Badger to the Bone (Honey Badger Chronicles #3) - Shelly Laurenston Page 0,44
them for this enterprise. And all of you need to understand that this is an enterprise. The de Medicis won’t go down without a . . . well, I was going to say fight. But really I mean they won’t go down without an apocalypse.”
Imani still hadn’t said anything but she didn’t have to, finding Van Holtz’s doggie gaze locked on her. She gave the smallest nod and he said to Benjamin, “All right. But we want Imani as part of your team.”
The lion male glanced at her, and she knew that he automatically assumed she was looking down on him. Not only because he was young and male but because he wasn’t from a Pride that had been around as long as hers. She was guessing his ancestors were from early 1700s England. Lions, just like her and her kin, but she doubted that one of them had ever set foot on the Serengeti except as part of some paid-for, shifter-only hunting party.
But Imani had no preconceived notions about any cat. She simply watched and learned. As she always had.
So when the male raised a brow at her, she stated, “You guys can do whatever you’re planning on doing. I’ll simply report back to the heads of all three organizations to keep them in the loop. I’ll be the point of contact for everyone. This is your show, guys.”
“Sounds good,” he lied, even managing to force a smile.
But Imani’s smile was real when she promised, “I’m just here to observe and report.”
* * *
Mairi waited while the men kicked the door open and entered the motel room. She followed a few seconds later, sniffing the air. Freddy MacKilligan had definitely been here, and he hadn’t been alone. But he was gone now.
“How does he stay ahead of us?” one of the men wanted to know.
“He’s got someone helping him,” Mairi guessed. “Someone who’s tracking us. Can tell when we’re close.”
“How do you know that?’
“Because I know how me uncle thinks.” She snapped her fingers. “Phones. Get rid of them. I’ll get us some burners. No contact with family or girlfriends. No computers or anything else.”
“Then how do we track him?”
“I’ll find someone to help us out. I just need a day or two to—”
“The twins aren’t going to like you going off on your own again,” he pointed out, making Mairi want to rip his throat out. She didn’t . . . but she really wanted to.
“Then keep yer mouth shut and there won’t be a problem, now will there?”
“But the twins said—”
Mairi reached up and grabbed him by the jaw, squeezing until she heard a small “crack” sound. She wasn’t trying to break it. Not unless she had to.
“I said,” she warned again, up on her toes so she didn’t have to shout to be heard by the much taller man, “keep yer mouth shut and there won’t be a problem. Understand?”
Eyes wide, gawking down at her, he managed a nod.
“Good.” She motioned to the room. “Clear this place and head to the hotel. I’ll get you new phones and check in with you later.”
Mairi walked out of the motel and returned to the rental car. She sat down in the driver’s seat and stared straight ahead. She didn’t want to deal with Freddy MacKilligan. The idiot. And when she finally tracked him down, she was going to make him suffer for distracting her from what she really wanted, which was Max MacKilligan.
And anything that got in the way of that goal just pissed Mairi off.
Mairi rested her hands on the wheel. Maybe she should just kill the twins. If she got them out of the way sooner rather than later, she could focus on Max.
She liked that idea. Of course, she’d originally wanted to keep the twins around so they could continue to distract all the uncles and aunts. But now they were just getting pushy and annoying. Mairi didn’t have patience for that sort of thing.
Thinking on it a bit longer, Mairi realized that she didn’t actually have to kill the twins herself. She had another option. One that would free up her time. She just needed to get a few things in order and . . .
“Excellent!” she cheered, pleased with her brilliant decision-making. “Get all that sorted and then I can put a bullet in the back of me cousin’s head.”
Mairi let out a happy sigh. She did love when things worked out in her favor.