In a Badger Way (Honey Badger Chronicles #2) - Shelly Laurenston Page 0,147

SUV they’d driven up in and while Ric ensured that his team knew the details of the plan to breach the building, Shen watched the sisters.

A minute later, Max returned. She stepped in front of Charlie and placed a small rocket launcher on her shoulder. One shot and the blast took down the door . . . and blew out a good chunk of the building’s front as well.

Everyone except Shen and the Dunns ducked, because they hadn’t been expecting the MacKilligan sisters to let Ric and the Group lead anything.

Glancing over her shoulder, Charlie said, “Wait here. We’ll let you know when it’s clear.”

Then they were gone, Max briefly stopping to toss her rocket launcher at Dag before pulling out blades, one in each hand.

Ric stared at the half-destroyed building. “What just happened?” he asked no one in particular.

“It’s best just to wait until they’re done,” Berg explained. “Trust me on this.”

* * *

Gwen had a giant furry ass pressing her into the titanium wall. She was afraid she might die from suffocation, but she couldn’t be angry. That furry, striped ass had so far protected her and Blayne from Tasers, tear gas, and beanbag rounds. When the nonlethal didn’t even give Stevie MacKilligan an itch, they moved to lethal. That’s when the furry ass protected Gwen and Blayne from gunshots.

Of course, the gunshots were what made two-ton Stevie really angry. Roaring so loud the walls shook, she lashed out with her front paw, sending a group of guards flying out of the room.

It turned out the titanium bands didn’t cut into Stevie’s flesh. When she shifted, they just broke off and fell to the floor.

The rest of the guards ran out, closing the doors behind them.

Gwen assumed Stevie would tear the door open, but instead, she stomped to the wall and began to climb it, and not by digging her claws in. She just climbed it. Like a goddamn lizard.

“Holy shit,” Gwen gasped.

“Told you!” Blayne said, yet again.

They watched Stevie easily move up the wall until she reached the extremely small air vent. She nosed the grate a few times, then used her claws to yank it out. The thick metal clattered to the floor and she poked her nose in. With a little push, she got her head in, too, but there was no way her body would . . .

“Holy shit!”

“I told you!”

Stevie managed to get all two tons of herself into the vent, her giant shoulders slipping in after her head; the rest of her body following. Gwen worried the hybrid would get stuck, but they could hear her claws and fur moving against the metal above them.

They waited in silence, their gazes locked on the ceiling until the doors were thrown open again. The armed guards had returned with weapons that could take down an elephant. But when they stepped inside, they froze and looked at Gwen and Blayne.

“Where is she?” the woman in front demanded.

Smiling a little, Gwen raised her hand and pointed her forefinger to a spot . . . behind them.

She saw the color drain from the woman’s face before the guards all turned at once. But it was too late. Stevie had eased her gigantic body out of the tiny air vent on the other side of the door, lowered herself to the floor without a sound, and had attacked without hesitation.

Blood splattered across the room, hitting Gwen and Blayne in the face. Then they had to duck the spitout body parts, boots, and weapons.

Guards arrived from the hallway behind Stevie. Gwen didn’t think Stevie saw them and was about to call out a warning, but Stevie’s long, tiger-like tail lashed out. It wasn’t a tiger-like tail functionally. Nor was it like a honey badger’s. Because it cut through the three men charging toward her. Cut right through them, splitting all three in half like they’d been hit with a giant sword.

The tail was also whip-fast and prehensile, picking up guards and tossing them around the room like toys.

Finally, Gwen had to say it, “I’ll never doubt you again, Blayne.”

“Yes, you will.”

“You’re right. I will.”

* * *

All hell was breaking loose on the third floor lab, but he didn’t have time to check it out. Instead, he was running toward the explosion and gunshots coming from the ground-level floor.

He stopped, silently ordering his men to stand by with a raised fist. He peered around the corner and saw the fight taking place in the hallway. There were two women. One