Page 10 of Daddy's Protection
He took her by the arm and gently escorted her toward the front door. After grabbing the bag she’d packed, he stepped out on the porch, shut the door behind him, and waited while she locked it.
Damn,he thought.This house is creepy.
And he was sure glad to be leaving it for the night.
Chapter 4
“There’s so much blood!”
The statement came from Iris who was giggling and half covering her eyes, though she had her fingers splayed, and looked to still have a view of the ghoulish proceedings.
Cami laughed. She’d been awake for thirty minutes and was already set to leave for work. It hadn’t been a very long night of sleep, but she’d gotten a few hours in, at least.
Now, she was on the back patio of the Daddy Guard mansion, along with Iris, Lana, Stryker, and Harrison, looking at Frankenstein.
The big monster was sitting in a lawn chair. Dark crimson blood poured from his mouth, eyes, and ears.
“It’s disgusting!” Lana said with sadistic glee.
Stryker tapped his phone and the blood stopped. “Thanks! I just took a dummy the studio had lying around, installed the fountain system and filled it with blood, and then hired some makeup artists to make him look like Frankie. Get this, he talks, too.” He tapped again on his phone. The dummy’s mouth began moving, saying, “Happy Halloween!” and then, “Don’t take my candy!”
“I thought we could put the candy bowl near him. It’s all controlled by an app I designed.” He held up his cell. “We can be nearby watching. It’ll give trick-or-treaters quite a scare!”
“That’s so cool!” Cami exclaimed.
She’d met Stryker and Harrison before, back at Auntie Athena’s. They didn’t live in Hollywood full time, instead residing in Mountainville—a famed community in West Texas just for Littles and Bigs.
But they were both in the film industry, so when working, Auntie Athena’s was their “home away from home.” Though they didn’t stay there. Or at the Guard’s mansion. Cami had heard they owned a bungalow somewhere in Hollywood where they stayed with their Mommies.
Cami looked up at Stryker. Gosh, he was tall! His dark blond hair, blue eyes, and good looks made probably made him a hit with the ladies. Though she’d heard he was hopelessly devoted to his wife and Mommy, famous actress Amelia Pine. “You’re really good at inventing stuff, huh?’
He seemed a bit uncomfortable with the praise. “I just like to tinker. Kind of gets me in trouble sometimes.” He grinned. “Okay… lots of times.”
Everyone laughed.
Next to him, the famous actor Harrison Trent nodded. He wasn’t quite as tall, but still had quite a bit of height on him. And more muscles. He looked every bit the action hero he played on screen. “We don’t mean to get in trouble. It’s all in good fun.”
The others laughed again.
“What the heck is that thing?”
Cami and the other Littles looked to see Isaiah stepping out onto the porch.
“It’s a monster! He’ll be at our Halloween party!” Iris said.
“And on the porch for trick-or-treaters,” Stryker added. “What do you think?”
“I think that’s freaky as all get out.” Isaiah shook his head as he looked at the thing. After shifting his focus to Cami, he added, “And I hope it doesn’t give you nightmares.”
“I’m all good,” she promised.
The monster didn’t bother her. After all, it wasn’t Frankenstein haunting her house—though she wished the spooky proceedings at her place were all part of Stryker’s imaginative magic.
“Last night, on the drive home, you mentioned needing to work this morning. Do you have time to grab breakfast? We can eat and then I can take you to work. Later, I guess we need to get your car.”
“Sure,” she said. “We could actually take care of eating—and dropping me off at work—at the same place. It’s a diner not too far from here. I need to grab some things, though, to take with me.”
“I’m on your schedule,” he told her.
