“Sure,” Denny said.
* * *
Mike’s laughter as he quickly answered Denny’s text made Demon curious as he sat next to him again in the limo. “What’s so funny?
“Frodo’s really in it now. Those goofball friends of Joanie’s want to play ‘Spin the Bottle’ over at Danielle’s house where the parentals will not be home until nine tonight.”
“How do we get line of sight on that gig?”
“That’s only part of it, D. Listen to the rules. Each one spins the bottle. If it points at a girl, she has to kiss Denny. If it points at Denny, he spins again and whoever it points to must take off a piece of clothing.”
Mike’s explanation launched Demon into a long shoulder shaking snorting bout of amusement. “Oh… oh Frodo… you dog. We’re supposed to bail him out, right?”
“That’s his plan.”
“What’s your plan, Captain Darkness?”
Mike smiled. “I’m thinking we should persuade him to leave his notebook computer. We then do a private channel feed from a lapel camera to his notebook - under the pretense of crashing in just in time to prevent any potentially compromising activity.”
Demon’s lips drew back into what Mike knew was a grin. “Then you and I kick back here, ignore all the signs we should crash the party, and watch the fun, right?”
“That’s my plan.”
Demon pivoted in the front seat, his left paw streaking alongside his face in a classic shun of disgust. “You are one twisted older brother, or didn’t you realize your sister is involved in this nefarious undertaking.”
“Harmless fun.”
Demon maintained the shun. “The darkness rules.”
“That’s the beer and shot talkin’. You wouldn’t be so morally outraged if you were sober.”
“Fine. I have a good buzz going, so I’ll just leave you holdin’ the bag while I play the innocent dog card.”
“You know, I think I liked you better when we couldn’t communicate.”
“That’s because you’re upset you only have a few hours to live until your Mom sees the movie of the Haunt raking your chest to the bone. Now you want to fill the time in between at your own sister’s humiliation. Say it ain’t so, Joe.”
“Thanks for reminding me, Farfel. You know what happens when you let me get myself in trouble. She’s going to cut you off from the treats.”
Demon looked out the side window. “Here come the kids, Bambi. Can you function without my directions?”
Mike grinned. “Is this on or not?”
“It’s on, but you better have a plan for when this party blows up in your face, brother. You’re already weak in the Force after the Haunt raking.”
“Relax. I got this covered. I’m glad I always carry a spare pullover after that warehouse gig when I got slimed. At least I don’t look like a corpse after the clean up.” Mike made a small hand wave toward the approaching teens. They were all bouncing off each other, laughing and joking around as they walked. “Denny has that confident air about him like we have his back. I’m starting to feel guilty.”
“It’s about time you, unfeeling wretch.”
Mike chuckled, nodding his head. “Good one, D. Okay, we play it by ear. We can at least let it move along to the point where we know whether those three are setting Denny and Joanie up. I’m thinking they’re hoping to create trouble to giggle over.”
Mike jumped out to open the rear door for the teens. They all gathered around him.
Mandy hugged him, her long blond hair brushing against Mike’s chest. “Are you okay, Mikey?”
“I’m fine.” Mike took Mandy’s arm, guiding her into the limo. He smiled at Joanie, waving off her look of concern. “Really, Sis, I’m good. Denny, can I keep your notebook computer with me in the limo while you’re all in the movies?”
Denny immediately took the notebook out of his bag and handed it to Mike, who reached over and put the lapel camera in place on Denny’s shirt without anyone noticing. He met Denny’s questioning look with a slight nod. “We’ll be outside at the movies, but D and I will probably head for home and wait for your call after I drop you at Danielle’s.”
A relieved look flowed over Denny’s face as he adjusted the camera while turning away from the limo. He perceived Mike’s plan to keep an eye on things. “We’re just going to be playing games or something. I’ll call. Thanks.”
After everyone was in the limo, Mike opened the center separator. “I screwed up and had my camera on straight to Demon Inc HQ. My dance with the Haunt is in the no fly zone.”
“Uh oh. Laura’s already over there, brother. She was going to finish doing the books, and clean the computer drives, because Mr. Corbett wants to start on the videos from this weekend’s battles. She probably watched it live.”
Mike turned around, flopping back against his seat. “I bet I know why she hasn’t called. She was too busy hot wiring the vid back directly into the Rawlins’ living room for my parents’ viewing pleasure.”
“That’s a buzz killer,” Demon messaged Mike.
Danielle nudged Joanie, whispering in her ear. “Why would Laura rat out Mike?”
“You don’t have to whisper. Mike’s prior Haunt wounds temporarily made his touch caustic to women except us Rawlins’ women sharing his DNA. With Laura being pregnant, and caring about Mike, naturally that new revelation made her mental when she found out about some of Mike’s-”
“Hey! I’m right here in the front seat, Sis. Nothing happened. Denny figured out the Colloidal Silver mix could dull the pheromone that made any women I touched act weird.”
Danielle hugged Denny. “Define weird for me, Denny, you little genius.”
“When Gail touched Mike, she launched on him,” Joanie explained for Denny. “The super-friends had to drag her away from Mike and over to our house for Demon to counteract the pheromone. It made Laura nutso.”
Melissa reached through the opening to pat Mike’s shoulder. “Sounds interesting. Too bad you’re shunted, Mike. You could demo your new power for us.”
Mike snatched Melissa’s hand, provoking a surprised squeal. He smiled back at her. “I didn’t lose it. I can control it.”
Melissa’s face flushed and her mouth drooped open. Mike patted her hand, willing the effect to end. He released her hand in the dead silence inside the limo. She fell back against the seat, rubbing her hand. Looking around, she saw her girlfriends and Denny watching for a reaction. “What?”
“You just got juiced, girlfriend,” Mandy whispered, glancing at Mike with a mixture of unease and curiosity.
“I did?”
“You been holdin’ out on me, partner,” Demon expounded to Mike.
“I knew I could do it from the moment I fought Fenton, D. It was pure concentration. When it was time to evict the Casper out of Fenton, I turned it up a notch,” Mike replied to Demon silently. “Pretty cool, huh?”
“If you say so, Captain Darkness.”
“You… you can control it?” Joanie’s face combined fear and awe in equal measure. “You’re a monster. That means you can-”
Denny grabbed Joanie’s arm. “Hey! It’s Mike, Joanie. He’s no monster and Mandy, Danielle, and Melissa have been playin’ us. Mike gave Melissa a little reminder there’s another side to messin’ around.”
“My man!” Mike fired over at Demon. “He gets it.”
Demon shook his head. “Yeah, right, Cap. It was your plan all along to teach a lesson. Oh barf! You did a malicious mind meld on that poor innocent girl… you monster!”
Mike immediately turned to the front, desperately stifling the welling laughter.
“We were just having some fun, Joanie,” Danielle said. “Ease up. Denny’s right in a way. We were having a little game of our own, but it was harmless. Let’s go see the movie. These new Haunt revelations have us all cranked up.”
Mike turned around again. “Danielle’s right. You five are having a good time. Let’s not spoil it with a bunch of teen turmoil crap
olla. I’ll put on some sounds in this awesome vehicle. Relax and enjoy the ride over to the movie theater. I take it you’ve all decided to do a little video gaming together before the movie?”
“That’s the plan, Mike,” Denny answered. “Thanks.”
“On our way.” Mike started the limo with a grin over at Demon.
* * *
Mike and Demon huddled around Denny’s notebook computer on the front seat of the limo, watching with amused anticipation as the teens flirted while sipping wine with varying degrees of distaste at Danielle’s house. He had left them off, promising to collect everyone when they called. Danielle gestured toward the upstairs of her house after setting down her wine glass.
“C’mon girls, let’s go get comfortable. You might want a little more wine, Denny. Help yourself.”
“Thanks,” Denny replied. “I think I’ll just sip what I have. Don’t go around the bend on me, Danielle.”
“I thought you were prepared for a few surprises, Denny,” Danielle said, her hands on hips.
Denny had had enough games. He stood up. “Yeah, Danielle, I’m really frightened. I’ve faced guys in the ring, a serial killer with a gun pointed at me, and hordes of clawed, fanged Haunts swiping at me. Playing sex innuendo games has me really scared out of my wits. Bring it!”
There was silence for a moment as both Mike and Demon erupted in amused appreciation. Mandy walked over to Denny and patted his arm.
“Sip your wine, Den. No more tricks.”
“I’m holding you to that.” Denny frowned. He got nothing other than a giggling response as the four girls went upstairs. Denny pulled out his iPad, doing an instant text with the words ‘Hep me’. His immediate answer was ‘calm down, Frodo’.
“What do you think, D?”
“I’m thinking the girls are going to rock Frodo’s world.”
Mike nodded. “Yep, that’s what I’m thinkin’. Do you think we should rescue him now? He is a standup guy.”
Demon met Mike’s eyes, his lips curling back over a formidable set of fangs in his model of a grin. “Eventually.”
“Denny trusts us. He defended me when my own sister called me a monster. This is wrong on so many levels, D.”
“Quit whining and turn up the sound, Cap.”
* * *
Denny watched the staircase leading upstairs, mesmerized by fantasies come to life before his very eyes. Melissa sauntered down the steps in a filmy black negligee with what looked like a black string bikini under it. Her jet black hair pulled back tightly at the neck, Denny noticed the new lipstick and makeup as she smiled on her way down. He guiltily wondered if maybe he texted Mike too soon. The next one down the upstairs model runway was Joanie. Wearing a pink negligee and a pale blue string bikini, she looked more frightened than sexy, but she stepped down past Melissa and framed his face in her trembling hands before moving over in front of Melissa. Long blonde hair loosely wavering down her back, Mandy wore a red negligee with red bikini underneath. She stopped behind Melissa with a slight sultry wave of her hand. Danielle ended the showcase with a dark blue negligee with matching string bikini, her auburn hair was arranged to fall over her face in a sensuous manner. Continuing past her friends, Danielle slipped inside Denny’s arms, brushing against him before joining her friends.
“What do you think, Denny?”
Denny continued staring in open shock at the girls, having maintained a grim countenance throughout the modeling act. He tried figuring out what could be going through their minds to pull something like this. Denny had no illusions about Joanie’s friends, but he did believe she cared for him. He assumed this play had been orchestrated to screw around with Joanie, but also to push their vamp tendencies on a safe target – him.
“You four are beautiful, Danielle, but I don’t doubt for a moment you already know that. Seriously, what’s this all about? None of you are wearing enough clothing to play ‘Spin the Bottle’ under your stated rules.”
Mandy pouted perfectly. “Any other guy would be drooling to get the game started.”
“Then let’s get started. I take it you all think I’m a safe guinea pig for this experiment. I’ll play. Let’s go.”
* * *
Mike and Demon traded stunned looks while watching through Denny’s lapel cam as the girls paraded down in front of Denny. “Well, D, you’ve been studying teen behavior ever since you arrived. What do you make of this?”
Demon shook his head. “I got nothin’, Cap. I think you may have to pull the ripcord on the safety chute and bail Frodo out.”
“Denny can handle the four scantily clad young ladies and their game play, but they definitely pushed this past the point of simple teenage girl flirtation. If my own sister wasn’t a part of this, I’d lean back and enjoy the show. Joanie looks as flustered as Frodo.”
“You sure zapped Melissa, Captain Darkness. I’m not sure you rate as a moral authority on their actions, Cap. This was all a preconceived plan. That’s for sure. No way would they have four outfits like those lying around Danielle’s house. I wonder how they browbeat Joanie into going along with this.”
Mike grinned. “Joanie’s in teenage hell, partner. She’s competing with her girlfriends for Denny’s attention, plus she’s eager not to seem like a mood killing prude. They’re moving into position. I have to see a couple spins, D.”
“Agreed, Cap.”
Chapter Three
Police Interference
The five teens sat in a circle around the empty Champagne bottle Danielle had brought out for the game. Danielle moved forward, gripping the bottle in the middle tightly, while smiling provocatively at Denny. “Here we go.”
Danielle spun the bottle. It came to rest on Mandy, who squealed happily. She immediately moved over to kneel in front of Denny. Mandy shook her finger at Denny warningly. “Don’t give me any of that peck on the cheek stuff either. Let’s see what you got.”
Denny gripped her hands and leaned in to kiss Mandy without holding back. He wasn’t mad about the game, but he had no intention of being the butt of any cheap shots on his compliance to the game. The kiss escalated to a moaning, no-holds-barred exchange of teen sexual provocation that Denny did not back away from.
“Hey!” Joanie protested. “What the hell? This is a game supposedly. Your turn is over!”
Mandy pulled away reluctantly, surprise showing on her face as she straightened off her knees to return to her position. Denny’s hands clenched unintentionally after releasing Mandy. Joanie stared at Denny, her lips parted in something beyond any jealously for Mandy. Danielle smilingly pointed at Mandy.
“Your turn to spin, Mandy.”
Mandy reached down to grip the bottle, her hand trembling, and her body in a heated state of confusion. What was supposed to be a playful poke at Denny turned into something beyond teenage meanderings. She spun the bottle. It finished spinning pointed at Denny. He smiled and reached out to spin it once again. It pointed at Melissa. Denny enjoyed the uneasy look that flowed over her features. He could tell she didn’t want to take off anything of the sparse outfit she had on.
“We can stop right now, Mel,” Denny said.
Melissa smiled at Denny gratefully, but one look around the circle, and she saw animosity from her friends except Joanie. “Ah… I’m fine, Denny.”
Melissa took off her negligee, dropping the flimsy cover behind her. She moved into a position kneeling in front of Denny. He grasped her hands, the power of his position in the game finally dawning on him. She leaned forward tentatively with Denny reciprocating. His lips met hers in a brushing fashion that became more urgent by the moment. Her body writhed against his in an unintended melding that had both of them gasping. It was then the front door popped open against the doorjamb, with first Demon and then Mike rushing in.
* * *
“Wow, this is escalating real quick,” Mike observed, watching Denny’s kiss with Mandy.
“Well, let’s see, Cap, we have four teenage hotties dressed in nothing
, faced off with a fifteen year old male in the heat of his sexual awakening. What part of quick don’t you understand? When exactly are you going to pull the plug on this teenie wet dream, buddy? If we don’t get Frodo out of there pretty soon, this is going to get real messy.”
“You’re right. I’ll-”
Mike’s iPad signaled an incoming call. He took it out of his equipment bag. “It’s Tom.”
“Hey, Tom… you okay?”
“Our favorite Sheriff’s Deputies, Whittier and Pascolli, have enlisted me and Jason, Mike, but Jase is out of town. Someone took an eleven year old girl from the Lake Chabot Park a half hour ago. We’re at Lake Chabot now. The parents are going nuts. Can you and Demon help us? Whittier said she’s open to anything. She just wants to get the girl, Tina Kinsler, before she disappears somewhere. They’ve broadcasted an Amber Alert, but-”
“Me, D, and Denny will be in the Lake Chabot parking lot in less than half an hour, Tom. We’re in with you all the way. We’ll do whatever we can, but like before, once we get there, D calls the shots or we won’t be much help.”
“That’s exactly what I told Whittier. She agreed to anything you can come up with on the ground that’s allowable.”
“I’ll grab Denny, and get Laura alerted at Demon Inc right now. Once I get Denny up to speed, we’ll figure out the best way we can help. See you shortly.” Mike disconnected. “You get any of that, D?”
Demon nodded. “Well, at least it’s humans. Even I’m sick of Haunts today. Let’s get Frodo out of the clutches of teen hormones and go see what we can do.”
* * *
“Pack it up, Denny,” Mike said, turning away at the screams of surprise from Joanie and her friends. “A little girl got snatched at Lake Chabot. The Sheriff’s Department wants to give us a crack at finding her before anymore time goes by.”
Denny scrambled to his feet without a word, running out the door with Demon snorting laughter behind him. Mike turned to Joanie, who was hiding behind the couch. “Sis, call Laura and put her on alert. We may need her to work as our base on this one. I don’t trust Alameda County Sheriff’s Department to coordinate this quite the way we might need. Can you do that for me?”
Demon at War (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 3) Page 3