.”

He didn’t imagine the slight tightening of Lane’s muscles and he had no idea what to say. They had completely separate paths in life and though he wanted to ask Lane to move to Oklahoma with him, he knew the man couldn’t. Once law enforcement officials started crawling through that paperwork, they would be on the hunt for all of Letsen’s thieves. He couldn’t bear the thought of Lane going to prison.

Actually, he couldn’t stand the thought of any of them going to prison.

He was going to have to think about how he wanted to proceed with all of this. Call Isaac and tell him to hold off turning over any of the files. There had to be a way to nail his chief and Letsen without taking down people who had been suffering as Lane had for so long.

He pulled the man in closer, nuzzled his nose into the silky hair on Lane’s head.

Quincy wanted to find a way to keep him.

Chapter Fifteen

Quincy stood near the bathroom in their hotel room and stared at Helix. He didn’t like the look of the man instantly. He was definitely handsome with his short brown hair and golden brown eyes—face square and sharp. He had the sort of quiet intensity that reminded him of Isaac, yet this man came with a layer of raw fury that fairly radiated from his six-foot form. It sent alarm screaming through Quincy.

Helix leaned against the wall in their hotel room, his long body in loose, ripped jeans and a red tank that showed off the strong muscle conditioning in his shoulders and arms. He looked like he lived in a gym.

Or in a fight club.

Round burn scars decorated his biceps and there was one at the base of his throat. That must have hurt like a son of a bitch.

Lane, clad in jeans and one of Quincy’s roomy, gray T-shirts, handed him a cold beer he’d taken from the cooler they had by the door, then stood beside the bed. “Thanks for coming.”

“You’re in such wicked trouble.” Helix’s words came with a wry smile and a shake of his head.

“Word’s out already?” Surprise lit Lane’s face. “I would have thought he wouldn’t want anyone to know we got files from him.”

“Files?” He narrowed his eyes. “What kind of files?”

Lane crossed his arms. “Quite a few of the ones showing where all those things we steal go. He kept impeccable records.”

“Any on me?”

“Only the items you’re responsible for.”

“That’s an interesting way to put it. But you should know the asshole better than that after all these years. He has us all watching for you.” He nodded toward Quincy. “The cop, too.” A slow smile curled up one corner of his lips. “I heard about you setting his man on fire. Nice. Always hated that guy.”

“Hayrick’s expecting us to show up here? In Maine?”

“Of course. What I don’t get is why. If you’re doing this, he’s lost his hold on you. So how’d you get free?”

Lane picked at the label of his beer before he set it on the table beside the bed and sat. “He’s been blackmailing me for ten years because my mother was with him in the break-in that sent him to prison. She died.”

Real sympathy flashed over the guy’s face as he straightened away from the wall. “Then what the fuck are you doing still hanging around? You could be long gone by now. I know you had a plan in place.”

“Because there’s something I need to do. He’s had you stealing, too.”

He didn’t answer, merely tipping his head.

“Ever do something you want to make right, Helix?” The thread of need in Lane’s voice got to Quincy, renewing his desire to help the man get this.

Helix’s expression just closed up and he crossed his meaty arms, the beer dangling from his fingers. “You’re saying you could have run and you’re doing, what? Looking for something you took?”

Lane nodded. “I can’t explain why—it’s just something I have to do. And I have to do it by getting into his house. You’ve been there.”

“And you want me to get you in?” He shook his head. “I always thought out of all of us, you’d be the smart one. You’d go into your own version of a witness protection program and skedaddle out of our lives.”

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