Drop Dead Demons (35 page)

It was still dark, only an hour or so before sunrise, as I hustled with Hex Boys in tow down the side of my house to the door to the garage. I rattled the knob. Locked. Stupid Aunt M and her
surprise
.

“Blake, open it,” I said briskly.

Surely his powers included opening metal locks.

He glanced at the rest of the boys.

“This isn’t a good idea,” Ayden said. Again.

“I must verbalize my concurrence.”

“That’s all you’ve been doing, Jayden.” For once I understood him.

“Involving outsiders is an ill-advised plan.” Jayden barely contained his frustration. “I told you I could take care of the injuries. At closer inspection they’re not that alarming. Frankly, I believe he’s simply hypersensitive because he’s never before had acquaintanceship with burns and the magnitude of malaise they incite.”

Blake laughed. “Jayden just called you a baby.”

The back of my eyelids itched with exhaustion. I’d had enough.

“Exactly, Jayden,” I hissed. “He’s never had burns, but somehow
I
burned him. And while Father Bancroft always fixes you guys with his healing power, he’s skedaddled out of town, and you couldn’t go to him anyway because you can’t explain how Ayden could suffer an injury he’s not supposed to be able to suffer without explaining
me
and you can’t do that otherwise I’m in more danger, sooooo this is all my fault, my mess, and I’m going to fix it, which means using my dad because no matter how smart you are, he’s been a trained physician for longer than you’ve been alive and short of magic healing powers, he’s the best man for the job, so you will all wait in the garage while I get him.” I inhaled a long breath and used every remaining ounce of energy to shoot all the boys my nastiest stare. “Now, shut up and follow along. Or I will make you pay.”

They all shut up.

Except Blake.

“Pay how?” he whispered. “’cause I could totally be into this whole dominatrix thing you’ve got going on. Are we talking whips, leather, and handcuffs or—? Ow! Logan, dude, you are seriously repressed. Want Aurora to spank you? Ow! That really hurt. Have you been working out?”

“I hate to say it,” Matthias said with obvious reluctance. “I mean I
really
hate to say it, but she’s right. He should be checked out by a professional. We just have to come up with a cover story.”

“Already got one. Blake?” I gestured to the door.

Blake fluttered a hand. There was a click. I turned the knob and entered expecting the aromas of a construction site — metal, wood shavings, oil, paint — but it smelled clean, polished.

Huh.

Before I could tell them to beware of loose wires, there was a hum and lights flickered to life. Things started moving. I stumbled to a stop. Someone bumped into me. Then I stared open-mouthed at what used to be our garage. 

“She built this herself?” Tristan’s voice still pinged with awe. “Incredible.”

We were all checking it out—except Blake who’d started pumping iron with the weights in a far corner—but Tristan had been drooling over Aunt M’s ridiculously complex system like a kid in a candy shop.

When the lights first came on, it just looked like a bunch of sleek, built-in cabinets. But as we watched, panels slid away, shelving and desktops seemed to feed out from the walls, and in moments, we were looking at an incredible computer setup that looked like it could monitor space satellites.

On Mars.

Several individual computer stations, another at a large desk with a couple of big screens on the wall, and all sorts of storage along with printers and oodles of electronic devices, most of which I didn’t recognize.

“Wow,” Tristan said as he and Jayden opened a cabinet and checked computer components. “This is next,
next
generation super-computer stuff.”

Jayden nodded. “But how could she procure technology which shouldn’t exist?”

“I think she builds it herself.” I shrugged. “It doesn’t look that different from other computers.”

“But it is. Inside.” Tristan carefully closed a cabinet door. “You know what this means?”

“My aunt went insanely overboard?”

Tristan’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “That,
and
this system is not only faster and smarter, almost Artificial Intelligence kind of stuff, it’s also,” he paused as if waiting for a drumroll then whispered the next word like it was the answer to the universe, “
untraceable
. Even to the Mandatum.” He dug in his pocket and pulled out the Mandatum tracker that had come off the lava gorilla demon. “I can find who last checked this out.” 

“Finally, some good news.” Too exhausted for enthusiasm, I motioned for Ayden to take a seat. “Wait here. I’ll get my dad. Tristan, hack away.”

“With pleasure.” Tristan rubbed his hands together then cracked his knuckles as he sat at the big desk, Jayden hanging over his shoulder. Tristan tossed the tracker to Logan. “Find the serial number.”

I looked around. “Where’s Matthias?”

The door to the kitchen burst open and Aunt M cried, “Ah
ha!
” 

Tristan spun, fell out of the chair and onto his back, then raised his hands. “Aurora said I could touch it!”

Logan dropped the tracker and joined the rest of the boys who were backing toward the door.

“What are you doing here?” Aunt M demanded.

“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to ruin the surprise.”

“No, I mean…” Aunt M roamed squinty eyes across the group, then jabbed a finger at me. “You didn’t sneak out?”

I paled. “Well, duh. I’m right here.”

Not exactly a lie.

“Oh.” M pushed her glasses up her nose. “Ummm, might want to go tell your parents that. I already sounded the alarm.”

“M!”

“I saw an empty bed,” she said unapologetically. “Teenagers are rash, self-indulgent, and irresponsible. They don’t consider the long-term consequences of their actions on themselves or others, so I thought you were out doing something stupid with your boyfriend.” She lifted a shoulder. “Or kidnapped.”

I heard the thumping of angry parent feet above. Great.

Aunt M gasped. “Holy hackers, Batman.”

Tristan’s hands were up again. “I didn’t do it!”

M gave him a pained look as she waddled past and tried to lean over, her hand reaching down.

For the tracker.

I scurried over and picked it up. “It’s nothing, Aunt M. I’ll throw it away.” 

“Don’t you dare!” She snatched it from my hands. “Oh, it’s off.” M laughed with more than a touch of hysteria. “Didn’t think I brought any of these with me. Pregnancy. Fries the brain.”

“This thing is yours?” I tried to snatch the tracker back, but M stashed it the one place I wouldn’t go. Her bra.

“One of my many patented devices. Nobody else has them. Or can duplicate my special blend. I’ll take care of it.”

She headed back into the house. With the only credible lead I had on the traitor who was trying to assassinate me. The boys shared my panicked look.

“M, wait!” I rushed after her through the kitchen door.

Dad, his hair sticking out in every direction, was grabbing the phone. “I’ll call Sheriff Payne!”

“Then Interpol!” Mom screeched. “They might have her out of the country by now!”

“Dad!”  I caught his wrist.

Dad stopped mid-dial. Mom dropped the car keys and purse.

“Oh, yeah,” M said as she passed them, “Aurora was in the garage.”

Dad gave her a hard look. “You didn’t think to check before waking me up telling me my daughter was off making me a grandfather?”

“How could I know she’d be ruining my surprise by playing with my work of art? She failed her computer class.”

“I got a B!”

“B-
minus
. That’s failing. And that would look good compared to what your grades look like now thanks to the Hex Boys.”

Oron’s wails carried through the house. 

“Fantastic.” Mom flung off her jacket and trudged upstairs.

Dad’s voice was rougher than his morning stubble. “M, you’ve seriously got to—”

“Pee.” Aunt M patted her stomach. “Baby on my bladder.” She waddled out.          

I went after her, scrambling for a plan to get the tracker back, but Dad stepped in front of me and caught my shoulders.

“We may have overreacted,” he said. “But let’s turn this into a positive opportunity to have a little heart-to-heart. I know we’ve had
The Talk
before.”

Oh, no.

“Dad, I’ve really got to talk to Aunt M.” I side-stepped him.

He blocked me. “And your mom’s been encouraging you to be open to your feelings and trust the love.”

“Yeah, we covered all that.”

“But I just wanted to say that sometimes, at your age, love can often be confused with,” he looked me dead in the eye, “lust.”

Oh, God.

“Dad, please,” I choked.

He wandered the kitchen. “I was a teenage boy once, too, and I know how they—”

“Ew. Just stop.” I glanced at the door to the garage. It was closed. But…did I hear snickering? “You don’t have to worry.”

“Not that Ayden’s a bad guy. But he
is
a guy and you’re a beautiful girl and in the heat of the moment…”

If he only knew the irony of that statement.

I slapped my hands over my ears. “Lalalalalalala.”

“Fine, fine. But you know what I’m saying. I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything. Even…” he took a deep breath, “sex.”

“
Dad!
”

I opened the door to the garage, ignored the boys’ vast ranges of amusement — of course they’d heard every humiliating word — and pointed at Ayden, slumped and pale, his shirt stained dark red.

“He’s bleeding.” 

Ayden’s smile was weak. “It’s nothing, sir.”

Dad’s face went eerily neutral.

“Well, son, good thing you’re a doctor. Oh, right. You’re not. I am.” Dad’s voice was rimmed with steel. “Which makes you the patient and me
in charge
. Aurora, get my medical bag. Boys, get him in a chair at the table.” Dad went to the sink and started washing his hands. “Because I’m willing to risk my entire career on the rash diagnosis that
that
,” he indicated Ayden’s chest, “isn’t nothing.”

With Oron asleep on Lucian’s shoulder, the Lahey clan, minus Selena and Aunt M, along with the Hex Boys, minus Matthias, formed a quiet semi-circle behind Dad to watch him put the final touches on Ayden’s wounds.

This wasn’t how I’d dreamed of enjoying the sight of Ayden’s half-naked form. Nope, the fantasy hadn’t included the gaping crowd. And for that matter, it didn’t have Dad treating Ayden for Aurora-inflicted, life-threatening injuries.

I felt like a walking death-ray.

But I felt a whole lot better with Dad caring for the injuries. I knew he’d save the day.

So with worry somewhat assuaged, I bit my lip and let my gaze travel over Ayden’s shirtless physique, a welcome distraction from the sinking abyss of guilt.  

As Dad worked on the wounds, which were mostly concentrated on his upper chest, Ayden tensed often, giving me a delightful view of the multitude of muscles that ripped his body into knee-weakening gorgeous. Sculpted biceps. Broad shoulders. Abs worthy of Michelangelo’s chisel.

And that skin. I remembered the feel. Taut. Smooth. Warm and springing to life under my touch.

A faint heat stained my cheeks at the memory. When I realized Ayden had been watching my appraisal, my blush raged to inferno levels. I kept my eyes averted for the remainder of Dad’s ministering.  

Dad snapped off his plastic gloves. “You can put your shirt on now.”

Crap. With the peep show almost over, I risked another glance — gaping stare — at Ayden’s below-the-neck eye candy. Hey, a girl’s got to take her kicks where she can. And Ayden half-naked definitely kicked in a serious chemical reaction.

Dad eyed Ayden’s bloody shirt. “Then again, maybe not.”

Mom said, “Lucian, go get one of your shirts.”

“Sure, but, uh,” Lucian shifted from foot to foot, “I don’t think it will fit him. Might be…” He resettled Oron and said softly, “A little small. Maybe.”

Luna snorted. “Ya think?”

“Shut up!”

“This’ll be fine.” Ayden reached for his shirt, but Mom whipped it away.

“Not a chance. Kids, upstairs and help me find something.”

At their departure, Dad closed up his medical bag. “And these injuries are from a—”

I jumped in quickly. “Like I said, it was Jayden’s super-duper laser thingy, which went crazy and Ayden got caught in the crossfire.” I smiled tight, nerves wracked by Dad’s stoic face. “Right, Jayden?”

Jayden ground his teeth, looking like he’d be happier chewing glass. “Right.”

Ayden, Logan, Tristan, and Blake covered their mouths to hide the smiles at Jayden’s expense.

“And with their parents out of town, they called me to come see you,” I said. “Because you’re the best there is.”

Appealing to Dad’s vanity couldn’t hurt.

“Uh-huh. Okay, first of all, Mr. Smart Stuff,” Dad settled a stern look on Jayden, “no more dangerous experiments.”

“Understood,” Jayden gave a stiff nod. “Because I now realize that despite my genius level IQ, a super laser—”

“Super-
duper
,” Ayden corrected.

Jayden shot his brother a scathing glance. “A super-
duper
laser…
thingy
is apparently beyond my scope of cognition to control safely, and my days as a reckless operator of such high-level equipment are at an end.”

Dad nodded, pleased. “Second, I’ll need to treat the wound regularly so—”

“Done, sir,” Ayden saluted. “I’ll report to your house morning and night.”

Dad glanced from me to Ayden. “How is that different from the last few weeks?”

“Dad!” I blushed.

He stood and picked up his medical bag. “And third, I’m taking you to the hospital right now for some tests. Make sure there isn’t any internal damage.”

The roaring litany of protests from the Hex Boys bordered on madness. They sounded like a gaggle of grannies, but Dad was having none of it.

“Sorry, gentlemen, that’s the way it is, or right now, I call an ambulance and everyone’s parents. I’m sure the sheriff would be happy to provide a police escort to the hospital.”

Ayden pulled me aside. “Aurora, do something.”

“Sure,” I nodded. “Hey, Dad. Ayden says you’re right and that you two should take his car to the hospital. He’ll even let you drive. Right, Ayden?”

Ayden wiped his hand across his mouth so he could mutter behind it, “Not what I meant.”

Through the gritted teeth of my huge smile I said, “I know.”

“That sporty red number?” Dad grinned. “Sweet. Let’s hit it, kemosabe.”

They were headed to the car, Ayden wearing one of Dad’s bright, flowery Hawaiian shirts, when Aunt M’s Taser went off in the side yard, and what sounded like a body thumped against the fence.

Someone screamed for mercy.