Badger to the Bone (Honey Badger Chronicles #3) - Shelly Laurenston Page 0,111
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 teammates, 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.”
And the guy said that as if he knew Zé couldn’t afford it, which did nothing but piss Zé off. This motherfucker didn’t know what he could or could not afford.
“I’m more than willing to pay for an entry card.”
“Do you have an appointment?” the guard asked. “Because if you don’t have an entry card, you need to have an appointment to come in. But I’m guessing you people don’t have that either.”
Zé’s neck got tight. “You people?”
“He’s talking about badgers,” Max said from behind