A tall figure stalked over and planted his hands on his hips, glaring at Heidi. “Give it back.”
The little girl’s nose wrinkled as she stared back at the Devil. “What?”
“My wallet,” said Lucifer—or Lou, as he preferred to be called. “Give it back.”
“I don’t have it,” Heidi told him.
“Do I look slow to you?”
“Yup.”
Lou jerked back. “Well, that’s not nice. You imps are all the same.”
With her beautiful white-blonde hair and innocent features, the kid looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. Oh, it would. She was a master at pickpocketing, could cry on cue, and was quite the plotter. In that sense, she was pretty much a miniature but perkier version of Jolene, who was currently heading their way.
Standing behind the devil, Jolene folded her arms. “Hello, Lou.”
He jumped and mumbled something beneath his breath. Lou crossed his arms and lifted his chin, refusing to acknowledge her.
Sidling up to him, Jolene sighed. “You’re sulking because I didn’t invite you to the party, aren’t you?”
He whirled on her. “Well, would it have killed you to give me a call and say, hey, come join us? Friends don’t exclude each other like this.”
“But we’re not friends,” Jolene pointed out.
“Don’t pick at details.” Lou looked at Khloé. “So, you almost died, huh? I heard all about it. Terrible, terrible business.”
Harper snorted, appearing at Knox’s side. “Like you care what happens to anyone but yourself.”
“That’s not fair. I care about Asher.” Lou smiled at the kid. “And how is my little nephew?”
“Would you stop calling him that,” snarked Harper.
“What else would I call him? Ooh, I could have some fun with this. How about … the future dark destroyer of all demon-kind? Admit it, it has a nice ring to it. I still think you should have called him Lucifer. He’d have totally rocked that name.”
Harper sighed. “And I’m done.”
Lou eyed Keenan. “So, you went and fell for a Wallis. Ah, such a tragedy. She will cause you only pain and misery, and she will relish every moment of it. In some ways, I can respect that.” Lou cut his gaze to Knox. “And now you’ll have not only an imp in your lair, but one of Jolene Wallis’s granddaughters. Well, good luck with that.”
“For someone who dislikes me so much, you sure do turn up at my house often,” said Jolene.
Lou’s brow creased. “I don’t see the connection.”
Jolene sighed. “Hmm.”
Raini, Tanner, and Devon appeared, all holding fresh drinks. Just then, the song changed to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Like that, the entire air in the room changed. And suddenly a large number of the guests backed up against the wall.
Keenan stared at them, trying to work out what the issue was. Then they started doing the “Thriller” dance, and he could only sigh.
“They’re actually pretty good,” said Levi.
“But it disturbs me that they must have practiced this,” said Tanner. “I mean, why would you? These are grown-ass people.”
Lou tossed him a frown. “No imp is a grown-ass person.”
“Says the ultimate man-child,” mumbled Jolene. “As for the ‘Thriller’ dance, it’s often done at Martina’s parties. I can’t remember who started the tradition.”
“I think it was Aunt Mildred,” said Khloé.
Jolene pursed her lips. “It could have been—she was a wise but strange woman.”
Keenan narrowed his eyes. “Wait, Aunt Mildred was a real person?”
“Oh, yes,” said Jolene.
“She was not,” insisted Devon.
Jolene tilted her head. “You don’t remember her? She often wore odd shoes. Had a high-pitched laugh. Liked to sing the alphabet backwards. Used to make daisy chains and wrap them around the neck of her three-legged cat.”
Devon’s cheeks reddened. “You’re both full of shit. No such woman ever existed.”
Khloé shook her head. “I can’t believe you don’t remember her.”
An hour later, Keenan slid an arm around his mate’s waist and put his mouth to her ear. “You ready to go home now?” he asked.
“Can I play with sexcalibur when we get there?”
“If you mean my cock, yeah.”
“Then let’s go, Don Juan.”
After they’d said their goodbyes to everyone, they headed out. As they made their way through the tight crowd in the hallway, Keenan stood in front of her, preventing her from being shoved or jostled. An imp was curled up asleep on the high pile of coats near the door. He was also cuddling a skillet.
“I’m not going to ask why he’d do that,” said Keenan.
“Good, because I don’t have an answer for you,” she said.
A few partygoers had trickled out onto the front yard—most simply stood around talking. Others were lying on the grass, laughing and pointing at the sky. Two were brawling while surrounded by a crowd, which he quickly realized had placed bets on who would win.
Keenan led her down the street, passing the many cars that had been parked near Jolene’s house. It wasn’t long before they arrived at their own home. Stepping inside, he disarmed the alarm. He’d added all kinds of security measures to the place, needing to know she was as safe as possible.