Claire

Sometimes, my mom had a way of just winding me up and getting me into trouble. I was one of the top associates at my law firm. On my way to being a partner. I had worked fucking hard to get where I was. I certainly didn't have the title babysitter written on my forehead. Yet, that was what my mom had roped me into. Babysit—ting my stepbrother.

He's older.

So, he should have known better.

The problem was that didn't stop him from acting like a big kid. He had problems with drugs, gambling and women.

Why women problems?

Because instead of chasing women that were sin—gle, ones that he could actually hook up with, he had an addiction to only go after the ones that were taken.

Oh, and they weren't taken by just a simple jeal—ous partner.

No, he had a death wish by chasing mobsters and policemen's wives. He always chose the partners that could kill him and get away with it.

His gambling problem would have been manage—able if he had money to throw away. But like most gam—blers, he didn't have a dime. Gamblers tend to either borrow money from the wrong crowd or steal, and his drinking made him feel brave to take some of the risks. Mom told me that he had started drinking too much be—fore he was banged up.

Sometimes, I think gamblers are worse than drug addicts. At least with drug addicts, you can blame the drugs for fucking up their minds. They don't know what they are doing most of the time. When they steal for drugs or just jump in a car and drive, it's because they're so damn high.

Now, what was a gambler's excuse?

I had no idea.

But for some reason, it had now become my problem. Because, I wasn't being asked to defend him. I was asked to live with him. Something I hadn't done since I had left home. I had never lived with anyone and I hated Rogue for making me.

I was standing outside the slammer, wondering where the fuck Rogue was. He was supposed to get out of jail at three. That was the only time I could meet him, as I had an important client meeting and that took priori—ty. I had a home loan to pay and responsibilities, unlike Rogue. The only person he cared about was himself, which was the reason he ended up in jail in the first place.

So, I went inside to ask where he was, only to find out that Kathleen had come to pick him up.

Who the fuck was Kathleen?

Rogue was supposed to be in my care.

If he thought for one minute that I was taking pleasure out of all of this, then he was sadly mistaken. The only thing I wanted to do apart from scream was find him. Tell him that this arrangement was over and get on with the toughest case that I had ever had. I need—ed to win it. Normally, my cases had a couple of sticky points, but I knew that I could win them.

This one.

Well, it was going to be tough.

It didn't help that William, one of the law firm partners, put my name down for the case. Just because I didn't sleep with all of the partners. The industry was very much old school. Run by boys who treated women as if they were part of the furniture unless they looked good in a short skirt.

The more I thought about it, the more I didn't know why I stayed in my job.

I hated it at the best of times. Sometimes, I won—dered if it was changing me. Making me more aggres—sive, nothing like I used to be.

Right now, I was hating everything about my life, including having to babysit my stepbrother. I had a strong suspicion that Kathleen was the parole officer that he was banging. Or rather, was banging prior to him be—ing locked up.

Where was she when he was getting in trouble?

I picked up the phone and called Mom. I felt silly calling her, but she had to know what was going on. I had a feeling that this would be the last day that I would help Rogue. I didn't need this shit in my life. I had a prestigious client that I was representing at the moment and she was difficult enough.

"Mom, can you believe that he came out already? I told him I would be here at three."