Page 46 of Rivals Next Door

“I… Alex… Thank you. I don’t mean to come off as unappreciative. I just hate that you’ve put yourself in danger. You realize that man will figure out who you are soon, right? I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

He blinked. “Oh…”

His bewildered expression made me feel like the worst. Did he really think I was heartless? Then again, I had no one to blame for that but myself.

“I guess I’m also shocked.” I searched his face. “I don’t understand why you’d help me.”

It could be my imagination or a trick of the poor lighting, but I thought I saw the slightest tinge of pink highlight his cheeks. “It’s the decent thing to do,” he muttered. “I would have done it for anyone.”

My eyes narrowed on him as he rubbed the back of his neck. My driver chose that moment to arrive. I glared at him, wondering where the hell he’d been. After he apologized and explained about being held up by a truck a few blocks down, my annoyance vanished.

Alex opened the back door, and I slid in. To my surprise, he got in with me. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged. “Now I have to make sure you get home okay. Besides, I need a ride. My driver is taking my date home.”

When I gawked at him, he explained. “She’s still having dessert.”

“Okay… Why aren’t you going back to join her?”

“Never mind that,” he said as he settled in. “Let’s get you home, Liv.”

Before tonight, his use of my nickname was irritating because it reminded me that we were no longer that close. Hearing it at the moment, however, relaxed me. That feeling evaporated fast when I thought of the word home. I sat forward and clutched my purse as if I’d made a harrowing discovery. “I can’t go home.”

Alex gave me a raised eyebrow stare. “Why not?”

“Mr. Nameless knows where I live.”

“Mr. Nameless?”

“Scarface,” I clarified.

Alex caught on quickly. Of course, he’d seen the hideous scar on my tormentor’s face. “That’s funny. That's what I called him too.” Then realization seemed to kick in because his little smirk faded. “For fuck’s sake, Liv. How does he know where you live? Do you even know the extent to which that man’s treachery goes?”

The breath I released ruffled my loose tendrils of hair. “After tonight, I have a pretty good idea.”

“How did you get involved with those people?” Alex asked.

My eyes filled with tears. It wasn’t just that I’d gotten caught up in Liam’s mess… again. It was the years of built up stress, carrying my family’s empire on my shoulders, my frustration with my brother, potentially losing the company I’d helped to build… It was everything.

“My brother,” I choked out as I fought back tears. “Apparently, he stole from them.”

“For the love of God,” Alex sighed. “Fucking Liam. I thought he would have gotten his shit together by now.”

I snorted and then I studied him through blurry eyes. “How did you know that man was a criminal, anyway?” The guy had a dangerous edge for sure, but Alex spoke as if he knew exactly what he was into.

His silence made me forget about holding back my tears. Now, I was just plain suspicious. “Alex?”

Shifting uncomfortably, he murmured, “I checked him out.”

“When?”

“In the restaurant.”

“You were on a date. Why would you do that?”

He rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Liv, you’re still annoyingly relentless, I see.”

I gave him a dirty look, but I wasn’t offended. I accepted that I could be dogged at times. At the moment, we felt like the old us. We never shied away from calling out each other’s flaws and annoying habits. I suppose that was why we just worked back then. We put it all out on the table…

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