Feeling sheepish, he followed her as she checked the video feed. With a gun pointed at the door.
Then he saw who it was and his arms fell to his sides, the gun dangling loosely in one hand.
It was his uncle, Megumi and Hiro.
With a cry of surprise, Scarlett rushed to open the door.
Raiden stood frozen, unable to even come up with a reason that the unlikely trio was here. He’d thought he’d never see them again, let alone together.
He watched Scarlett welcome them inside, hugging Hiro, her face alight with pleasure at seeing her friend, and he could swear she was really pleased to see the other two, too.
The trio looked over at Raiden, their gazes drawn to the gun in his hand.
He waved it in self-deprecation. “I assume I don’t need this and that you come in peace?”
Megumi giggled. Giggled! And such a merry sound, too.
Seemed it had been the prospect of marrying him that had been the reason for her stilted attitude.
As he put the gun away, Scarlett invited them all into her living room.
As soon as they sat down, Hiro blurted out, “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you shot me on sight, Kuroshiro-san.”
“When I thought you were interested in Scarlett, you were definitely in danger. Now, as her best friend, you’ve been drafted to the role of mine, too.”
“It would be my honor to have you as a friend and ally, Kuroshiro-san.” Hiro extended a hand to him, his eyes warm for the first time.
Raiden shook his hand. “If we’re going to be friends, you’d better get used to calling me Raiden. And I’ll call you like my lady calls you...Hiro.” He slapped Hiro on the back and winked at his absolute surprise. “Next time you want to force me to do the right thing, just pick up the phone and threaten me. I’d rather be given the chance to avoid being smeared all over the tabloids and the World Wide Web.” Hiro looked so mortified he took pity on him. “And if we’re going to be friends and allies, we need to start working on your sense of humor. I was only teasing.”