I throw my hands up in surrender. “OK, OK. It was just a thought.”
I actually hadn’t considered that Rhea would be blamed for it, anyway, so it’s probably a good thing Xena talked me out of it. It’s not like the guy would end up dead or anything. But a broken arm or two, so he had some recovery time to think about whether he wanted to lay hands on his wife again? That could be a good thing for him.
Not that I deal in that sort of revenge. I tend toward the petty vandalism type. As much as I would love to dole out physical punishments, I’m just not comfortable with that. No matter how much the assholes deserve it.
It’s not that I would be doing it for Rhea, either. After how my dad terrorized my mother and me when I was growing up, it’s kind of my calling to help as many victims of domestic violence as I can. I volunteer with the women’s shelter as much as possible. I donate money to tons of different initiatives aimed at eradicating domestic violence. Whether they be education, support, or crisis based. One of the main reasons I’m in Sleeping Dogs is to make the money I need to do everything that I do for people who’ve been affected by violence in this way. Whether that be the legal, and monetary assistance I provide, or the slightly less legal ways I go about encouraging offenders to rethink their ways.
“OK, Tanya is going to be here in about twenty minutes. Tiny Dancer, I need you to go buy tequila. Get the good stuff too. None of that gasoline flavoured donkey piss, OK? Take Aiden with you. His thoughts are too loud and he’s getting on my nerves. I need to think of what I’m going to do to help cheer up Rhea. I don’t need Captain Serious over here harshing my vibes.”
“Ha! Captain Serious, that’s a good one. I’m going to have to remember that.” Devon looks at me and laughs.
“You go ahead and do that,Tiny Dancer,I don’t mind at all.” I jump out of the way as he attempts to punch my arm.
“Princess, look what you started,” he says to Xena. “Pretty soon everyone is going to be calling me that stupid name.”
Xena just grins and winks at him.
Devon grunts in response. “Come on, let’s go buy this stupid tequila, before she gets really demanding.”
I grab my coffee and follow Devon outside. The store we’re going to is only two blocks away, so we’re there before my coffee has even cooled.
Once inside, Devon goes straight to the register and asks to have the manager meet us in the tequila section.
“You need a manager to buy tequila?” I ask as we walk over to the tequila to wait.
“I need whoever has the keys to get the good tequila out of the locked cabinet.” He points to a fancy looking blue and white bottle and one that’s got ‘dangerous’ in the name. “Xena likes these two. They’re sweeter than other tequilas and don’t have that ‘gasoline’ taste that she hates.”
The manager comes over and gets Devon’s two bottles, then walks us to the register. Devon pays and we’re back outside in no time.
“You sure know a lot about her tastes in tequila. You two spend a lot of time drinking together?”
“Nah, nothing like that,” Devon says, but his cheeks get a little pink. “I’ve been friends with her brother for years. She’s used me as an errand boy many times. That store helped me pick out tequila that met her requests the first time, and I just keep buying the same ones.”
“You just spent over three hundred dollars on tequila. That’s a lot of money on alcohol for your friend’s sister.”
“You guys pay me a lot more than what I need to live comfortably. I’m happy to buy it for her. Plus, she only asks for it a couple of times a year. It’s not like I’m spending thousands of dollars buying her expensive gifts or anything.” Devon is starting to look a little uncomfortable. I wonder if Kaden knows about the tequila arrangement? My instincts tell me no. “She might still have some left of the last bottle left at home. But Rhea lives close to the coffee shop so Xena is probably going to head straight there when her replacement shows up at work.”
Suddenly a flurry of tiny arms and legs is careening in our direction. Xena crashes into Devon instead of stopping before she gets to us.
“Did you get the good one?” She asks while her eyes roam Devon’s body, looking for the bags from the store.
“I got one of each of the one’s you like. But you still need to pace yourself and make sure you eat something first, OK? I don’t want you calling me later to come hold your hair while you puke your guts out.”
Xena laughs. “Nice try. My hair is short enough that I can handle any vomiting all by myself. I might have to call you to drive my drunk ass home, though. So keep your phone on. I need to go pick up some clothes for Rhea, too. I think some forced dancing might be in order.” She shakes her butt a little to show us what she means.
She grabs her bottles of tequila, giving us a wave as she turns and walks away.
“Well, what are you up to now? Want to come over and play some video games while you wait for that call?” I ask, taking a drink of my coffee.
“Yeah, why not? I haven’t kicked your ass in Mario Kart in a while.”
I laugh. Devon’s never beat me at any game, ever. “Sure. But I get to pick which system we play on.”
Chapter 5
Rhea -Time to Shake our Asses
“Knock knock knock. Special Delivery.”
