In a Badger Way (Honey Badger Chronicles #2) - Shelly Laurenston Page 0,150

trust me . . . it’s astounding.”

He pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.”

They stayed like that for several wonderful minutes. Just holding each other, eyes closed; Shen’s hands under her bare ass, her arms around his massive shoulders. She’d never felt safer. Not simply physically safe. But fully understanding that she could be all she was with this man without doubt or fear.

“You two gonna do it?” Max asked, standing right by them and being typically annoying.

“Go. Away,” Stevie snarled at her sister, refusing to move from her lovely position in Shen’s arms.

Thankfully, Max did as Stevie asked, but, sadly, it seemed no one wanted to leave her alone with Shen.

“Sorry to bother you two,” Ric Van Holtz said. “But I was just wondering, Stevie, if, um . . . the lab there”—he jerked his thumb toward her former prison—“is it still mostly intact or was the equipment destroyed?”

“Why would I destroy equipment?” she asked, still refusing to move from where she was.

“Huh. And do you know what all that equipment does?”

“Of course I know what the equipment does.”

“Huh. Interesting.”

“Is it?” Stevie snapped, beyond fed up at this point.

“You know what?” Charlie said, coming over and placing Stevie’s clothes on her shoulder. “We’re going to go now. My sister has had a long twenty-four hours and she needs her rest.”

“Right. Of course.” It looked as if Van Holtz took the hint, appearing to start to walk away. But then he stopped and again pointed at the lab, “You see, I’m just wondering—”

Max stepped in front of the wolf. “My sister needs her rest,” Max reiterated, her eyes wide and dazed. “And I need to get the blood off my hands.” She shoved her blood-drenched hands close to Van Holtz’s pretty face. “Blood off my haaaaaaannnnnnndddddssssss!” she ended on a hysterical screech.

“Okay, then,” Van Holtz said, moving away from an openly sobbing Max, who was still holding her hands out and waving them at him. “I’ll see you guys back in the city. Okay? Great!”

The wolf sprinted back to the waiting SUV and when he’d driven off, Max faced them. Before any of them could speak, she burst into hysterical laughter.

To Stevie’s surprise, it was Berg who asked the question they were all thinking. “What is wrong with you?”

Still laughing, Max said, “He just wouldn’t leave.”

“So you terrify him?” And now Berg was laughing. His brother and sister joining in.

Max shrugged, heading toward their vehicle. “It worked, didn’t it?”

Finally alone, Shen said to Stevie, “I know I don’t say this enough but . . . you have the best family.”

Now Stevie laughed. “I know, right?”

* * *

Stevie fell asleep on their way back to Queens and didn’t wake up even when everyone got out of the SUV and headed inside. So Shen carried her upstairs and took her to his room. But he was quite annoyed when he went inside and discovered that one of the bear neighbors had picked up Benny from the emergency vet and had placed the dog in the bed.

With a big bandage around his middle and a small set of stairs leading up to the mattress—so the dog wouldn’t have to jump down or up, Shen guessed—the bastard looked quite at home. When the big dog saw Stevie, his giant tail began to hit the bed.

“Benny!” she said, although Shen wasn’t sure she was actually awake. Her eyes weren’t even open. But she stretched out her arm and Shen knew she wanted to touch the dog. Unable to deny her anything, he laid her out on the bed beside Benny, who’d risked his life for the three sisters.

Stevie moved in close, her hand settling on the dog’s ridiculously thick neck.

Shen turned to walk out, but Stevie’s “Don’t go,” stopped him.

“Sure there’s enough room for me?” he teased.

“Get your ass over here,” she ordered, still looking like she was asleep despite their conversation.

Shen placed his gun on the side table and slipped in behind Stevie. He put his arm around her waist and buried his nose in the back of her neck.

“Better?” he asked.

“Perfect,” she purred. Then she started snoring and Shen grinned. Because Stevie was right.

It was perfect.

chapter THIRTY-TWO

Shen joined the cheers of the wild dogs when Stevie stepped up to the mic in the small downtown club. She’d gotten a call earlier in the day asking if she’d like to play with “The Band” as they referred to themselves since the former prodigies/current geniuses refused to actually give themselves a