Page 69 of The Rainbow Recipe
At Matt’s admission, Dante abandoned Vincent. Unfazed by the whirlwind and the arrival of authority, he advanced on the target of KK’s rage. Jax took a seat on the BMW’s hood, occasionally kicking the security guard to keep him down, leaving the arena open for his cousin.
Having a good idea what would happen next and that it might be better if the cops didn’t watch, Evie signaled Pris and left KK and Dante to their fight. While Rhonda grappled with Nick for the keys and Vincent staggered toward his son, Pris carried a sleepy Nan and Alex toward the officialdom climbing out of their cars.
“They kidnapped the twins,” Evie shouted, running toward the burly security guard and distracting him as Matthew screamed in agony in the background.
“The babies, save the babies,” Pris cried, holding a sleepy child in each arm and practically falling under their weight. “Thank heaven you’re here, officer. Those men tried to murder us!”
Still holding his handgun, the police officer radioed for backup instead of taking a child.
“They’re kidnappers and thieves. Theykilledthe lady who owned the fancy boutique,” Evie added excitedly, loading the truth with words that made people listen. “And possibly her poor sister.”
The security guard grabbed his phone and called for support.
In the background, Matt’s screams died to a sullen silence. Evie figured it was safe to leave the guard and help herself to one of the curly mops in Pris’s arms. She bounced the heavy child and swung around, hoping to see that Jax and Dante had hidden any weapons. There hadn’t been any gunshots, but she hadn’t expected any. She just hadn’t wanted Matt and Vincent escaping unscathed.
Dante had his foot on Matt’s spine and his cane on the back of his neck as the boutique owner blubbered into the dirt. Jax stood over the bodyguard, who simply sat where he’d fallen. Nick was on the ground, groaning. The keys! Where were Donna and Vincent...
Vincent hadn’t stayed down.
“Watch out,” Evie screamed. “They’re trying to get away!”
Jax abandoned the security guard to race across the lot.
Rhonda was already in the passenger seat. Vincent had the driver’s side door open, trying to lower his battered body behind the wheel.
Before Jax could reach them, KK’s roiling tornado slammed the door into Vincent’s back, catching his neck and hands between the roof and the door’s edge. Vincent screamed in agony.
I know you did it,KK shouted.I tried to tell the truth and you killed me! My own father killed me!
When Vincent tried to push the door off his neck, she slammed it again.I should have called the police on you years ago. I should have called them when you pushed Mom down the stairs.
Not hearing what Evie was hearing, Vincent merely shrieked and fought with the imprisoning door. Donna screamed from the other side of the limo. Jax folded his arms and watched in interest.
Apparently deciding no one was armed, the police officer jogged up to extricate Vincent from the invisible door slammer.
Still holding down a squirming Matt, Dante glanced in Evie’s direction. “That’s KK getting even?”
“Yeah, so you don’t have to. Both of you, try not to get arrested and let these nice men handle this.” Evie gestured at the police cars with blaring sirens roaring into the lot. There was no way she could explain to anyone all the crimes KK was accusing her father of. Once KK got rolling, she’d found her tongue, in a manner of speaking.
Ignoring the commotion, Jax crossed the lot to take the heavy twin from Evie’s arms. “Kids look good on you,” he murmured, bending to kiss her. “Can you send KK on now, please?”
Oh yeah, peace and quiet again. It wasn’t as if a ghost could sit on the witness stand. Evie opened herself to suck the exhausted spirit from the fight.
Satisfied now that she’d done what she’d left unfinished, KK departed willingly.
Thirty-four: Pris
After dealingwith the twins crawling all over everyone and everything at the station, the cops let Pris leave first so she could put them to bed in the early hours before dawn.
She buckled them into the booster seats she’d brought from Italy, and wrapped them with the blankets she used in transporting food. Alex leaned against her as she fought with the buckle.
“Bad men,” he said as succinctly as his father.
“Don’t go,” Nan echoed her twin’s worries.
“I’ve got you, babes,” Pris told them, her nonexistent heart breaking just a little. “And your daddy will be with you soon. No more bad men.”
They didn’t argue or say more—so very not Malcolms. But then, their mother was normal, and Dante was an Ives, so they were their own selves and adorable—and apparently unscathed by their adventure. The innocence of their protected childhood had apparently allowed them to sleep through most of their ride.
