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I smirk. He looks like a deer caught in the headlights, which is both hilarious and, admittedly, a little hot. “You should probably get dressed unless you’re okay with them seeing those bruises.”

His eyes narrow, doubt flickering back into his expression. “Are you sure it’s okay that I’m here?” he asks, his voice quieter now.

I shrug. If either of them tries anything, I’ll shoot them dead myself. “I don’t know, probably, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

It’s time they get over their distrust of Alex.

“Rowan,” he says pointedly.

“Alex?” I reply, feigning innocence.

His lips press into a thin line, unimpressed.

I brush a strand of hair from his face, tucking it behind his ear. “Relax. They want to get to the bottom of this as much as we do, and I think that outweighs everything else. They also know you’re important to me.”

The words hang in the air between us, and I can see him mulling them over, chewing the inside of his bottom lip. It’s a tell, one I’ve noticed in the short time we’ve been back in each other’s lives. I reach up, swipe my thumb over his lip, and he stops.

“Seriously,” I say, my voice softer now. “I trust you, and they trust me.”

After a beat, he nods. “Let me go put on a shirt,” he says, sliding off my lap.

“You don’t have to,” I call after him.

He flips me off as he disappears down the hall, and I chuckle, already counting down the minutes until I can pull him back into my arms.

Hayden and Xander arrive a few minutes later whilst Alex is still upstairs. Today, Hayden is not dressed in his standard suit, he’s in a black t-shirt and black pants. His hands are smudged with coal, which tells me he’s been up all night drawing. Xander on the other hand, is in his standard leather jacket, the outline of his gun visible, likely on purpose.

“You look different,” Xander remarks, eyes roaming my office as if in search of something out of place.

“Different?”

“Well-rested,” he clarifies, looking back at him.

Well, no point in lying, I figure. “Alex is here.”

“Oh, fuck, no,” he says through gritted teeth.

I watch him reach for his gun and an uncontrollable rage erupts in me. “Touch that and I kill you.”

His nostrils flare just as Hayden lets out an exasperated sigh. “Cut it out, both of you.” His eyes fall on me. “We went through this. You can’t trust him.”

“I get why you believe that,” Alex’s voice comes from behind my brothers. They both turn to find him lingering at the threshold. “But I really do want to help.”

Xander and Hayden look between each other.

“Why?” Hayden asks.

“Whatever he has to say is probably a lie,” Xander mutters.

Alex doesn’t flinch. He squares his shoulders, the tension in his posture dissolving. I feel a flicker of pride watching him look so confident in front of my brothers.

“Because Rowan helped someone I love deeply when he didn’t need to. He trusted me and I want to honour that trust.”

Xander doesn’t look convinced, but we really don’t have time for this. Alex continues, “I know you both have no reason to trust me, but I wasn’t behind that raid at Summit and I’m not going to play you. If I do, you have every right to kill me.”

“What if we skip that part and I just kill you now?”

“Xander,” I grit out.