Page 17 of Theirs to Take

Alexander

Alex had made a few calls to discreetly call in a few favors. He had a few guys over in Simon’s firm who owed him favors and it was time for them to pay up. All he asked was that they keep an eye on Evie while she snooped around the firm for evidence to help Nova’s case.

He was just about to toss his cell phone down when it rang, and his brother’s goofy face popped up on the screen. He had a picture of Rod as a kid saved on his phone and it always made him smile to see his brother’s twelve-year-old face. It reminded him of the good old days when they didn’t have any conflicts between the two of them. There was no jealousy, just brotherly love. Alex wanted to get back to that somehow.

“Hey, Rod,” he answered.

“Alex,” Rod returned.

“How studying for the bar going?” Alex asked. That was how their conversations usually went. Rod would call to check in and Alex would question him about the bar and when he’d be coming to work for him. His younger brother had agreed to take a position at his firm once he was a full-fledged lawyer andhonestly, Alex couldn’t wait. He was hoping that it would give them a way to find their way back to being brothers again.

“It’s going. I’m scheduled to take the test next Wednesday,” Rod said.

“You nervous?” Alex asked. When he had to take his bar exam, he was a bundle of nerves. He had studied his ass off and then foolishly gone out the night before with some friends and gotten drunk. He had to take his exam with a vicious hangover and how he passed it was beyond him. He didn’t remember much from that day, but he thought for sure that he bombed it. When he found out that the opposite was true, he was pretty damn thankful.

“A bit,” his brother admitted. “But I’ve put so many hours into studying, I think my brain just needs a chance to decompress, you know?”

He knew exactly what his brother was talking about—it’s how he ended up with a hangover on the day of his exam. “Just do yourself a favor and go out drinking now instead of the night before your exam,” Alex said. “Trust me, it’ll be for the best.”

“Wait—you went out drinking the night before the bar exam?” Rod asked.

“Yep—and I regretted it the next day,” Alex said.

“How did you pass the exam?” Rod asked.

“No clue—hell, that whole day is one big blur, but somehow, my muscle memory kicked in and I passed the bar. Although, I don’t recommend doing things the way that I did. I was an idiot.”

“Still are, big brother,” Rod teased.

“You still planning on starting at the end of the month?” Alex asked.

“If that works for you. Plus, I have to pass the bar, but fingers crossed,” Rod said.

“How would you like to get a leg up on a case?” Alex asked. “You know, get your toes wet, so to speak. I need some help with a custody case, and I can’t trust just anyone with it.”

“Sure,” Rod said. He had interned for Alex while he was in law school, and he knew that his brother was going to make a damn good attorney. If he could get Rod to help with Nova’s case, he’d be able to concentrate on keeping her safe and digging up some more dirt on Simon.

“It’s for my new assistant,” Alex said. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to tell his brother. On the one hand, he knew that Rod would find out about her sooner or later because Alex planned on keeping Nova around long-term. Hell, he planned on marrying her, but he hadn’t even gotten to the point of telling her that yet. He was going to have to slow his roll, or he’d end up scaring the poor woman away.

“Is she hot?” Rod asked.

“No,” Alex growled. “She’s not hot to you, Rodrick,” he insisted.

Rod’s laughter filled the phone and Alex wanted to end the call and toss his cell out of his window. “I see,” Rod said. “You have a thing for your new assistant. HR is going to have a field day with you, man,” he teased.

“HR has nothing to do with Nova and me,” Alex shouted. “And you keep your hands off of her—she’s mine,” he growled.

“I see,” Rod said, “so, you’ve staked your claim then?”

“I have,” Alex said. “She’s living with me, and I plan on keeping it that way, even if she doesn’t know that yet. I like her,” he admitted. “Hell, I’m falling for her, if I’m being completely honest.”

“You know, this is the first real conversation that we’ve had in a damn long time, brother. I like this girl already. When do I get to meet her?” Rod asked.

“When you come in to grab the files, I have on her asshole ex. He’s holding her son and won’t let her see him except for the court-appointed twenty-four hours a week. It’s bullshit and I have evidence that he’s paid off judges on other cases. I’m betting he’s paid off the judge in his divorce case too. All I have to do is prove it and then, I can turn over the evidence to get Nova’s son back and put Simon away for a damn long time.”

“Simon as in Simon Meyers?” Rod asked.

“Yes, why?” Alex questioned.

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