chapter ELEVEN

chapter ELEVENFinn woke up when he smelled the muffins. They were blueberry and he really wanted one. Or maybe six. Or a dozen. He wasn’t finicky. He just knew he was hungry. It had been hours since he’d eaten. Hours!They’d left Chinatown the night before, driven to the badger house in Queens, and that was kind of the last thing he remembered. They were all exhausted by the time they got to the house . . . except the two MacKilligan sisters. He recalled both of them being awake enough to still be bickering as he’d stepped out of Keane’s battered SUV. How long that had gone on after he’d fallen asleep, he had no idea.Lifting his head off the back of the couch, Finn realized it wasn’t just the smell of muffins that had jogged him awake. It was the sound of crunching. He forced his eyes open despite the bright sunlight in the badger living room and looked around. It looked like people had pretty much dropped wherever they could find a space. Nelle was elegantly curled up on a stuffed chair tucked into the corner opposite the giant sofa he was on. Streep was asleep on the floor, tightly packed into the space between the wall and the chair that Nelle was asleep in. The badger seemed surprisingly comfortable in such a tiny space.Tock was also asleep on the floor but, unlike her friends, had her back against the wall so she faced the entrance; she had an automatic weapon across her lap, her finger on the trigger. When Finn’s eyes passed over her, she woke up long enough to look at him, judge him nonthreatening, and go back to sleep.Keane was on the far end of the same couch that Finn was on, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest, his hair covering his face. Shay was next to him in pretty much the same pose except for the loud snoring. It was like sleeping next to a moose. Finn turned his head and found the source of the crunching.It was Mads. She sat with her back against the armrest of the couch, her bare feet tucked under his thigh as she silently stared at him and chewed something decidedly crunchy now that her broken jaw had healed. He thought maybe cereal or nuts until she opened the wooden box she held in her hand and pulled out a very black, very terrifying-looking scorpion, then put the struggling thing in her mouth. It was a good-sized arachnid, so it didn’t go all the way in, the stinger remaining outside her lips. Finn watched in horror as that part jabbed her over and over, most likely injecting her with its venom several times while she chewed and stared . . . at him.They sat like that for a good—he didn’t know—maybe five minutes? Then, unable to help himself, Finn started laughing. Not loudly. He didn’t want to wake anybody up. He also didn’t want anyone else joining them in this moment. This was their time to be really fucking weird.Because this was weird, right? Even by shifter standards . . . this was fucking weird.“What are you doing?” he finally whispered to her.“Snacking.” She held out the wooden box to him. “Want one?”“No. I prefer my struggling meals to kick me in the head with their hooves.”“There are some scorpions that have poison that can—and will—kick you in the head metaphorically. This, however, is not one of them. It’s just an Asian Forest Scorpion. Its venom is very mild. Sure you don’t want to try it?”“Positive.” Finn thought a moment. “But give me one.”Mads frowned, then shrugged. She handed over the scorpion and Finn slightly turned so he could carefully place the bug right between Shay’s eyes.Finn tapped his brother’s arm and Shay woke up, his eyes crossing to get a better look at what was on his face. Finn had to hand it to his brother. He didn’t jump up. He didn’t run. He stayed calmly situated on the couch while screaming, “Get it off me! Get it off me! Get it off me!”Chuckling, Mads tried to reach over Finn to get to Shay but Finn blocked her with his arms so his dog-loving brother suffered a little longer.Keane woke up, and as soon as he saw what was on their brother’s face, he shot off the couch, barking, “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”By now the other badgers in the room were awake. Nelle and Streep were in hysterical giggles, but Tock simply got to her feet, swung the strap of the automatic weapon she held over her shoulder, and walked across the coffee table so she stood in front of Shay. She easily lifted the scorpion off the panicked cat’s nose as Shay swiped at his face a thousand times with both hands. The pair stared at each other for several seconds until Tock simply leaned her head back, opened her mouth wide, and lowered the struggling scorpion in.As she chewed, Shay finally jumped up and ran out of the room, screaming he needed a washcloth.“He’s going to scrub the skin right off his bones, isn’t he?” Mads asked Finn.“He’s going to try.”* * *Finn pointed at the wooden box Mads held. “Do they have a lot of boxes like that around the house?”“Not really. Stevie is easily—”“Squirrel!”Outside in the yard, Max’s baby sister ran past the living room windows, hands wildly waving over her head.“—startled,” Mads finished. “She’s also scared of snakes, racoons, spiders, rats, the occasional thunderstorm if she thinks it has anything to do with climate change, and giant wasp nests but only because she finds the look of them ‘aesthetically unappealing’” she said with air quotes.“What does that mean?”“I think it means she finds the big nests ugly and they make her skin crawl. But she doesn’t know to just say that.”Finn blinked. “Okay.”“Don’t be such a snob. I like the MacKilligan sisters,” Mads admitted to Finn. “They’re good to each other.”Stevie ran back the other way, arms still flailing over her head. But this time, Max ran after her until she abruptly stopped and looked down, up, toward the nearby trees, down again . . . Max finally turned away and that’s when Stevie appeared out of nowhere, launching herself at her sister’s back. Stevie wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck, but couldn’t quite manage to take her down. Still, Mads was impressed.“Wow. Stevie’s come a long way.”“Has she?”“Yeah. That was a full-on ambush. I knew her when she couldn’t do that at all. No ambush skills. No fighting skills. Just no skills outside of math and science and fancy music.”“She’s definitely got some tiger in that DNA.”“Seems so.”Finn tilted his head to the side. “She’s still not quite getting her sister on the ground, though.”“The fact that she could ambush Max MacKilligan at all is impressive. Let’s not ask for the moon.”“Muffin?”Charlie stood over them with a tray of giant blueberry muffins. Before Mads could take one, Finn took the entire tray and placed it in his lap. When silence followed that bold move, he looked up and asked, “What?”“Not big on sharing?” Tock asked.“I’m a tiger, so the answer to that is no.”“No problem,” Charlie replied. “I have more in the kitchen. But you guys better get what you want before the bears start wandering in.”Keane walked back into the living room holding a platter piled high with blueberry muffins.Charlie’s friendly smile vanished. “Or apparently now, cats.”“You let bears just come into your house?” Keane asked.“We tried to lock them out,” Charlie explained, “but they just took the door down and came right on in. But they did it so nicely, I couldn’t even be angry . . . Did you actually take the rest of the muffins?”“I’m hungry.”“Are you going to share with the rest of us?” Tock asked.Keane sat down on the far end of the couch, placed the platter on his lap, and finally replied, “No.”Nelle walked barefoot across the room, reached across the coffee table, and snatched a muffin off Keane’s platter. The tiger immediately roared in warning and Nelle hissed, bared her fangs, and lunged at him. The move so surprised Keane, he reared back, eyes wide, allowing Nelle to take three more muffins that she tossed to Tock, Streep, and Mads before flashing Keane a smile and taking a big bite out of her own muffin with her fangs still unleashed.Charlie let out a long sigh. “I guess I have to make more muffins now, before the bears tear the house down.”“And why is that necessary?” Finn asked.“Bears,” all the badgers replied.“How do you think the MacKilligans get to live here?” Tock asked.“Because it’s America . . . ? Right?”“What does that matter when there are bears? Hungry, growling bears?”“A lot of them females with cubs,” Streep added. “Even badgers avoid that fight.”“It’s just easier to bake them treats and hope for the best.”“Is that why you’re baking something already?” Keane asked, nose lifted.“That cake’s for Mads. So she can finalize the papers and buy her house.”Mads had completely forgotten about the house. But she was also confused. “Was cake part of the deal? I don’t remember that.” Last night felt as if it had been years ago.“No. But it’s always best to show up to a bear deal with baked goods in hand. I’ll go get the cake.”“Do you know how to bake?” Finn asked Mads.“I can’t cook or bake. And I’m not exactly eager to learn.”“Think the bears in the neighborhood will let you stay?”She knew Finn was only joking, but Mads realized . . . “I hadn’t really thought about it.”Charlie returned with a cardboard box that made whatever delicious-smelling thing she had in there look like it came directly from the local bakery. She also had a small container of white cream on top and placed both on the coffee table near Mads.“It’s crumb cake. Tell them when the cake cools, they can drizzle the icing on.” For a moment, Charlie’s gaze bounced back and forth between Mads and Finn until she finally said, “Go with her, Finn.”“Why?” the pair asked together.“She’s carrying a lot of cash. And a valuable painting. Anything could happen between here and there. Do you want to be responsible for her getting mugged on the cold, heartless streets of Queens?”“How would I be responsible for that?”“Because I said so.” Charlie gave a smile that was more terrifying than friendly before pointing toward the front door. “Now don’t be too long, you two. We still have to discuss—”There was banging at the living room windows and they all saw Max standing there. Her baby sister still attempting to take her down. It was a sad attempt, but Mads had to give the kid points for sticking it out.Max jammed her finger against the window and yelled, “Why are those cats still here?”“Because you’re going to be working with them,” Charlie informed her younger sister.“Like hell I will! I don’t owe them anything!”“Max—”“I’d rather set myself on fire!”“Excuse me, would you?” Charlie walked out of the room.A few seconds later, she shot past the window, taking down Max and their baby sister in the process.“Wow,” Keane muttered. “That was impressive. Think Charlie would be interested in playing football?”* * *Finn took the briefcase with the money and carried the cake and icing with his other hand. Mads held the painting. They were just about to head toward the front door when Shay finally returned to the living room, his face bright red from all the scrubbing he must have done after having a scorpion sitting on his nose for half a second. It wasn’t just the redness of his face, though, that was the problem . . .“Uh-oh,” Tock said when she turned around and looked up at Finn’s brother.“Wha?” Shay asked seconds before he quickly guessed. “My fay isss wollen, i’n it?”“Uhhhh . . .”“Have one of your dogs lick it,” Keane unhelpfully suggested, making Finn laugh until Mads glared at him. Then he quickly looked away from her appalled gaze. “Should fix it right up.”Tock slammed her hands against Shay’s chest to stop him from going after Keane.“Your face is a little swollen,” Tock said.A little? It looked like someone had forced a softball into his cheek.“I’m eye-ing! I ’ow it!”“You’re not dying,” Tock told him, somehow understanding his idiot brother. “Even for regular full-humans that scorpion’s venom is very mild. You’re probably just having an allergic reaction.”“ ’Ix me, ’oman! ’ow!”“Calm down.” She spun Shay around and shoved him out of the room. “Streep, where do they keep their allergy stuff?”“Somewhere in the kitchen. I’ll come and help you look.”Streep followed them out and Finn followed Mads in the other direction. It wasn’t until they had the front door open that Nelle said from behind them, “Just so you’re not surprised, I went ahead and ordered some furniture for you.”Mads froze for a second, but then abruptly spun around so fast that Finn had to take a quick step back or find out if they looked good wearing each other’s clothes.“Why?” Mads demanded.Nelle leaned against the doorjamb separating the living room from the sunroom. “Because you needed furniture and we both know you weren’t going to have time to buy any.”She said that so casually it might have sounded like a friendly gesture and not massively presumptuous. But as a tiger that lived with Keane Malone, a massively presumptuous cat, Finn knew the signs when he saw them.“Oh, my God,” Mads snapped. “Seriously?”“What?”“You picked my furniture for me?”“No. Of course not.” She slipped one of her high heels on. “I had Sauveterre do it.”“Who?”“Sauveterre.”“Who the fuck is Sauveterre?”“You know. Charles Sauveterre.”“Do you mean Chuck?”Nelle put on her other shoe and turned an unsmiling face to her teammate. “You know he hates when you call him that.”“It’s his name.”“When he was twelve.”“In Iowa.”“His mother’s French.”“Canadian. She’s French-Canadian. And I don’t need Chuck picking out my furniture either!”“Look, the reason I had Sauveterre—”“Chuck.”“—do it is because we all know that it won’t just be you hanging out at your house. It’ll be all of us. And, quite honestly, you have the taste of a thirteen-year-old boy who really loves basketball.”“I do not.”“You do. Which means you’ll get one large TV for the living room that you’ll put on top of a cardboard box. A couple of those folding chairs that someone from the neighborhood will give you because they’ve upgraded their backyard furniture, and some TV trays, so we can all eat. A refrigerator and microwave for the kitchen and a box spring for the bedroom. That’ll be it. You know it. I know it.” She gestured to Finn. “Even this guy knows it. And I’m sorry, I can’t live that way. So I had Sauveterre—”“Chuck.”“—handle it. That way we can all be comfortable. And happy.”“He designs for those rich sheiks who buy those multimillion-dollar apartments in Manhattan but never live in them. I can’t afford the kind of furniture he’s going to buy!”“You have a twenty-five-million-dollar Kandinsky just sitting in a storage locker.”“For emergencies!”“You were about to give it away!”“To buy a house!”“In Queens!”“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Finn finally bellowed as the two females squared off, nose to nose with their fangs out.“Need some help in there, little brother?” Keane asked. Finn didn’t even have to look to know Keane was smirking. He could actually hear the smirk in the asshole’s voice.“No, I do not,” Finn barked back. “And you,” he said to Mads, “out the door. Now!”Using his body and the cake, he maneuvered the badger through the door, across the stoop, down the stairs, through the fence gate, and out onto the sidewalk.Once they were free of all the drama, he nodded across the street while asking, “You were really going to give away a twenty-five-million-dollar painting for that house?”“I got the painting, like, a decade ago, and hadn’t checked the recent value on it. And, to be quite honest, I’m not that big a fan of his work. I also don’t need you giving me shit about this, too.”“Fine. But if you want your friends staying off your back, you need to make smarter financial decisions in the moment.”“Teammates.”“What?”“They’re my teammates.”Finn couldn’t help but laugh.“What’s so funny?”“I said ‘friends’ because I was being polite. But they’re not your friends and they’re not your teammates.”“So they’re my enemies?”“Wow.” Finn blinked. “No. They’re your family.” When she started to balk, he asked, “Do you think I’d put up with any of the shit I put up with from Keane or Shay if they weren’t my brothers? They irritate me in ways you can’t even imagine. Chances are I would have killed them a long time ago if we weren’t related. But I tolerate them because I love my mother and because our bond is deeper than Keane’s annoying habit of humming when he eats bacon. And only when he eats bacon. Or Shay’s inability to eat rabbits because he finds them cute and fluffy, which we all believed applied only to rabbits but now we see also extends to dogs. I mean, we’ve never eaten dogs because they’re disgusting, unclean beasts but he just finds them . . .” Finn shuddered at the next word he had to say. “. . . cute.”He let out a breath. “But they’re my brothers, so I tolerate their bullshit. They’re your sisters, so you tolerate their bullshit. That is just how it goes.” He gestured with the hand holding the briefcase. “Now let’s go buy you this house that is not worth a twenty-five-million-dollar painting.”“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”“I don’t know how anyone can let that go. It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard and I live with Shay Malone. Dog lover.”