Bite Me

CHAPTER 24

Ira stopped by her brother’s house around seven-thirty in the morning. She was surprised to find his SUV parked in the driveway. He’d purchased the house located a few blocks from her home several years ago, but he was rarely in it. Like their parents, Vic traveled a lot. Mostly to Eastern European countries where he had lots of connections and knew the languages and dialects so well.

Ira used to worry so much about her brother. When he’d graduated from high school, he’d left Chicago to attend Stony-brook University and be near Ira. It made sense since their parents were always on the move, and they’d grown up watching out for each other. Vic did well in school, but Ira could tell he wasn’t really happy. Then, in the middle of his junior year, he joined the marines, which was scary enough. But several years in, he was suddenly recruited by the CIA, doing most of his work in the Eastern European countries he knew so well. It turned out to be the right job for him, but Ira had not liked the idea of her brother being some kind of spy. Vic didn’t blend, and he wasn’t a natural deceiver. But he was smart and an excellent judge of character. In the end, the job had worked out pretty well for him, but she was glad when he’d gotten out. Even though freelance tracking work was a dangerous game, as well, she worried less about her brother since the only orders he really took were his own.

All he needed now was to get himself a business partner. Someone to watch his back, and she didn’t understand why her brother didn’t see Shen Li as that person. But that was okay. Vic could be stubborn, like their dad, but Ira took after their mother and would just keep hammering at her brother until he did what she thought was in his best interest.

It perhaps wasn’t the best way for a family to function, but it had worked for the Barinovs for many years now.

Since Vic didn’t spend much time at home, and wasn’t much of a collector of anything but large quantities of honey, Ira kept many of her home business supplies in his garage and just paid her brother a monthly rent for the storage. Of course, typical Vic, he didn’t bother to put any of her checks into the bank, so she eventually started transferring money over automatically every month. She loved her brother for saying that paying him wasn’t necessary, but Ira never wanted him to feel taken for granted. It was better to keep her “home decorating for the discerning bear” business separate from family.

But before going into the garage, Ira decided to check the house since Vic hadn’t been around.

She opened his gate and was just walking through when she heard, “Yoo-hoo! Irina!”

Ira turned and saw that She-tiger walking toward her. She had a tray of honey buns this time and looked so effortlessly perfect that Ira just wanted to bash her damn nose in.

“Hello!”

“Hi, Brittany.”

The She-tiger lifted the tray a bit. “I brought honey buns as a little olive branch. I hated how we ended things last time I was here.”

“You mean your judgmental overreaction to my brother’s alternative lifestyle?”

“When I thought about it, I realized he was just teasing me.”

Ira stared at the feline. “You sure about that?”

Bright gold eyes briefly narrowed, but the tigress managed to force a smile anyway. “I think he’ll like these. They’re honey.”

“I can take them.”

“No, no.” Brittany brushed past Ira and walked toward the house. “I’d like to give them to him myself.”

“He’s probably asleep.”

“Doubtful!”

Ira thought about picking the bitch up by the back of the head and throwing her out onto the street, but no. She wouldn’t do that. Her brother was thirty-three. It was time for him to learn how to handle pushy broads like this. Preferably without his sister’s protection.

Ira walked to the front door and unlocked it. Just as she stepped inside, the She-tiger pushed past her, heading right toward the kitchen. Sighing, Ira began to follow, but she abruptly stopped, sniffed the air. And she knew what she smelled in this living room . . . honey and sex.

Biting her lip to keep from giggling like a ten-year-old about to rat out her brother, Ira walked briskly through the house until she reached the kitchen. Brittany stood in the doorway, gazing into the room. She frowned in confusion.

Ira, nearly a foot taller than the feline, only had to look over her head to see that the kitchen was a mess. Open jars of honey were everywhere, in the sink was a strainer with some dried-out pasta, and a saucepan half-filled with sauce.

“I’ve never seen the kitchen look like this.”

Neither had Ira, but sex was the great distractor. It distracted people from work, family, friends, and, of course, housecleaning.

Brittany gasped softly. “Irina,” she whispered.

Ira stepped into the kitchen, but other than the mess she didn’t see anything . . . until she looked down. That was when she saw Vic’s big foot sticking out from under the kitchen table.

Biting her lip harder now, Ira crouched down and saw her brother, in all his naked glory, wrapped snake-like around a naked Livy Kowalski.

Now, Ira’s first reaction to seeing this was, “My brother and a honey badger?” She couldn’t help herself. Honey badgers had one of the worst reputations in the world of shifters and the world of full-blood animals. But then when she really thought about it, the whole thing actually made sense. Ira and Vic were hybrids, which meant they had unique issues. Issues that not every breed or species could handle. But from what Ira knew about Livy, the woman could handle anything but bad art and that crazy cousin of hers.

Still . . . Vic was Ira’s brother. And as a sibling, she couldn’t just walk out and let the lovebirds get up to face the day in their own time. That was what non-siblings did.

“Victor Barinov!” Ira yelled, imitating their mother’s accent perfectly. “What you do with this girl? Nasty boy!”

Vic sat up instantly, yelling, “Mama, I’m up, I’m up!” seconds before his head rammed into the hard wood of the kitchen table.

Livy, however, went right for Ira’s face. Ira caught the badger’s hands first, shuddering a little when those claws that honey badgers used for digging and killing came so dangerously close.

“Oh,” Livy said. “Hi, Ira.”

“Ira?” Vic rubbed his head, wiped his eyes, yawned, then realized he was naked in front of his sister. “Ira! What the hell are you doing in my bedroom? Get out! Out!”

“You’re not in your bedroom, genius. You’re in the kitchen. Naked. With Olivia.”

Vic, at a loss, roared. Ira roared back, the windows rattling from the combination of the two powerful sounds. They could have kept it up for a while until Livy screamed, “Cut it out!”

They both stopped and Livy looked around. “What time is it?” she asked.

Ira looked at her watch. “Almost eight.”

“Shit. We should get back.” Livy slid out from under the table and stood. Ira, still crouching, turned a bit so she could see Brittany’s reaction, because yes, Ira was that petty.

Although Brittany appeared shell-shocked by all this, Livy didn’t seem to notice. She did, however, notice the food.

“Cool. Honey buns.” She grabbed two off the tray, sniffed them carefully—which did nothing but piss Brittany off—and nodded. “Thanks.”

Biting into one of the buns, she walked out.

Vic managed to awkwardly get himself out from under the table, but he grabbed a dish towel and held it over his groin. “Uh . . . hi, Brittany. Um . . . yeah.”

Growing increasingly red from embarrassment, her brother tried to get out of the kitchen without having to actually deal with anything. Something Ira couldn’t possibly let happen.

“Vic, don’t you want a honey bun?” she asked her brother, which got Ira a vicious feline glare from her sibling and his neighbor.

“Mr. Bennett will see you now.”

Dez stood and walked into the office of Lyle Bennett. He was an older man, with gray hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled when she walked in, standing tall behind his big mahogany desk. He held his hand out and Dez shook it.

“Detective.”

“Mr. Bennett. I won’t keep you.”

“No problem. I’m happy to assist our police department in any way I can.” He gestured to the plush leather chair on the other side of his desk. “Please. Sit. Tell me how I can help.”

Dez sat down, tried not to groan at how wonderful the office chair felt. She briefly wondered if her perpetually picky mate, Mace, would let her fill the house with these things. They were great!

“Mr. Bennett, I’m hoping you can give me some information on Frankie Whitlan.”

Frowning, the man’s head tilted to the side. “Frankie Whitlan?”

“Yes. The NYPD has been searching for Mr. Whitlan for quite a while now, and I was hoping you might be able to give us some information on him.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can help you.”

“Really? Huh.” Dez pulled out the reporter’s notebook she kept tucked into the inside pocket of the leather jacket she’d stolen from Mace years ago. Taking her time, she flipped the pad open and sifted through several pages. “Yes. Here. Over the last few years, you’ve sent Whitlan’s daughter, Allison, several gifts through an AME Shipping Company? Isn’t that correct?”

Bennett smiled even as the blood drained from his face and his bright blue eyes darkened. “Actually, I haven’t. I’m not even sure what you’re talking about.”

“Really?” She looked at her notes again. Of course, her notes were just some doodles her son had made the night before. Talented little bastard. He did an excellent job of drawing his father’s fangs. “Interesting. So you don’t know Frankie Whitlan? You’ve never given any items to Allison Whitlan?”

“I’ve worked with Allison on a few charity boards that we’re both on. I’m sure I’ve given her a few thank-you gifts over the years. But . . . that’s about it.”

“Oh. All right then.” Dez stood, still smiling, and placed her business card on Bennett’s desk. “Well, if you do hear anything or have any information, please feel free to call me. We’re just trying to locate him.”

“Understood.”

Bennett stood and they shook hands. Dez walked out, smiled at his executive assistant as she passed her, and made her way to the elevator. Once back on the city streets, Dez got into the unmarked vehicle double-parked at the corner. Crush was in the driver’s seat waiting for her. She closed the door and buckled up, and he pulled into traffic and headed to their favorite diner for breakfast.

Dez hit the speed dial on her phone and waited until Vic’s partner, Shen, picked up on the other end. The panda had called in a favor early this morning, Dez’s phone waking up her very not-a-morning-person mate. Normally, she didn’t take orders that didn’t come directly from her captain, but she still felt tracking Frankie Whitlan down was incredibly important. So if Vic and his friend needed her help, she was more than happy to do what she could.

“Hey, Shen.”

“How did it go?”

“He’s not going to give up any information to cops.”

“I didn’t think so, but I wanted to try a . . . friendlier option first.”

“I was very friendly. So was he. Still, he acted like he had no idea who I was talking about.”

“Okay.”

“I checked his record, though. He’s very clean. Squeaky. Whitlan likes to have a few of those guys around to help him move in different circles. This guy’s no gangster. Not even close. Just a rich businessman thinking what he’s doing is no worse than cheating on his taxes. My guess is that Bennett is weak. He’ll break if you push him just a little. A push I can’t legally make without evidence. So you guys will have to take it from here.”

“That’s fine, Dez. Thanks so much for this.”

“No problem. Call if you need us again.”

Dez put away her phone, and her partner grumbled, “What do you mean ‘if you need us again’? Why are you involving me in this?”

“Because I don’t feel like driving today. So suck it up, chuckles.”

“You’ve been living with that cat too long. You’re getting way rude.”

Vic pulled the SUV to the curb, and Livy pushed the door open, about to jump down.

“Hey,” Vic said. “Hey, hey.”

“What?”

“Kiss good-bye?”

“I’m just going to work.”

“Kiss good-bye?”

“Are you going to be a needy lover?”

“Yes.”

His directness caught her off-guard and Livy laughed. “You’re just so—”

“Delicious?”

“Goofy. I was going to say goofy.” She put her arm around his neck and pulled Vic in for a kiss. It went on a little long, but she didn’t mind. The man really knew how to kiss.

Finally, with some effort, she pulled away. “I have to go.”

“But will you miss me?”

Livy shook her head. “I can’t. With you. I can’t.”

She jumped out of the giant SUV and turned to close the door.

“I’ll see you tonight at your derby bout.”

Livy stopped mid-door-close. “My derby bout? How did you hear about that?”

“Blayne invited me.”

“Of course she did.” Livy finished closing the door and walked to the Sports Center.

On her way through, she stopped for coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. She carried those into her office, placing them on the desk beside a wooden box she didn’t recognize.

“Hi, Livy!”

Livy glanced up, then back at the box. “Hi, Blayne.”

“I just stopped by to make sure you’re coming to the bout tonight.”

“Yeah. I’ll be there. But stop trying to hook me and Vic up.”

“I wasn’t . . . I didn’t . . . yeah, okay.”

“Thank you.”

Blayne walked over to Livy’s desk. “What’s that box?”

Livy opened the box, looked inside, and said, “I think it’s my father.”

“Sorry?”

“This can’t be all of him, though. I’m guessing Mom has the rest.”

She put the top back on the box and turned to see Blayne staring at her with wide, wet eyes.

“Are you about to cry?” Livy asked.

“No. Of course not,” she sobbed.

Livy moved toward Blayne and the wolfdog opened her arms for a hug. Livy stepped in close so that she could put her hands on Blayne’s waist, but before those long wolfdog arms could wrap around her, Livy pushed Blayne right out of her office and closed the door in the wolfdog’s wet face.

She walked back to her desk and stared down at the box for several seconds. Didn’t seem like much, did it? After all humans went through to survive on this planet, when it was all said and done, you still ended up in some box on your bitter daughter’s desk. Didn’t really seem fair.

Picking up the box, she started to put it away in one of her many desk or file drawers, but at the last second, she couldn’t do it. After looking around, she finally placed her father by the art award she’d received when she’d lived in France for those two years after high school.

Livy smiled, though, as she settled down to work, because she couldn’t help but remember how much her father had always hated the French.

Vic found Livy’s uncle Balt in the kitchen drinking coffee and trying to recover from what looked to be a magnificent hangover.

“How did it go?” he asked, sitting at the table across from the older man.

“We have name,” Bart grumbled. “Lyle Bennett.”

“Good. I’ll start looking—”

“No. We had your giant panda friend track him down. He wanted to try nice way first, so I let him. But that did not work. So now my cousin and his sons are handling it.” Balt rubbed his forehead. “My cousin will do good job. He is smart, like me.”

“And as modest?”

Balt snorted. “Why be modest when you already know you are amazing?”

Since Vic didn’t know how to argue with that logic, he didn’t bother to try.

“Where is my little Olivia?” Balt asked.

“I dropped her off at work.”

“Good. She needs to work. It will get her mind off things.” Balt raised bloodshot eyes. “And you seem to be helping with that, as well, feline.”

“Actually I’m bear and feline.”

“Do not care.”

“Yeah,” Vic sighed. “Didn’t think you did.”

“My little Olivia is not like other girls, you know.”

“I know.”

“She is smart like me. Devious like her mother. And short on patience like her father. But she is good girl. Has big heart. So you do not break that heart because you get bored like most felines.”

“I’m really more bear than—”

“Do not care.”

“Right. Forgot.”

“And just so there are no complaints later, if you two have baby—”

“Baby?”

“It will be honey badger.”

Vic paused in his panic over Balt assuming he and Livy would be having children to say, “Well, actually, any children we had would be a mix of—”

“No. There will be no mix. Just badger.”

“That might true be with full-humans.” A shifter with a full-human mate created shifter babies, and that was one of the many reasons why shifters were very careful about whom they settled down with to create a family. Because a full-human who couldn’t handle what their mates truly were definitely couldn’t handle the shifter offspring they would eventually have. “But shifters of different species or breeds create hybrids.”

“You mate with badger, feline, you will only get badger.”

“How is that possible?”

Balt shrugged. “I do not know. Maybe honey badger cells too mean to let others live. But you will need to prepare. Badger children start throwing things in anger before they can walk.”

“Balt, Livy and I aren’t really at the point where we’re considering children. Or anything else along those lines.”

“Maybe my little Olivia is not . . . but you are. I see it in your big, dumb cat eyes.”

“Well, that was unnecessarily mean.”

“So understand what you get into now rather than later, yes? So you do not complain. I hate when felines complain.”

“I’m really more bear than—”

“I still do not care, feline.”

“I know, I know. I guess I’m just so dumb I keep forgetting.”