When he knew he had control, he said, “I thought we were going to lie to her. I was repeatedly told by you and everyone else I’ve met in the last few days that the truth could only hurt everyone and I needed to lie and lie and lie again.”
Max nodded. “Yeah. You need to lie.”
“But you didn’t lie. You didn’t lie at all.”
“I know. That was okay, though.”
“How was that okay?”
She looked at her phone and he felt the urge to grab it from her and toss it into the middle of the street. But then she took his hand and began walking in the opposite direction, tucking her phone into the back of her jeans.
“See,” Max explained, “the plan was to lie and that was a very good plan. It was a safe plan. And right now you need safe plans. At least until you get your feet under you and you can figure all this shit out without too much worry.”
“Okay.”
“But I’ve been doing this sort of thing my entire life and sometimes the truth is perfect . . . because no one fucking believes the truth. You saw her face, right? She didn’t believe anything I said. She thinks I’m insane. It’s perfect.”
“But everyone in Starbucks—”
“Is one of us.”
“What?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know that the Starbucks we were going to is the one that’s so close to the new Sports Center until we got here. Everyone that works there and everyone that happened to be in there at the time . . . one of us. It was perfect.”
She stopped and pointed at the giant building that took up the entire city block.
“This is the Sports Center,” she said before dragging him through the big doors. As they walked through, he saw a lot of people doing a lot of sporty things. There was a massive gym. A sports medicine facility on the upper floors. An entire stadium in the back. A skating rink. And a Starbucks.
He pointed. “There’s a—”
“No. Not that one. It’s filled with full-humans. And they never have enough honey buns.”
Max continued walking, pulling Zé along.
“Now, I had never been to this place when we first got here a few weeks ago. All the other finals and playoffs I was in took place either at the old Staten Island Sports Center or the Sports Centers around the country . . . or world. Depending on who the finals were against. This place was just built in the last few years. Our first playoff game will be here and I’m so excited. I mean, this place is nice, right?”
She took him to a stairwell that was off the main area. Two large security guards stood in front of it and one of them looked at Max and smirked.
“You start a fight . . .” the security guard warned.
“I won’t. Promise.”
Max opened the door and they went down a flight to the next level. She opened another door and walked in. Zé followed and froze in the doorway. It was just like what he’d seen upstairs except that he knew almost all these people were shifters. The insane variation in sizes. The way they looked at each other—either sizing them up or threatening them. Even the way they walked. The bears lumbering. The canines trotting along. The cats appearing and disappearing among the crowd until they vanished completely.
“Stop staring,” Max said, pulling him along. “You look like you want a fight.”
Not only was the place packed with shifters, it was geared specifically toward shifters. The stores had giant mannequins; the restaurants offered “whale blubber steaks” and “foot-long antelope hotdogs,” and the massive gym had treadmills right in the window. On one of those treadmills was a woman running at least fifty miles per hour.
He pointed. “What’s going on—”
“Tiger. Like the cheetah, they can go fast but only in short bursts. But the wolf on the treadmill next to her . . . ? She can trot like that for several hours. Oh! You should see this.” Still holding his hand—which he really didn’t mind at this point—she dragged him into the gym, past behemoths casually lifting weights that only Norwegian guys trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records could lift.
“This,” she said. “You should try this out at some point.”
He didn’t know what she was talking about until he saw a very wide, very tall tree with lots of limbs and branches that leopards and jaguars were climbing while holding something in their mouths.
“Are those zebras?”
“Not real zebras. And you have an array of fake zebras and antelope to choose from.”
“An array?”
“You know—adult or . . . baby.”
“Nope,” Zé said, turning back toward the exit. “Can’t handle this.”
“You should try it! It’ll be fun.”
She caught up to him just as he stepped out of the gym.
“Okay, okay. I see this was too much.”
“And weird. Don’t forget weird.”
Max took his hand again. “Let’s get something to eat.”
“I’m not eating whale blubber.”
“Of course not! You need meat. Polar bears need whale blubber.”
* * *
“I just feel like I failed them, you know?” Charlie admitted to the She-bears currently taking care of her. Someone made her lemonade, another got her cheese and crackers, and they were all sitting on her porch, listening to her whine. “I should have taken better care of them.”
“They’re still alive, aren’t they?” Ruth asked. “Because let’s face it, that was a long shot.”
“I didn’t even know Max still played basketball.”
“And she got MVP one year . . . or was it two?” Cathy Jakes said. When Ruth glared at her, she added, “I just know because I used to play a little college ball back in the day and I’m a big fan of the Butchers.”
“The who?”
“Her team, dear.”
“Oh, God.” Charlie rubbed her forehead. “I don’t even know the name of her team. What kind of sister am I?”
“I doubt she cares,” Ruth insisted. “Your sister is not like . . . anyone, actually.”
“Very true,” Mrs. Jakes agreed. “And Stevie is flourishing. Isn’t she, girls?”
“She saw me the other day,” Mrs. Demming said, “and she didn’t scream and hide in the tree . . . like the last seventeen times she saw me. This time, she just softly begged for death as I walked by. That’s a huge improvement.”
Charlie sat up a little straighter. “You know what? I’m sorry, ladies. All this whining. Dear God, I’m annoying myself!”
Ruth patted her knee. “Charlie MacKilligan, you need to have faith in yourself. You’re an excellent sister who loves two females most people would find very hard to like, much less love. You protect them with your life and you care about others. That’s more than most these days.”
“Thank you.” Charlie smiled at the She-bears. “I really appreciate this and . . . Oh, my God!”
The She-bears looked around, ready for any danger.
“What is it?” Ruth demanded. “What’s wrong?”
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to . . .” Charlie pointed and the She-bears turned to look at the street.
“Gurllll,” Mrs. Jakes growled. “Look at the fuckin’ Bugatti.” When her friends stared at her: “What? I like cars. In fact, I’d kill my husband for that car.”
“Don’t bother,” Ruth muttered. “You couldn’t get your big bear ass in there.”
“Who is that?” Mrs. Demmings asked, sniffing the air. “Badger. Another aunt?”
“Not quite.” Charlie blew out a breath. “It’s Max’s mom.”
“Oh. That’s nice.” Ruth blinked, looked off. “Wait . . . isn’t she in prison?”
“She was.”
“But she was paroled? Or pardoned? Anything?”
Charlie shook her head.
“Awww, kid, you are having a day,” Ruth sighed out.
“You’re telling me.”
An older version of Max walked through the open gate and stood at the bottom of the porch stai
rs.
“Hiya, Charlie.”
“Hi, Renny. It’s great to see you.”
“You, too, sweetie. It’s been so long. You have grown into a beautiful woman. Your mom would be so proud.”
“Thanks. That means a lot.”
Renny glanced at the She-bears and asked Charlie, “Uh, think we can go somewhere private and talk for a few minutes?”
“No!” all the She-bears barked before Charlie could say a word.
Those determined looks on all those bear faces told Charlie there was no point in arguing. “I guess, no.”
“Not a problem. We can talk here . . . with these bears.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Now that I’m back—”
“Illegally,” Ruth muttered.
“How’s that going, fugitive?” Mrs. Demmings tossed in.
But Renny, like Max, just ignored them. “—I’ve got some things going. Some plans I’m making. For my future.”
“Okay.” Charlie nodded. “That’s great.”
“And I would love to have my daughter by my side. You know, making up for lost time. Real mother-daughter bonding.”
Charlie fought her need to frown. She didn’t know why Renny was telling her this.
“Okay,” Charlie said again. “I’m sure Max would love spending some time with you. You should just ask her.”
“I did float the general idea by her. But I think if you let her know it would be okay for her to go, she’d be more ready to venture away from you and Stevie.”
“Max has always ventured anywhere she wants to.”
“Well . . . not exactly. I mean, she told me that she was expected to stay with Stevie for up to six months at a time.”
“I took six months and she took six months. It’s what we had to do to keep our sister safe from the idiot our mothers had insisted on fucking.” Charlie knew she was getting pissed, so she forced herself to calm down. “What I mean is . . . we came to an agreement. I didn’t force her.”
“No, no. Of course not. Sure. But I think she felt she, you know, owed you.”
Anger. “Why? Because my mother and then my grandfather took her in when the Yangs wanted nothing to do with her, and you were too busy being locked up in prison because you listened to fucking Freddy MacKilligan? You mean like that?”
It looked like Max’s smile, but it was nothing like Max’s smile. Because it was cold. It was a cold smile that Renny had. But she was still Max’s mother and Charlie wasn’t going to get between them. Not now. Not ever.
“Yeah,” Renny said, “something like that.”
“I’ll tell you what I always tell her: She owes us nothing, because she’s our sister and we love her. And she can go and do whatever she wants and we’ll always be here for her. End of story.”
“Sweetie, that’s perfect! Now if you could just tell her that directly—”
“Wait a minute,” Ruth cut in. “Do you want Charlie to pressure Max to go with you?”
“Of course not!”
“Then what are you asking for?”
“Maybe you should mind your own business.”
“Maybe you should fuck off before I maul that leathery badger skin right off that ass.”
“Okay,” Charlie said, quickly jumping in. “I’ll make this clear for everybody: I am not going to pressure my sister to do anything. Whether it’s to stay or to go, she has free will. She can make up her own mind. Okay? Everybody happy? Great.”
“That’s fine,” Renny said, taking a step back. “That absolutely works for me. I just wanted to make sure we understood each other and it seems we do. I just wanted to ensure you wouldn’t put any undue influence on her. That’s all.”
Charlie jerked up so fast that she made the She-bears jump. She needed to get herself back under control, even though she was getting to the point where she might not be able to maintain it.
She raised both her forefingers and turned her head so she didn’t have to look at Renny while she forced herself to calm the fuck down.
It took a few seconds, but once she knew she had proper control, she faced her sister’s mother and precisely and succinctly explained, “Never, in the history of the universe, have I or will I get in the way of you and Max. Not now. Not ever. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes. Perfectly clear.”
“Good. I need you to go away now. Please.” Because she couldn’t keep from punching her much longer.
“Sure. No problem. It was great seeing you again, Charlie.”
Charlie sat back down on the stoop and, after Renny had driven away, Ruth took her hand.
“Oh, Charlie-girl.”
“Before we go any further, I just need you guys to be honest with me. Did I mis—”
“No!” Ruth said before Charlie could even finish. “Charlie, you did not mis-read, mis-hear, mis-interpret. You heard what we all heard and understood it correctly.”
“Thank you. I wanted to make sure.”
chapter TWENTY
Will was going over paperwork and he was in a bad mood. One was not linked to the other. He was in a bad mood because a lot of questions were being asked about his plane being blown up. Coppers from this country and his own were asking too many questions and he didn’t like it. You’d think the bastards would just be glad they didn’t have to scrape MacKilligan guts off their tarmac, but no. Bastards had all sorts of questions.
Will didn’t like answering questions. Never had. And he wasn’t about to start now.
They kept saying they wanted to prove—or disprove—that the explosion had been a terrorist thing. But the bastards knew better. They all knew the MacKilligan name and what it meant. They were just trying to trip him and his boys up. Wasn’t going to happen, now was it?
Will’s nose twitched, that familiar scent hitting his senses like a bloody rock to the head.
Jumping up, he spun around and she stood there in the shadows of the hotel suite, watching him.
“Hello, Mairi. Come to kill yer old Uncle Will, did ya?” he asked.
His niece smiled. A mean smile. She’d always had a mean smile. Even when she was a wee thing, playing with her cousins at Will’s house. “Actually, Uncle, I’ve come to make a deal.”
He put his papers aside. “A deal? What kind of deal?”
She stepped out of the shadows and Will saw the damage to her face, neck, and arms. She’d been shot and beaten.
“I get you dear Uncle Freddy—and your money—and we forget all this . . . trouble.”
“Trouble? You mean helping those Italian bitches in their attempt to destroy us? Destroy our family?”
“To be fair, those Italian bitches are family, too. So I didn’t really go against the family, now did I?”
Talk about splitting hairs.
“I thought you’d been trying to find Freddy . . . and couldn’t. What’s changed?”
“Let me worry about that. I just need to know we have a deal.”
“All right,” Will said. “You bring me Freddy—alive—and we forget all this.”
“Great!”
He watched her leave. She didn’t say another word. He didn’t need her to.
“You really trusting her, Da?” his son said from the doorway that connected their suites.
“I trust she’s found a way to bring in Freddy,” he replied, picking up his paperwork and dropping back into his chair.
“And if she brings him in?”
“We’ll deal with her after that.”
* * *
After their meals of burgers and fries in the food court—thankfully made of cow and not rhino as the server had suggested—the plan was to explore the Sports Center a little more. But a text came from Nelle asking Max and Zé to meet Max’s teammates uptown. They grabbed a cab outside the Sports Center and went to the address Nelle texted them. By the time they reached the location, Nelle and the others were waiting for them in front of a large, five-story building.
As soon as Max reached her teammate
s, Zé heard her ask, “What? What’s going on?”
“We need to get in there,” Nelle replied, gesturing to the building. “But they won’t let us in.”
“Who won’t let you in?”
“The fucking cats.” She glanced at Zé. “No offense.”
Max moved around her friends to stand right in front of the large double glass doors, and Zé waited beside her. She politely knocked, then raised her hand and waved. She included that winning smile and Zé did actually expect the man to allow them entry. But the security guard behind the doors gave her the finger and Zé had to grab her arm before she could pull the knife holstered under her T-shirt.
“Why don’t we just break in?” Tock asked. “We’re all apparently really good at it.”
“I say we just blow through those doors and start beating the shit out of people.” Max grinned. “You guys up for that?”
When they all instantly agreed, Zé quickly stepped in front of them.
“Wait, wait. How about we not storm the gates like barbarians?”
“But we’re descended from barbarians,” Max replied.
“Yes. I’m sure you are. But what’s in there that you need to get? Is it something I can buy for you online so we don’t have to beat the shit out of anyone?”
Streep took his hand in her own and dramatically gestured to the building with the other. “Zé, the truth about who you are is in that building. Hidden away from you by these cruel, cruel asshole cats. No offense.”
Zé attempted to pull his hand away but Streep held tight. He tried again and still she wouldn’t let go. So he yanked it away and kind of hissed at her. Didn’t mean to do that last part but it came out.
“Give me a moment,” he said to Max and her teammates before walking up to the glass double doors. He politely knocked and the security guard snarled, “What?”
“Are you closed right now? Because here on your door, the sign with your hours says you’re open.” He leaned back a bit and looked up at the signage over the door. “And this is a fucking library.”
“Do you have an entry card? This library is open during these hours only if you have an entry card.”
“I don’t. Can I get one?”
“It’s expensive.”
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