Hot and Badgered (Honey Badger Chronicles, #1)

by Shelly Laurenston

Coop saw Stevie move away as soon as Toni walked up with that lion male she was considering as an agent for Cherise and Oriana. He apparently specialized in representing artists and was known for making them very profitable deals. But the way Stevie reacted to the sight of the man . . . Kyle, who rarely cared about anyone but himself, moved in front of her, helping to block her from the cat’s sight. Stevie was older than Kyle by a few years, but Kyle always got along better with adults than kids his own age. He didn’t know how to talk to them. He did, however, know how to emotionally torture them, which was another reason he didn’t spend a lot of time with kids his own age. Their parents wouldn’t allow it.

not the best sign, yay Kyle <3, usually I'm all for drowing him.

The confident artist and scientist who couldn’t be bothered to remember Coop’s name suddenly appeared as painfully shy as Cherise. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about any of this, but he still had to know. He decided to go with the direct but noninvasive approach. “If you had a little sister,” he asked Stevie, “would you hire him?” Kyle put his arm around Stevie’s shoulders. A form of protection he didn’t even bother to show his own sisters. “If I had a little sister,” Stevie said, her arms wrapped around her waist, “I’d keep her as far away from that fucker as humanly possible.” She leaned against Kyle and added, “And he’d better pray that my sisters don’t spot him.”

o0

Her frown grew deep, though, when she saw who was standing there. “Dutch?” she asked, extremely surprised to see him. “What’s wrong?” Her anxiety ramped up. “They didn’t find the car, did they?” “No, no. That’s all done. I just need to talk to you, really quick.” “About what?” “Um . . .” He looked off and Charlie let out a sigh. “What did Max do?” “What? Oh. Nothing. She didn’t do anything.” “Then what did you do?” “Well . . .” “Look,” she said, pulling on one of her sneakers, “I’ll pay for Max’s fuck-ups, but I’m not paying for yours. You’ve got family—ask them for money.” “I’m not asking you for money.” “Then what?”

oh dude ... bad bad idea

“Wait,” Cella said, walking away from Dr. Davis and over to him. She sniffed him. “It was you at their house. Hold on . . . do you think we want to hurt the MacKilligan sisters?” Berg let his silence answer her question. “Oh, God, no. No! That’s not what’s happening.” “Uh-huh.” “You don’t believe me?” “I don’t believe you,” Dr. Davis said from across the room. “Jai . . . is this you helping?” Cella asked with false sweetness. Dr. Davis didn’t reply, so Cella refocused on him. “I can see how you might think we were . . . but we’re not. That’s the farthest thing from our minds. Just a conversation. That’s all we want. So, if you could just—” A crash from the exam rooms cut off Cella’s next lies, and Berg moved past all the women, heading right to the glass door. He’d just opened it when the glass and blinds of one of the exam rooms exploded out—nurses, orderlies, and other doctors making a panicked run for it—and an annoying weasel landed hard on the hallway floor. A few seconds later, Charlie followed Dutch out, glaring down at him. “You’re not being reasonable!” Dutch was saying just as Charlie reached down, wrapped her hand around Dutch’s throat, and lifted the guy off the floor. With one hand.

o0

Slowly, Charlie moved her gaze from the weasel to the wolf. Her eyes changed color behind her glasses. Dee-Ann didn’t seem to like that and she unleashed her fangs while she tried to pull her arm away. Charlie’s lips pulled back over her teeth and slowly, rows and rows of large fangs descended from her gums. They weren’t exactly wolf fangs. But they weren’t all honey badger either. They were more like a bizarre combination of the two, and they were terrifying. Then her jaw opened and it continued to open, yellow eyes bright, as she issued a growl-hiss that had Cella’s fangs dropping. Charlie had her back to the She-tiger, which was just the way Cella liked it. She jumped toward Charlie with nothing blocking her. Nothing there to stop her. Claws out and extended. In that split second, Charlie turned to the right, flinging Dee-Ann into a shocked Cella, so that the two She-predators collided, slamming into the wall and falling to the floor.

well ... that's one way to discover you 'ain't king shit' as they say.

“Huh.” She changed direction and skated over to the woman outfitted in hockey gear. “Max?” she said, when she came to a stop. “What are you doing here?” The badger shrugged. “No idea.” “Why are you wearing hockey gear?” “No idea.” “Do you even know how to skate?” “Well, I spent a few years in Wisconsin near a lake that used to freeze over. We’d go skating there with the other high school kids. So . . . I can skate forward . . . in a circle.” Britta winced. “You need to do more than that to play hockey.” “Yeah, that’s what I thought. But this big guy put me in the hockey gear, and he didn’t really listen to me. I sense he doesn’t listen to anyone.” “Over seven feet? Looks like he actually met Genghis Khan?” “Yeah. That’s him.”

heh

And I’m not sure I want to hear my brother whine because you got hurt and Charlie’s pissed about it.” “Are guns involved?” “In ice hockey? No.” “Knives? Or bombs? Or Peruvian drug lords?” “Not that I’m aware.” “Then Charlie won’t care.”

;)

“BPC hates honey badgers and none of them girls are mixed with bear. So, they ain’t hybrids the BPC would protect.” “Maybe he’s got something to barter with. Or a family member high up in the BPC. Either way, we better call Ric.” Her mate? “What for?” Malone stared at her from two eyes already purple and swelling. “Because, unlike you and me, Ric has never fought bears at a wedding.” “That wasn’t our fault.” Malone sighed. “Sweetie, no one cares.” “I am not callin’ Ric. I’ll handle this. We’ll get those girls to the Group offices and take it from there.” “How? We couldn’t even get one of them to listen to a man she’s known for over a decade. Just a conversation without even moving to a new location. What makes you think you can do better?” Using her good arm, Dee-Ann retrieved her phone. “We have a bunch of people sittin’ around who get paid to do what I tell them to.” “Excuse me if that doesn’t put me at ease.”

o0 ... that's pride talking ... this is going to escalate

“You’re annoying me.” “I’m sorry my rational logic goes against your hysterical plans to use a woman like a mad dog.” “I’m actually a honey badger.” “Shut. Up,” Britta snarled. And Max did, for a little bit. But then, while Britta and Novikov bickered, she abruptly moved between the pair and held up one leg to Novikov. “Get this skate off.” Without realizing what he was doing—he was so busy trying to rationalize his crazy scheme—Novikov quickly untied the skate. Then he untied the other when Max lifted it up.

heh ...that's totally an accidental Dad thing. :D

Charlie didn’t move until Max was near the exit doors. The She-hybrid started to follow her sister, not realizing that the lion male had gotten to his feet and now stood behind her, bloody and bruised. He didn’t seem to notice her, though; his gaze firmly locked on little Stevie, who stood beside Coop and his younger brother Kyle. The trio standing near the exit doors Max was about to walk through. When Stevie turned away, head down, Britta gave a small snarl. Now she wanted to hit the guy. And maybe it was the sound Britta made. Or perhaps it was just sisterly instinct. Whatever it was, Charlie turned toward the lion, her fingers curled into a fist, and that fist swung out and slammed into the male’s face. Britta cringed. She could hear his jaw breaking from where she stood.

atta girl

“I thought we talked about this, Max. No killing other shifters with a knife or a gun, in front of witnesses. You know that.” Standing outside the practice ice rink, Charlie grabbed Max’s hand and held it up. “Next time use your claws.” “No, no,” Berg quickly stated, stepping between the sisters. “Unless someone is physically attacking you, no killing. How about that? I saw you charge him, Max. He didn’t attack you first.” “But I warned him,” Max said. “I told him if I ever saw him again, I would beat him until he was dead.” Berg nodded. “I understand the logic, but I’m not sure in a court of law that would be an acceptable excuse for murder. Unreasonable, I know. But what can you do?”

:D

Max looked over her shoulder and immediately started laughing. “Dude, what the fuck happened to your face?” Holding onto his ribs, he glared at Charlie. “Wanna tell them?” Charlie rolled her eyes, pursed her lips; her left eyebrow raised, but she said nothing. Her expression made Berg grin. She could be such a rude badass when she wanted to be. “Charlie did this to you?” Max asked. She looked him over. “Why? What did you do?” “What did I do?” “Charlie’s not me or Stevie. If she beat the shit out of you, it’s because she thought you deserved it.” Max paused, then asked, “Is this about those people you work for?”

o0

The wolf and the badger eyed each other, both appearing impressed by the other’s knife skill while each was ready to kill at a moment’s notice. Charlie said, “Step back, Max.” Max looked at her over her shoulder. “Now,” Charlie pushed. Then she jerked her head toward the Dunn brothers. “Wait,” Berg said before Max could move. “You’re worried about me?” “I can’t fight them and look out for you, too. Or your brother.” The two bears glanced at each other and back at Charlie. “You’re kidding, right?” Dag asked. “No. You two are used to military rules of engagement. We’re MacKilligans. The only rule for us is to leave no witnesses.” Charlie moved her attention to the She-wolf. “We’ll go with you,” she said, shrugging. “It’s just as easy to leave no witnesses there as here.” With Max’s blade still pressed against her jugular, the wolf’s eyes narrowed on Charlie.

:D