“Full-humans will just hold you back. Because you can’t reveal what you can do. You can’t unleash your claws. You can’t unleash your fangs. You can’t roar.”
“You roar?”
“No, I’m a wolverine. Still, I can bite through thick human bone, which is helpful during a nasty fight. But I can’t do that if I’m standing around with a bunch of full-humans watching me, because we all know they’ll ask questions. They’re all so nosy.”
It took a few seconds for Zé to understand what was happening, but when he did, he asked, “Wait . . . are you pitching me something?”
“My organization is always looking for good people, and we love former military. We pay top dollar and everyone knows exactly what you are and what you can do. It’s something to think about when you’re ready.”
“Would I have to work for you directly?”
“No. Asshole. But just so we’re clear, I’m always around. Max is my best friend.”
“So?”
“What? Are you actually going to sit there and tell me you’re not interested in—owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!”
Shocked by his scream of pain, Zé looked up to see that Charlie had Dutch’s ear and was twisting it to the point that Zé was worried she’d tear the damn thing off.
“You will not bother Zé,” she told Max’s friend. “You will not talk to Zé. You will not annoy Zé. You will not interact with Zé at all. Do you understand me?”
Dutch pulled away, stumbling into a grizzly that roared a little and pushed Dutch back.
But Zé was impressed. Dutch didn’t hit the floor and start crying, which would be what Zé would expect after having a six-and-a-half-foot man attempt to shove you to the ground.
“I can talk to whoever I want to!” Dutch told Charlie while holding his ear.
Charlie moved in on Dutch. “Not if you’re missing your tongue.”
“I’m telling Max.”
Zé smirked when Dutch took off through the crowd and that smirk turned to a large grin when Charlie put a plate of dark chocolate cupcakes in front of him.
“If Dutch bothers you again, you just let me know. He lives and breathes because I allow him to. I’d happily enjoy reminding him of that.”
He pointed at the cupcakes. “These are the best, by the way.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying them.” She sat down in the chair next to him. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Did Max go see her mother today?”
Zé choked on the cupcake he’d just bitten into, sending a spray of chocolate across the ground.
“Okay. Thanks.”
“No, no.” He grabbed Charlie’s hand before she could stand up and walk away. “I did not say ‘yes’ to that question.”
“You kind of did.”
“I don’t want to get in the middle of this.”
“There’s nothing to get into the middle of, Zé. Don’t worry. I’m not going to flip out or anything. It’s her mother. I would never get between them. I just wanted to make sure.”
“How did you find out?”
“Imani Ako, the She-lion from a few blocks over. She was here. She told me. I thought she was going to use it to blackmail us, but no. She just wanted to tell me. Trying to gain my trust, I guess.”
“I really think Max is going to tell you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Charlie admitted. “If my mother came back as a zombie, I’d be, like, ‘Mom! You’re home!’” she jokingly cheered, pumping her fists a little. “So, you don’t have to tell her anything. I just . . . needed to know. For myself.”
Zé watched Charlie MacKilligan for a moment before he guessed, “You’re worried she’s going to leave.”
It seemed that Charlie was about to answer but then she patted him on the shoulder and said, “I’ll wrap up some more of these cupcakes for you and hide them in one of the high cabinets. After I accidentally shot Mr. Longchester from down the street—when he sniffed out some cake in our cabinets one morning—we haven’t had a problem with any more break-ins.”
Once Charlie was gone, Stevie jumped into her empty seat. “What did Charlie want?” She leaned in. “Does she know about Max’s mom? Did she ask about that?”
Zé stared at Max’s sister. “I can’t express to you how much I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
* * *
The party eventually wound down. Barbeques were hefted up and taken home. There was no leftover food—there never was when bears were involved—but paper plates and disposable utensils were cleaned up. Trash-bagged and taken to the large, bear-proof Dumpsters outside the fence. Max and her sisters didn’t have to lift a finger. She liked the way the bears knew how to show their appreciation.
Her teammates were going to go back into the city and get hotel rooms, but Charlie stopped them at the door.
“You’re staying here . . . aren’t you?”
As usual, the four idiots were too terrified to say “no” to Charlie so they all headed down to the finished basement, planning to sleep together on sleeping bags and air mattresses like they used to when they were in high school and at away games.
After making sure all the bears were gone, and then shooing Kyle away from the garage so he could get some actual sleep—he was still a growing jackal!—she made her way back to the house. But before she went through the door, she sniffed the air and followed the scent to the big tree. That’s where she found Zé. He was hanging out on a limb and texting on his new phone.
“You going to spend the night up there?” she asked.
“I wasn’t planning on it. But Kamatsu managed to get my new number and she’s been texting me like crazy. She wants proof it’s really me. She’s been asking me a ton of questions that only I can answer. It’s very annoying.”
“She’s worried about you.”
“Yes, which I really appreciate. But I’m also bored now.” He began typing, staring at his screen while saying what he was writing. “I’m done. I’m going to bed. Do not bother me again until sometime tomorrow.”
Max grimaced. “That’s a little abrupt, isn’t it?”
The phone vibrated with an incoming text.
“ ‘Okay,’” he read from the screen, “‘now I know it’s you. Talk to you tomorrow.’ ”
Happy with that reply, Zé started down the tree, slipped, flipped, and landed on his feet right in front of her.
“I bet you wanted to do that,” she prompted.
“Yes. I did. Beautifully handled, don’t you think?”
Max jammed her hands into the back pockets of her shorts. “Look, Zé, I hope tonight wasn’t too much for you. I mean, my mom, watching bears feed, fighting for the cupcakes . . . Dutch. I know this kind of existence isn’t for everyone.”
“I actually had a relatively pleasant time. Except for Dutch. But your sister handled that.”
“You and Charlie. I don’t get it. I love Dutch. He’s fun, he can eat frozen meat because he’s got that wolverine jaw, and he’s not afraid to eat a rattler if there’s one slithering around. What?” she asked when Zé just stared at her, not saying anything.