Page 129 of Lovesick Titan

Heistscould only have four-person teams, Mal had learned, and they had seven men, four women, once Oz showed up. Lucy was the one who’d suggested a gender split.

“Boys can have the first real round,” Stella said, dropping onto the sofa between Lucy and Lynn. “Oz should be here by then.”

Everyone traded out except Priestly, leaving room for Danny, Mal, and Andre to take up controllers. Mal sat in front of Danny’s chair, making it easier for Danny to lean down and explain the mechanics from time to time.

Mal picked it all up quickly enough, playing the role of fake prison guard trying to help Priestly’s character escape, while Andre was on demolition and Danny was their pilot. Although it was Mal’s first time playing, they succeeded in the mission with a higher score than the practice round, causing Danny to reach toward Andre to enact their ritual of slapping hands forward, back, and ending in a fist-bump.

“Girls’ turn!” Lucy rubbed her hands together.

“What about Oz?” Joey asked. “He’s missing all the fun.”

A nearly inaudible pop signaled the teleporter’s arrival as he settled on the sofa beside Lynn. “I call next round,” he said.

Mal was too busy enjoying the way Danny’s pout made his face even more adorable than usual to care that the women’s team obliterated their scores.

“This is why we don’t let them play,” Danny said.

“I thought only Stella was the ringer,” Mal eyed the group.

As it turned out, Lynn had gotten the highest individual score, and it didn’t surprise Mal at all that Dom and Lucy were naturals.

They played several more rounds, ate far more food than was necessary, other than for Danny who kept putting more away, before finally the men’s team called uncle and they decided to end the night with a movie.

“Does this fulfill your needs for wanton destruction and thievery?” Danny asked, arms draped over Mal’s shoulders as the others put the game away.

Mal leaned up to peck Danny’s lips. “Sure, Sparky.”

Danny’s phone rang as soon as they parted, and he took a moment to look around the room, since so few options were left for who could be calling him. It turned out to be John.

“Hey, Dad,” Danny said, swinging his leg over Mal to stand and step away from the general chaos of the room. Mal pushed to his feet to listen in. “Hewhat?” Danny spun around with wide eyes. “Hang on, let me put you on speaker.”

Mal’s instant fear was Ludgate, but thankfully, it wasn’t about him this time.

“Like I said,” John’s voice filled the room, “Dunkirk broke out. No uniforms have spotted him yet, but I got an anonymous tip that someone saw him heading toward Haven. Figured I better inform you before sending any of the boys in blue. Carla working tonight?”

“No,” Danny and Oz said in unison, then Danny finished, “she’s home, but he’s probably looking for her. We’ll handle it, Dad. Don’t call anyone in unless we tell you to.”

“It never ends,” Mal muttered once Danny hung up and the general mood of the evening had been squashed.

“Could always just kill ‘im,” Dom said.

“While I would have agreed with you once, Dom,” Mal twisted a smile at his friend, “that would bring his father’s wrath down upon us and go against the new code. What we need is to keep locking him up until he’s such a discredit, he’ll be seen as more of a liability to his father than any help. Then the next time he’s out, if he’s ever out again, dear old dad will take care of him for us.”

“So we should have Zeus hand-deliver him to the police again?” Priestly suggested.

“Maybe not yet,” Mal said as a plan started to form. “Hand-deliver him to his father first, with a warning.”

Danny shook his head. “I don’t think Zeus should be talking to mob bosses.”

“Who saidyou’dbe doing it?”

“But how are you gonna catch the guy?” Andre spoke up.

“Withoutcausing any major property damage,” Lynn added.

Mal contemplated that, taking in everyone in the room, and finally settled on his sister. When it hit him what to do next, he couldn’t help but grin. “I got just the thing.”

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