Welcome to Gaia! ::

I knew trouble was coming from the moment I opened the door and found Rowan standing there. My half brother rarely visited me, so even without his grim expression, it was obvious enough that something was going on. I begrudgingly allowed him inside.

“If mother dearest is dead, I didn’t do it, but I wish to God that I had,” I said.

“Don’t make such cruel jokes.”

I shrugged. “Cruel by whose standards?”

He ignored me. “Someone broke into Casey’s house last night. Quite a few things were taken.”

“And? What does this have to do with me?”

“Liam told me he saw you.”

“Liam is a liar. Why are you believing him?”

“Because you’re a liar, too, and I know you’ve stolen things in the past.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, so suddenly my criminal record actually means something to you? Weren’t you the one who told me what happened back then was nothing?”

He pressed his lips together, his gaze deepening into a glare. “The fact remains that you have a history of thievery.”

“And you have a history of being an a*****e. No wonder you became a cop.”

“What in the hell does that mean?”

“It means you’re an a*****e. And Cameron’s an a*****e. And that stupid s**t that seems to be drunk every other night is an a*****e. And your boss is--”

“Alistair.”

I snapped my mouth shut, angry, sullen, wanting to punch a whole in the wall. “Are you going to arrest me, officer?”

“Why are you acting like this?”

I turned away from him, huffing in annoyance. “You should question Liam. He’s the one pointing fingers, and he always lies. You’re being stupid by coming here.”

Rowan let out a frustrated sigh. “Cameron’s questioning him already. We know how to do our job.”

I almost laughed but restrained myself. I supposed he was right; he was, at least, not a terrible cop, but I hesitated to say he was good. You’d think he’d have caught on to all the times I’d stolen from his wallet or picked the lock to his front door or rearranged his bookshelf every other day. It was no fun trying to ******** with someone if they never noticed.

“If you have an alibi, Alistair, then everything will be fine.”

I glanced at him. “And if I don’t?”

“I’ll have to bring you in for questioning.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“God damn it, Alistair. Stop trying to make me look like the villain here. If you didn’t do it, you shouldn’t have anything to fear.”

I walked past him. He grabbed my arm, halting me in my tracks.

“Look, Rowan, this is ridiculous. If I’d broken in, do you really think I’d have let Liam of all people catch me doing it.”

“That’s not proof.”

I pulled away from him and walked into the living room, where I dropped down onto the couch. If I was going to be bombarded with questions and accusations, I figured I might as well be comfortable while it was happening.

Rowan was standing in the doorway. He wasn’t dressed in his uniform, so I assumed it had been his day off until my name had been thrown into the equation. Rowan was the only one that I was ever sociable with and that I didn’t despise with every fiber of my being.

“Alistair…”

“If I told you I did break into Casey’s house, what then? You gonna arrest me? Slap some handcuffs on me? Or better yet, maybe you’ll just shoot me. Save everyone the trouble of having to deal with me in jail.”

He messed with the sleeve of his shirt, clearly uncomfortable with my lack of cooperation. “I’m not going to shoot you.”

I snorted and turned away from him. “I’m the best goddamned thief there’s ever been.” I shot a glare at him. “And there’s no way in hell I’d let a sniveling, lying tattletale like Liam catch me stealing s**t.”

“No one will care if you say that; it’s meaningless in a situation like this, and…who have you been stealing from?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” I smirked. “Look, being a good thief is like being a good magician. You don’t ever reveal your secret.”

Rowan finally walked into the room, sitting tentatively on the couch beside me. It seemed to me that he was ready to bolt, and I wondered what exactly he thought I was going to do. Rub off on him? Kill him? It was ridiculous.

“Just tell me where you were last night,” he said.

“I was at Casey’s.”

He simply stared at me for the longest moment, probably trying to figure out if I was only pulling his leg or if I truly was serious. Finally, he found his voice. “So you’re confessing.”

“No.”

He scowled. “Alistair, stop playing this stupid game and just tell the truth.”

“I am telling the truth. I was at Casey’s, but I didn’t steal any of her s**t. Why don’t you ask her what I was doing there?”

“Alistair…”

“What?”

“You took advantage of her, didn’t you?”

I scoffed at the assumption. “Please. Casey is plenty old enough to make her own decisions. She’s an adult. I’m an adult. We make adult decisions. Get over it.”

Rowan was furious. He stood up from the couch and rounded on me. “She just lost her brother; you don’t think that makes her vulnerable?”

“No, I don’t. You know what you’re problem is, Rowan? You’re viewing her as if she’s some sort of fragile child that will break from the smallest amount of heartache. Plus, her brother died half a year ago. I did take that into consideration.”

“I cannot believe you.”

“This is stupid. Why the hell are you acting as if I murdered her?”

“You might as well have.”

“What the hell?”

“Alistair, we both know how you are with women. You pick them up and drop them like flies. It’s disgusting. How do you think Casey will react when she finds out you only used her for a one night stand?”

I was furious by this point, as well, and climbing to my feet, I thrust a finger at Rowan’s chest. “You can’t go around saying I did something when you don’t know it’s true. Maybe I love her. Maybe I want to marry her. Don’t say stupid s**t without proof.”

“Your past is proof enough.”

I threw my hands up in exasperation and turned my back on him. “If that’s the case, just arrest me now for stealing her things, as well. After all, I’ve stolen things in the past, so I must have done it this time, too.”

I felt my arm being twisted behind my back and I looked over my shoulder to find Rowan actually slapping handcuffs onto my wrists. “Are you serious?”

He lifted his eyes to meet mine. “You’re not cooperating, so I’m taking you to the station to be questioned.”

I tried to pull away, but the cuffs were already on and he was yanking me backward off balance until I tumbled over, landing painfully on the ground. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, pulling me onto my feet again. He shoved me forward.

“You’re acting crazy, Rowan.”

“Just keep walking.”

I glared sullenly at the floor but obeyed him. With the mindset he was in, I knew there was no way to reason with him, and since I was already handcuffed, there wasn’t much I could do. So for the moment I would bide my time, and when it was proved that I wasn’t the thief, I would make Rowan pay for this.

We made it out the front door when his cellphone rang. I waited while he answered it.

“What?” His voice was sharp and biting. “I have him.” A pause. “********. All right. Bye.”

He turned to me where I stood already smiling smugly at him, having guessed what the conversation had been about. He reached forward and unlocked the cuffs.

“The stolen items were found at Liam’s.” He sounded very disappointed.

“Of course, they were. I told you I didn’t do it.”

He glared. “Stay away from Casey.”

I started laughing.

“I’m serious, Alistair. Leave her alone. She doesn’t deserve to be toyed around with.”

“I guess I should tell you something.” I leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “I lied about being with Casey.” I laughed again before turning around and going back inside.