XIX ‖ inside out

LONDON
January
Location: Iva's Apartment, Carpark

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"Where are we going?" I sat in the passenger seat and kicked my heels off. Sitting on folded legs, I wasn't caring that I had exposed one whole thigh through the slit of my scarlet dress. 

"Iva," Jax sighed from the driver seat beside me. I turned towards him, raising a brow before he unbuckled his seatbelt to reach towards the back of the car and grabbed a piece of blanket. Throwing it at me, he said, "Cover." 

"I needed to stash my weapons, so I did wear shorts underneath," I explained. 

"That's not the point, sweetness," he responded, facing his face forward instead of looking at me. 

My hands fiddled with the soft cashmere blanket that I was handed with and wondered about the cute little white stars print on it. Staring fixedly at it for a while, I lifted my head to look at Jax again. I asked curiously, "What's up with this design?" 

"Just use it," he mentioned, not answering the question and I shrugged a little before leaning back to my seat. I lay the blanket across my legs and Jax reached over to pull the seat belt across my body, clicking it shut against the buckle. He came close so suddenly that I had held onto my breath while my heart fluttered within my chest when his entire body was only a single inch away. Straightening back into his own seat, he smiled, "Ready to go?" 

"You haven't answered my very first question, Jax," I reminded. 

"I'll tell you on the way," he mentioned, revving up the engine of his black Lamborghini Huracán and swerved out of the carpark. 

"You'd still go even when I'm not ready," I grumbled softly, rolling my eyes. "At least, it's a cool ride. No complains." 

He chuckled and the moment we are out on the main road, he rammed hard on the gas pedal as the analogue speed metre hand sprung clockwise in an instantaneous manner. I felt a pump of adrenaline at the sudden acceleration and my eyes widened at the realisation that he was simply manoeuvring his way through the roads, steering clear of cars that were driving at half of the speed that we're going. My brows pushed together into a slight frown, knowing that we're most probably doomed for a chase if we had unfortunately chanced upon a police car. How hungry is he to want dinner this badly? I could only wonder. 

"Iva," he called out to me, his tone slightly serious.

"What is it?" I responded, amazed by the fact that he could still talk to me while driving in this insane speed.

"Two rules when we reach there," he mentioned. "Hide your weapons properly and don't act unless I said so."

"Wait—" I stunned. "Aren't we just grabbing dinner?"

"We're grabbing dinner," he nodded slightly. "Meanwhile, I had a job and I'm bringing you along." 

"Jax, slow the car down for a moment," I urged, straightening my back immediately and turning towards him. 

"Just speak," he said while making no attempts to step on the brake pedal at all. "I'm listening." 

"I need you to explain," I gasped, frantic as I sounded. "You ditched your partner? You can't go on missions without your assigned partner!" 

"In Lethe, you aren't necessarily assigned a partner every time. And I lost my partner years ago." That was all he said before the silence settled tensely between us and I swallowed back all the words that had formed at the tip of my tongue. Perhaps I haven't been transferred here long enough to know the rules yet. Back in Styx, no one would ever be without a partner unless they die during missions. So, I'm assuming that Jax meant that his partner had unfortunately passed. I dropped my head low and remained quiet, not saying any more words thereafter. 

"Please remember what I said," he reminded, his tone softened in a way that made my heart ached. I wish I knew his story but I could sense that it wasn't something that he would readily tell. Leaving the tension as it is, I had chosen to respect that everyone had things that are difficult to word and it's his choice to tell. He would let me know if he wanted to. 

"I don't have a passion of making a mess in other people's mission and putting their lives in danger," I commented, though choking a little at the end of my claim. 

"I trust you, partner," he chuckled, lifting off some tensity between us. 

"Just to let you know that you didn't obtain my consent before you forced me out of my apartment," I laughed in return. "I demand compensation, partner." 

"Hmm." That was the only reply he gave me and I had no idea what the hell it meant. 

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We stood in front of the restaurant and Jax pulled slightly on the hem of his perfectly tailored suit. He folded his arm and held it out towards me while not forgetting to flash a charming smile towards me. The corner of my lips lifted into a smile and I furled my hand against his arm as we ambled into the marbled lobby of the restaurant. The maitre d' greeted us with a small nod and a handshake but faltered somewhat at Jax's lack of enthusiasm to mirror his jollity. 

"Allow me to show the way, Mr and Mrs Evrard." The maitre d' gestured and I turned my head sharply to shoot a look at Jax. He remained almost indifferent but there was a speckle of mischief in his saxe blue eyes. His other hand rested above mine on his arm. Giving me a light squeeze on my hand, he turned to face me and asked softly, "What's the matter, Mrs Evrard?" 

"Nothing of concern, husband?" I smiled lovingly, but my hand tightened with crushing force against his arm. This asshat told me everything I needed to know in order to help him out with this mission but had infuriatingly missed out on the detail that I was supposed to take on the role of his wife. From the side, I noticed the way those full lips lifted into a playful smirk, revealing a dimple that struck straight into my heart. I swore quietly. This guy will seriously be the death of me. 

Entering the dining room, the interiors reflected style from the Romanesque era of medieval European with the large mullioned windows and long embroidered curtains. My heels clicked in clean staccato along with the polished flagstone tiles that lined the flooring and the maitre d' showed us to a round table that was donned with an exquisite-looking tablecloth and a small vase of flowers placed in the middle of it. The tealight candle was lighted and it added to the warm and luxurious ambience of the restaurant. 

The maitre d' offered to pull the chair for me but Jax gave him a smooth gesture and took over to settle me in. I quickly sat on the cushioned dining chair, surprised by his gentlemanly manners. He even went ahead to unfold the linen napkin and rest it nicely on my lap before walking back to his seat. Turning to the maitre d', he said, "As reserved beforehand." 

"Understood." The maitre d' nodded.

"Remember to change out the apricot pudding, my wife's allergic to it," Jax added.

The maitre d' nodded again before leaving us be. Eyeing him, I asked, "How did you know?" 

He remained silent, with no intention to answer. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat at the thought that he most probably knew me inside out while I barely knew a single thing about him. I faced him and stared into his greyish-blue eyes, I pressed, "Jax, how much did you actually know about me?" 

"Now's not a good time, sweetness," he mentioned and his gaze remained over my shoulder, seemingly focused on the table behind us. It took me a great deal of effort to fight off the urge to turn around and look at his target. 

Thankfully, at this point, the maitre d' returned to have our plates served. The inviting aroma of the food placed in front of me had successfully distracted me and made me forget in totality that my mind was still boggling with curiosity about Jax's target just seconds ago. As usual, food works wonders and miracles. 

Picking up the fork, the crisp sound from cutting through the piece of perfectly done duck confit was already a much pleasant experience. I took a small bite and it melted blissfully as euphoria chimed harmoniously in my mind. Sitting right ahead of me, Jax moved adroitly with his utensils, eating with a form of grace that I would never have the patience to achieve. His eyes glanced towards me briefly every few moments and smiled warmly. Though I knew that his attention was fixed permanently towards my back, locked onto his target.

My fork sliced through the soft heap of mashed potato on my plate and held it close to my mouth but I overheard a warm, enthusiastic greeting from behind me and my hand slipped to smudge the fork of mashed potato across my lips. My eyes shot towards Jax who's now on high alert.

I couldn't believe what I just heard but it was crystal clear that those words spoke, "Pleasure meeting you, Mr Isaiah Gaillard." 

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