Page 49 of Rivals Next Door

The elevator dinged softly, and my heart hammered as Alex stepped out. His expression was unreadable, which did nothing to ease the knot of anxiety tightening in my chest. He had found Liam in less time than he said he would. Just a mere three hours… Either his resources were more top-notch than I thought or Liam was…

No, not going there.

“Hey,” I greeted. “Any news?”

Alex paused, his eyes meeting mine. “I found Liam. He’s safe for now. I got him out of the dump he was in and set him up in a decent hotel. He was adamant that he didn’t want to come here or go to your mom’s.”

The breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding came out in a whoosh. “Oh, thank God. Yeah, he’s been avoiding us for a while… me mostly.”

Alex lifted an eyebrow in askance, but I didn’t explain. Talking about my issues with my brother… Well, his apparent issues with me were too painful.

“He was strung out, Liv.” His eyebrows puckered. “Frighteningly so. I didn’t realize it was so bad.”

“He’s gotten progressively worse over the years.” I shuffled from one foot to the other. Standing in my foyer talking to Alex like this about my personal life was weird. The fact that I was makeup-free and in my home attire made me feel vulnerable. I felt like my protective armor was missing.

Alex stared at me through narrowed eyes. He had his head tilted as he assessed me from head to toe. Goodness, it was like he was looking at a strange new species under a microscope. I curled my toes into my fuzzy house slippers because the polish was chipped on a few of the nails. I hadn’t gotten around to a pedicure this month with my world crashing down around me and all…

I self-consciously tucked my hair, which was still a little wet from my shower, behind my ear. My face heated up several degrees as I cleared my throat lightly. “Thank you for everything, Alex. Really. I don’t know how to even repay you for helping me find Liam.”

His throat bobbed as he continued to just stare at me. Just when I was about to get extremely uneasy under his scrutiny, he blinked and shook his head. “What’s the plan? For Liam, I mean. He clearly needs help.”

Releasing a heavy sigh, I gestured for him to follow me. Thankfully, he did without a word because I really needed a strong drink after the night I’d had. Settled in my kitchen, I ignored the kick in my stomach at the picture Alex and I made. He wasn’t glaring at me or threatening to destroy me, and I wasn’t caught up in an emotional whirlpool, fluctuating between hating and loving him.

We were like old friends relaxing in each other’s presence. As I poured him a drink—whiskey, the same drink we shared when he was last in my apartment—I said, “I’ll get Liam into another rehab center. He claimed to have hated the last one.” I flopped onto a stool beside Alex. “That is, if I can talk him into going to another one…”

He studied his glass for a moment before lifting it to drink. “Maybe I can talk to him.”

I turned to him, on the verge of refusing his offer. Being too much indebted to my ex, who was hellbent on taking everything I had, wasn’t a good idea. However, I was exhausted from trying with my brother over and over only to fail.

“You’d do that?” I asked.

Alex’s gaze slid from his glass to me. There was a flicker of something in his eyes. However, it vanished before I could decipher what it was. I suspected it was something he didn’t want me to see.

He shrugged. “Despite being high out of his mind, he seemed happy to see me. Maybe he’ll listen to me like he used to.”

When Liam met Alex years ago, my brother had taken to him immediately. He told me once that he liked talking to Alex because he wasn’t a “pretentious prick” like most of the haughty folks in our circle. Being able to talk to someone who was straightforward had always appealed to Liam… If it was anyone but me, I guess. While we dated, Alex became somewhat of a big brother figure to Liam. He considered Alex’s advice, which was rare for my hardheaded brother.

“I hope so,” I said, gazing at him with gratitude.

As he stared back at me, I could feel the awkwardness about to seep in, so I jumped to quell it. “You’ve been so kind tonight. Thanks. I hate to ask, but the eyes you said you have on my place and Mom’s… is it…? If it’s your personal security, we should probably work out some kind of payment. I mean, I should pay you back for the hours until I hire security of my own.”

His eyebrows elevated. “For one, considering who you are, I’m surprised you don’t have constant security in place.”

“I do…” Heat filled my cheeks. “At BioTech…”

He gave me a reprimanding look. “You know damn well I don’t mean the security guards at BioTech. Don’t worry about the money.”

“No, you’ve done enough. I insist on paying you back.”

“What, you think I’m not good enough to do a Brentwood a favor?”

I huffed my annoyance. “For the love of my sanity, Alex, please don’t start with that. I really can’t tonight. I’m so tired…” Bone tired. Mentally drained. I was on the verge of an emotional collapse here. “I just meant…” Shoving both hands through my hair, I sighed heavily. “I wasn’t trying to be offensive.”

Alex watched me with a slight frown and something like sympathy in his eyes. Maybe I was so tired that I imagined it because why would he feel an ounce of sympathy for me? I wasn’t even sure I wanted that from him. “I know, Olivia. I wasn’t being serious.”

My eyes skated away from him out of embarrassment. In my defense, I assumed he was being a dick because that was what he’d been to me lately… until tonight. I noticed that he had called me Olivia as if he was trying to put up some kind of barrier between us. That was probably for the best.

“The guys are off-duty officers,” he said. “So you don’t have to pay me back.”

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