Misty

If anyone understood the history of the Gray brothers, they learned they enjoyed plotting. If you fall in love with a Gray brother, you come along for the ride.

After explaining how Aiden and Diego discovered us, we had to tell Val and his brothers the truth about Emilio. They weren't expecting that revelation, and neither were Aiden and Diego.

"This situation is becoming more bizarre by the minute," Diego said.

"No shit," Aiden said.

"Who cares who returned, and who knows? We're losing precious time with this conversation," Nixon huffed.

"Will you chill the hell out? You were always so damn impatient," Nathan said.

"We don't have time to sit around with our thumbs up our asses. We have a demon hell-bent on trying to destroy us. Now, let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Pat, you need to rein in your pride and joy before he pisses off Valentine," Romeo said.

Pat rolled his eyes. "No, I need to get home since I have hundreds of kids to oversee, including family."

"Isn't that why you have an assistant principal?" Marty asked.

"Have you met the kids at the high school? My assistant needs an assistant."

Val rolled his eyes. "Enough." He turned his attention to Nash. "What do you need from us, Tino?"

"Let us handle this thing," Nash said.

"What about Aiden, Diego, and Emilio?" Marty asked.

"Aiden and Diego are Harpers. They can handle whatever gets thrown at them. Emilio has been dabbling in electromagnetic fields, but we'll need supplies."

"Give me a list of what you need. I'll take Romeo with me," Val said.

"Here," Nathan said, producing a list of needed items.

Val took the list from him and arched his brow. "Do I want to know why you have compiled a list?"

Nathan pursed his lips. "It's better if you don't."

Val's expression suggests he wasn't happy with Nathan's answer. I wouldn't be either if I were him since Nathan and Noah enjoy committing cyber crimes.

Val and Romeo left to get the items on the list while Pat, Rafe, and Marty stayed behind. Nash and Nixon picked Pat's brain for educational purposes, while Marty helped the rest of the boys design a machine that would allow us to detect demon activity. That left Rafe and me alone.

Rafe sat on the couch and watched everyone with skepticism plastered on his face.

"Why don't you believe in the possibilities of souls returning?" I asked.

Rafe blew air past his lips and ran his hand through his hair. "It's hard to believe anything when someone lies to you, and you believe it."

I pursed my lips. "You didn't only lose your innocence that day. That monster took your belief from you."

"Yeah. I've always been suspicious of people, but that made it worse. My ex didn't help. It only reinforced my distrust."

"Nash wasn't here when everything happened. He had passed away before it happened. But I was."

Rafe looked at me with knitted brows.

"I remember the devastation on your parents' faces. It destroyed Elias. I remember he came to see me. I offered to whack that monster with a frying pan."

Rafe chuckled softly.

"Rafael, a parent's worst nightmare is someone or something hurting their children. We want to protect them, and when something hurts them, we want to hurt it. I understand your fierce need to protect Noah and the boys. But they can handle themselves. I've seen them in action." My lips tipped up into a smile.

Rafe glanced at me before getting up and having Noah go outside with him. It was time for Rafael to rein in his fears and let Noah do what he did best.

********
River

My dad and I stepped outside after my dad closed the door behind him. "Look, I know I've been more overprotective of you than most parents. I can't help it. I don't want you to go through what I did," my dad said.

"Do you honestly think my cousins would let anything happen to me? They would put someone into the ground before that happened. But I get it." I shrugged.

"River, you're my son. If anything happened to you, it would kill me." My dad pressed his hand against his chest.

"I promise nothing will happen to me. My cousins have my back just like I have theirs." My lips curved upward.

My dad pulled me to him, encircled me with his arms, and kissed the top of my head. "I love you, River."

"I love you, too, Dad." I returned his hug.

My dad released me. "Now kick some demon ass."

I nodded in response before returning inside with my dad.

*******
Valentino

Uncle Marty sat at a table with paper, pencils, and a calculator. He worked on equations while drawing a diagram of a model.

Uncle Pat glanced at the drawing. "What is that?"

"It's an electromagnetic ring."

Uncle Rafe looked at it. "Why does it seem massive?"

"Because it needs to be massive to do what the kids need to do it." Uncle Marty kept drawing, adding details while studying a piece of Emilio's equipment.

"Wait. Isn't that like those things science fiction movies use?" Uncle Pat asked.

"Yes, except it will actually work. It has to generate enough power to pull this thing through since it'll use a wormhole."

Uncle Pat and Uncle Rafe exchanged uneasy glances.

Uncle Marty worked on formulas while sketching the contraption. The formulas had to be accurate to work correctly. If one thing were missing, it wouldn't work.

"Okay, let's say the kids build this thing. How will they know if it works?" Uncle Rafe asked.

"They'll need to test it with a few trial runs," Uncle Marty said.

My dad and Romeo returned with some supplies and checked on what Uncle Marty was doing.

"What's that?" Uncle Romeo asked, pointing at the drawing.

"It's an electromagnetic ring that will open a wormhole if it works correctly," Uncle Marty said.

My dad and Uncle Romeo exchanged glances before crossing their arms and cocking their heads to the side.

"It's essentially a demon trap like Ghostbusters."

It's not that my family were idiots, but they didn't dabble in science like Uncle Marty did.

My dad pulled items from the bags and set them on the table. "We got what we could, but you'll need a truck for the bigger items. I'll talk to Dad about sending a supply truck to you with the other materials."

"Can you send a welder's mask and a blow torch, too?" Aiden asked.

My dad nodded. "Yeah."

Aiden received his welding certificate in high school. He was the best at welding metal.

After sketching the schematics of the ring, Uncle Marty explained it to us. We would need to construct it in a location with closed doors. It's a good thing there was a garage behind the house.

Aiden looked at the schematic. "We can build this. We just need the materials, but it will take time."

"How much time?" Nix asked.

"We meet to cut and assemble it in parts. We can't construct until we find a place with plenty of space."

"What kind of space?" Nathan asked.

"A warehouse would be nice. I doubt there's one around here."

"What if we ship this thing home and set it up?" Noah asked.

"We'll need trucks to deliver it in sections. But it's doable."

We nodded in understanding. Aiden, Diego, and Emilio would work on constructing this contraption while we dealt with the demon. My dad and uncles would send supplies to us as needed.

******
Misty

After figuring out a plan, Val and his brothers hugged the boys before climbing into Val's SUV and heading home. The cousins left to see their girls while Emilio met Karlene for their study session. I sat on the couch with Nash. It's more like laying my head on him and using him as a pillow.

Nash glanced at me. "Comfy?"

"The pillow's a bit lumpy, but I'll manage." I giggled.

Nash rolled his eyes before moving his arm around me so I could snuggle into him. "I wasn't expecting to build a contraption while attending college."

I lifted my head and looked at Nash. "You're not building anything. Aiden, Diego, and Emilio are."

"I'm distracting a demon while they build this thing?"

"You and your cousins are distracting the demon, or did you leave them out of the equation?"

"Semantics." He shrugged.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Since we're alone..."

"Is sex all you think about?"

Nash dropped his head and groaned before lifting it. "Why do you automatically assume it's about sex?"

"When isn't it about sex?"

"It's not about sex?"

"Okay. I'm all ears."

"It's about homecoming."

"I prefer to talk about sex." I screwed my face up in annoyance.

"Mags, we're going to homecoming."

"Oh, sure. You, me, and a demon make three."

"It's only you and me. The demon can sit its ass home."

"We don't even know if the demon has an ass."

"It doesn't matter. It's still not crashing our date."

Yes, folks. Meet my boyfriend and I while we argue about a demon crashing our plans for homecoming. Most normal couples would argue about where to eat. Not us. We argue about a stupid demon trying to ruin our fun.