“By blackmailing them?”
“No. I never would have gone that route, but you know what they say: boys will be boys.”
“That’s why you didn’t do anything. You were letting them fail.”
She shrugged. “A She-lion teaches the younger generation by letting them get their asses kicked. Usually the ass-kicking comes from a clan of hyenas but you did a very good job.”
Charlie rested her hands on her hips. “So what is this? You’re hoping I’ll force my sister to work for you? You’ve got something on me you think you can use to get me to help you?”
“Look, kid, I know you can’t be blackmailed. I know you can’t be forced. And I fully understand the extent of your dangerous nature.” She smirked. “That’s why I want to hire you.”
“Hire me to do what?”
“To do what you do for your sisters, but this time for others.”
“You can hire the Dunn triplets if you want a protection unit. I have other things to—”
“No, no. I don’t want you to protect and serve. That’s what we have cops for. I want you to do what you do for your sisters: protect and destroy.”
* * *
They did look alike. The pair of them. The same height. The same face. Even many of the same mannerisms. But there was a difference. The thing that drew Zé to Max was the same thing that made him keep a healthy distance from her mother. He just didn’t know what that thing was or why his reaction was so vastly different from one woman to the other.
“I can’t believe you stole a Bugatti. Why not just wear a sign that says, ‘Hey! I’m a fugitive’?”
“Oh, you’re such a little worrier.”
“That’s the thing, Ma. I’m not.”
Max’s mother leaned against the Bugatti’s door, putting that expensive paint job at risk.
“So why couldn’t I come see you at that house you guys are living in?” Renny asked.
“Not sure Charlie would be okay with a fugitive coming to call.”
“Must you keep bringing that up?”
“Ma,” Max said, grabbing her mother’s hands. “I am so glad to see you. You have no idea how glad I am. But I don’t want you back in prison. I want you free to live your life. I want you to be happy.”
“Happy? Sweetie, we’re honey badgers. We’re rarely happy. We’re bitter and angry. And that’s okay. That’s what gives us our edge.”
“I’m happy.”
“You are?”
“I’m almost always happy. I’m happy you’re here. I’m happy my sisters have met men that can tolerate them. I’m happy Charlie’s making cupcakes tonight. So yeah . . . I’m happy. Aren’t you happy? Now that you’re out of prison? Because you should be happy. I want you to be happy.”
“Well, I’m not depressed. Among the Yangs that’s considered. . . happy-ish. But stop worrying about me. I want you to start thinking about the future.”
“The future of what?”
Her mother let out a long, pained sigh. “The future of your life, dumbass. I’m back now. So start thinking. What do you wanna do? Where do you wanna go?” Her brown eyes suddenly lit up. “What do you wanna steal? The whole world is ours for the taking. So let me know where you wanna go from here.”
Before Max could say anything—if she was going to say anything—her mother kissed her cheek and hugged her again.
“I’ll text you in the next day or two. Okay? You think about what you want and you and me, baby . . . we’re on our way.”
Her mother gave her one more hug, waved at Zé, got into her Bugatti, and then pulled out in such a way that Zé knew he’d never willingly get in the car with that woman if she were driving.
“Your mother seems nice.”
Slowly Max turned to face him, her eyes wide.
“Okay. I’m lying. She doesn’t. But she clearly loves you. That must be nice.”
“It’s great.” She nodded. “It’s great.”
She walked toward the SUV. “Come on. We still have to get stuff for Charlie. And liquor. We need to get lots of liquor.”
Zé got into the driver’s side and started the engine. “Do you want to talk?”
“I’m not one of those girls,” she said, staring out the passenger-side window, “who sits around, endlessly analyzing her feelings. If you want any of that shit, talk to Stevie.”
“Okay. Fair enough. So what do you need now?”
She looked at him, stared at him intently. “You know what I need right now?” she said in a husky whisper.
Zé cleared his throat. “What?”
“Ice cream.”
“Huh?”
“I need ice cream. Two scoops. Chocolate and honey almond. On a sugar cone.” She pointed. “There’s a place not far from the house. Just go up this street and take a left.”
“If it’s ice cream you want . . . then it’ll be ice cream you shall have.”
* * *
Because the bears kept coming in and out of the kitchen, they moved their conversation to the front of the house.
By the time they’d finished and Imani had handed Charlie her business card and told her to “think about it and call me,” Max and Zé were double-parking in front of the house.
“Hi!” Max greeted Imani with a big smile as she stepped out of the vehicle. “I remember you. You tried to blackmail me, and my sister kicked the asses of your friends. And despite this, you’re here. With me. That seems like a bad idea.”
“Max,” Charlie said, “it’s okay. Let her go.”
“You should thank my sister, because she’s the one person who can stop me from tearing out your throat.”
“Wow.” Zé took Max’s arm, pulled her away. “Talk about not subtle.”
Imani returned to the cat side of town and Charlie returned to the house. But she didn’t want to go inside, so she sat on the stoop stairs.
Zé had a few bags of groceries but he stopped before going past the fence and said, “Why are we doing this?” He put the bags down and walked to the far side of the fence.
“Hey! Bears!” he yelled into her yard. “Get over here and take this stuff if you want liquor.”
A small herd of bears tromped out of her yard, went to the back of the SUV, and grabbed all the groceries. Zé led them inside by heading around the house. That way Charlie wouldn’t have to move from her spot on the stoop. She also noticed that Zé’s arms were now empty.
“Typical cat,” Charlie joked when Max sat down beside her on the stairs.
“He is turning out that way.” She motioned in the direction that Imani had taken. “Want me to deal with her?”
“No.”
“I don’t mind.”
Charlie laughed. “That I know.” She slipped Imani’s business card into her pocket. “So what took you so long getting back?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Probably not.”
* * *
Max cut through the house and went out into the backyard. She found her teammates lounging by the pool and the big bears relaxing in the water. She motioned to the girls with a wave of her hand and led them into the garage. Kyle was there, working on sketches, but he had his noise-canceling headphones on and didn’t seem to be aware of anything but what was on his giant sketchpad.