Free Rough Men by Aric Davis

opened a wormhole too deep for us to do anything about. That sound all right with you?”
    “Sounds fine. Thanks.”
    “I’m not going to say it’s no problem, but I’m glad you got a hold of me. Whether that kid was my blood or not doesn’t matter. I’ll do this for Patty.”

I saac’s hands were white on the wheel of the Camry. The weather had to be a part of it—blowing snow was turning into a full-on blizzard, and the visibility was extremely low. Still, the Camry handled in a sure-footed way as they meandered onto the highway, where traffic was chugging along at a brisk thirty miles per hour.
    “Were you ever going to tell me?” Isaac asked. “Did anyone know besides Mom?”
    “No. I was never going to tell you, because it didn’t matter to me. He was my son, whether he was my blood or not. That’s why I never did a paternity test, and that’s why I still wouldn’t do one now. I don’t need blood to tell me about family or about being a father to a little boy that has nothing. I was just a kid when Patty left him with us, and he made me grow up a lot. Not to say I wasn’t still a fuckup, but I was less of one.” He looked away. “I guess less wasn’t good enough for Alex,” he said to the passenger-side window.
    “Do you really believe that if Jason is his blood father, that maybe that’s why Alex took the thing to the next level?” Isaac asked. “Or do you think it’s just some bizarre coincidence?”
    Will shrugged.
    Isaac nodded to himself, working it over in his head. “I guess I’ve never believed in genetics like that—that it would make someone more likely to commit murder or other violent crimes. But this might be changing my mind a little bit. Are you sure you don’t want to get a paternity test?”
    “Listen. I just know that someone killed my son, and I want to know why. The rest of the testing, the blood relations, genetics—none of it matters to me. I never would have told Jason about this when Alex was alive and never would have after he was dead unless I had too. I think I made the right decision.”
    “What if Jason finds—fuck!” A big-assed pickup had fishtailed around them. “These roads suck, and that guy is doing like fifty!” Isaac shook his head, then settled down and went back to what he’d started. “So what if Jason finds out who did this, gets an address or something?”
    “I’ve been thinking a lot about that, and I keep coming back to the same thing. If I find out who killed my son and it wasn’t for a damn good reason, I’m going to kill him. It would just need doing. If the cops can’t catch these guys, they’ll do it again, and someone else will get hurt.”
    Will felt Isaac looking at him, but kept his eyes straight ahead.
    “That’s pretty heavy, Will. I want to say I’ll see this through with you, but I’m not sure that I can. I mean, I have a life too. A wife. And my priors are old, but when they can show a history of criminal behavior, and you’ve got shit on your record, that’s not good.”
    “You can do what you want. I asked you to come along so I had backup with Jason, but if you don’t feel like seeing this through is right for you, I understand. It would be a lot to ask, especially of a brother who I basically ignore and who basically ignores me.” Will grinned. “It’s a lot to ask of anybody.”
    “Shit,” said Isaac, “we still have to get groceries.”

    The storm had gotten worse in the time they’d spent in the store. With the parking lot’s slush and ice gumming its wheels, the cart was reduced to a very awkward sleigh. When they finally reachedthe car, they threw the groceries into the trunk, any care over the condition of bread or eggs beaten out of them by a desperate desire to escape the deluge of heavy, wet snow.
    Trunk loaded, cart placed in the corral, they dove inside, and Isaac began to slowly steer them from the parking lot. The ringing of Will’s phone broke the brothers’ concentrated silence,