Page 89 of The Hardest Hit
“There’s some candy in there too,” said Evan. “I didn’t want you to feel left out in the weird edible department.” Jackson chuckled as he pulled out the seaweed candies.
“I will fight you,” said Aiden pulling out one of his giant pocky and waving it like a sword. Jackson took out the short sword and sliced the pocky in half, nearly burying the point into the arm of the chair. Dominique choked on a mochi ball from laughing so hard. Evan collapsed back onto the couch feeling successful.
“Speaking of Tokyo,” said Aiden, pulling his own bag of presents forward and beginning to distribute. “Funny story: I ran into Bradley Kingsley yesterday.”
Evan stared blankly at him. He had no idea who Bradley Kingsley was.
“He said he bumped into you in Tokyo,” continued Aiden, handing him a present.
“Shit,” said Evan sitting up. “That’s where I know him from.”
“From being friends with me? Yes. He said you must have been in a good mood because you actually chatted for over thirty seconds and introduced him to your girlfriend.”
“Busted!” crowed Dominique around a mochi ball.
“Goddamn it, Evan!” yelled Jackson, throwing down the sword and standing up. Aiden and Dominique exchanged confused glances. Jackson stomped to the window and stood staring out at the back garden, hands on his hips in a way that reminded Evan distinctly of his father. “I can’t keep doing this,” he said turning around, raking them all with an angry glare. “I can’t keep compensating for things you don’t tell me. If I had known you were taking someone, I would have been a lot more insistent about your security.”
“Yes,” said Evan. “Sorry. I thought of that after I hung up.”
Jackson threw his hands in the air in frustration, then took a deep breath. “Is she OK?”
“OK? What do you mean,is she OK? What happened to Olivia?” demanded Dominique.
“Nothing,” said Evan. “She’s fine. I’m fine. It’s just that it almost wasn’t fine. Granger took another run at me. This time, one of them had a gun. He pointed it at Olivia. And really,” he said, turning to Jackson, “I cannot have that happening again.”
“I’m starting to think…,” said Dominique. She paused, rubbing her eyebrow with a very Grandma-type gesture. For the first time, Evan also remembered that it was something that his father had also done. “Something is going to have to be done,” she said at last and smiled the picture-perfect Deveraux smile.
Evan stared at Dominique. “Like what?” he asked, torn between horror and fascination.
“Oh, I’m sure I don’t know,” she said. “But I guess I will have to come up with something.”
“No squashing Deverauxes?” asked Evan.
“Precisely.”
Evan looked back at Jackson. He wasn’t sure what to do with a Dominique who came up with things to do to her enemies. Jackson shrugged.
“Yes, you’re the Godfather,” said Aiden, turning to his sister. “I’m sure we all sleep better at night knowing you’re on our side. Meanwhile, what do you mean,is Olivia OK?Brad didn’t mention her name, so I know I sure as hell didn’t.” Dominique took a hasty gulp of her coco, as Aiden focused on her with an intensity that he usually reserved for court. “You knew?”
“That Evan was dating the very lovely Dr. Olivia West? Yes, I did.”
“When did you meet her?” demanded Jackson, his eyes narrowing at Dominique.
“A month ago,” said Dominique. “Mochi ball anyone?”
“I’ll take one,” said Evan.
“That’s like an entire ice age in Evan dating time. How long have you been dating her?” demanded Aiden, turning to Evan.
“Since Halloween,” said Evan around a mouthful of ice cream.
“Let me guess,” said Jackson, “long red hair?”
“Why doesn’t anyone tell me anything?” demanded Aiden.
“This one’s on you,” said Dominique, looking pointedly at Evan.
“I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want all of you to scare the crap out of her.”
