“She does have an amazing ass,” Charlie interjected. She now hugged the puppy that had been on her head against her chest, both hands wrapped around its small body. A look of pure bliss on her face. “And she’ll crush you without even working up a sweat.”
“Exactly.” Shay focused again on Tock and Mads. By now, Streep had pushed the two crazed females apart and was holding the ball.
“This is ridiculous!” she yelled at them. “Both of you acting like this.”
The pair got to their feet and stared at their teammate in confusion.
“What are you talking about?” Mads asked.
“Why don’t you two just admit how much you love each other?” Streep demanded.
“What?” Tock asked, laughing a little.
“You guys are best friends but you never say it. You never admit it. If you did, you’d understand that all of this”—she swung her arms wide—“is just an attempt to hide the fact that the two of you are simply worried about each other. That you just want to protect each other. Like all good friends do.”
It was quick. The look that passed between Tock and Mads, but Shay caught it. He just wasn’t sure Streep did.
“That’s stupid,” Mads bluntly told the little actress, taking the basketball from her. “You’re stupid.”
“I’m just saying—”
“We’re teammates,” Tock told her. “That’s all. I could not care less if Mads gets hit by a bus.”
“Or a train,” Mads added with a knowing nod.
“Exactly.”
Streep started to rant but immediately stopped, clasping her hands together and lacing her fingers as if she was praying. She held her clasped hands close to her face, closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath. When she released it, she said, “We all know you two are very close friends. Just admit it. Just say the words.”
Tock and Mads exchanged a more obvious glance before replying in unison, “No.”
Streep slapped the ball from Mads’s hands—nearly hitting a ducking Charlie in the process—grabbed each woman by the throat and dragged them close, choking them while screeching, “Just say it! Say it!”
“Okay.” Max, who had been standing by a nearby tree, bickering with a neighbor bear about some recently raided bee hives—she had nothing to do with the raid so why did everyone keep accusing her?—quickly rushed over to rescue her two teammates. Preferably before a hysterical Streep choked them to death. “Let’s all just calm down.” She pulled hands from throats and pushed a gasping, coughing Tock and Mads away before wrapping her arms around Streep and pulling her close.
“It’s okay,” she told a now-sobbing Streep. “It’s okay.” Max pulled the badger as close as possible and rubbed her back.
“Why are they so fucking awful, Max? Whyyyyyy?”
“Because they’re horrible, horrible people. But you already knew that.”
“I did. I did know they were horrible people.”
“Exactly.” Max held Streep by the shoulders and took a step back so she could look the overemotional female in the eyes. “Now, let’s go help set up the tables. We’ll be dining al fresco today. Won’t that be lovely?”
“It will. It will be lovely!” She glared at Tock and Mads. “And you two are horrible. Horrible! Stop laughing at me!”
*
It was a little bit of Italy in the middle of Queens, New York. Charlie’s sauce was amazing, the pasta perfectly prepared, the garlic bread and salad perfect accompaniments. She even had the perfect wine for the few who wanted it.
What started as a quick early lunch in the middle of the day to make sure Tock wouldn’t pass out had turned into an early evening feast while the sun slowly lowered. Charlie’s dogs finally came out to play in the yard, Mads’s illegally harbored coyote came over to steal a loaf of the garlic bread, Stevie’s kitten hung from a tree limb, and all those predators feeding nearby managed not to scare any of the domesticated pets.
It was heaven. And Tock didn’t believe in heaven.
Halfway through the meal, Stevie returned from her lab with Shen and Zé. The look on her face made it clear that Max’s kid sister hadn’t made a breakthrough on whatever toxin had been used on Tock. But Stevie wouldn’t stop until she’d figured out what was going on. In fact, she could be obsessive over that sort of thing. As it was, she only sat down to eat because Charlie and Max forced her. Well, Charlie got her a plate and filled it with pasta and sauce and some salad, while Max physically forced Stevie into a chair as they fought like two cats in a bag. But the scuffle led to Stevie actually eating, which was all any of them wanted. Whether she was honey badger or tiger, she was still way too thin to be either. Picking her up was like picking up a bag of chips.
If it weren’t for her shifted form, Tock would have been much more worried about Stevie’s daily safety. They didn’t discuss her shifted form, though. It was better for Charlie to believe that “Max’s friends” didn’t know what Stevie actually turned into when she became animal. They did know, of course, and it was horrifying; but not in a scary movie way, just in the size of what she became. Like a mini-Godzilla. While Charlie couldn’t shift at all.
Maybe Charlie was right. Her father did have fucked-up genes that had affected his offspring.
Once Stevie was eating her spaghetti while still managing to continue arguing with Max, everything seemed to calm down. Tock and Mads relaxed, too, and took a few minutes to just eat the remainder of their meal in silence. Mistake, because when Charlie suddenly put her arms around their shoulders and leaned in, she startled them. Both females let out loud snarls.
“Whoa.” Charlie leaned back a bit. “You guys okay?”
“Uh-huh,” Tock and Mads replied, trying not to sound as panicked as she always made them feel. It wasn’t her fault, really. Other than that she was naturally terrifying, and over the years they’d seen her do some really horrifying things.
Charlie leaned back in, her arms around their shoulders again. Tock had to fight hard not to spin away and back up, hissing in warning. A reaction appropriate for a pride of hungry lions, but not for a friendly Charlie MacKilligan.
“Do me a favor,” Charlie said. “Before you guys head out for the night, grab the others and meet me at Mads’s house for a quick chat. Okay?”
“It was Max,” Mads abruptly announced. “She did it.”
Charlie shook her head at the sudden statement. “What are you talking about?”
Mads scratched her forehead, eyes downcast. “Nothing. I’m not talking about anything.”
“Okay.” Charlie frowned a little, confused. “Anyway, give me a heads-up when you guys decide to go and we’ll meet at Mads’s.”
When Charlie had gone back inside the house, Tock turned to Mads and hissed, “You rat.”
“I know!” Mads whispered back, briefly covering her face with her hands. “But I just panicked! She’s my same height, size. But she terrifies me.”
“Some Viking you are.”
“Oh, shut up! You panicked, too.”
“Yeah,” Tock said with a wink and a smile, “but my people hide it better.”