Scandalously Expecting His Child(83)

                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.”