Shelly Laurenston - Bite Me

“Very true. Did you study architecture in college?”

“Never went to college. Figure if I want to know something, you can always find books to read about the subject.”

“I see.” No wonder Toni knew how to handle Novikov so well. He was just another freaking prodigy. Brilliant while emotionally stunted.

“You will be at the wedding, though . . . won’t you, Livy?” Blayne asked.

She could have tormented Blayne, like she did most days. But Livy just didn’t have the heart. Not when the wedding clearly meant so much to her.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Russian bears with guns wouldn’t keep you away?”

They all looked across the table at Gwen. She shrugged and admitted, “It sounded much funnier in my head. Then when it actually came out of my mouth . . .”

Lock took Gwen’s hand. “I think the phrase you’re looking for is ‘too soon.’ ”

Livy shrugged. “There’s no ‘too soon’ with the Kowalskis.”

“You know what really sucks,” Blayne pointed out. “You can’t come to the bachelor-bachelorette party we’ve planned. No strippers.”

“Although my mother did beg,” Gwen sighed.

“My mother did, too,” Lock added. “But only out of intellectual curiosity.”

“Yeah, right,” Livy snorted. But when the grizzly glared at her, she choked back her laughter. “Just kidding.

“You know what?” Blayne jumped up from her chair and began to pace around the table. “We should move the party here.”

“You’re unfamiliar with the concept of being in hiding, aren’t you?” Livy asked.

“We’ll just invite a few friends. That way you don’t have to miss anything!”

“That sounds like a great idea!”

Snarling, Livy turned toward her nosy cousin. “No, Jake.”

“Come on! Everybody loves a party.”

“I was very clear to you about how you’re going to treat this house. No parties. No snakes. No stealing.”

Novikov tugged on Livy’s sweatshirt. “I find detailed lists about what they can and cannot do . . . very helpful. They may not stick to it, but you do have proof that you told them.”

“You guys are forgetting something,” Blayne stated. “This is my house. A wedding gift from my future husband. And if I want a fucking party here, I’m going to have a party.”

Lock pointed at Livy. “Your eye is twitching uncontrollably.”

“We in the family,” Jake said, his hand landing on Livy’s shoulder, “call that Livy’s tell.”

Livy spun and rammed her fist into her cousin’s stomach. He didn’t drop, but his knees looked ready to buckle and his face blanched.

“Did I tell you that ?” Livy asked.

“You want me to help who get into my country?” Grigori Volkov demanded.

Vic held up his hands. “No, no. I can get him into the country. I need your Pack to lead him to Chumakov’s territory through yours.”

“Oh! Well then!” Grigori’s voice boomed around the room. “Is that all?”

“Grigori—”

“You come to me, bringing your stuffed panda with you—”

Shen looked away from the e-mails on his phone. “Hey! What did I do?”

“—and you dare,” Grigori yelled, getting in Vic’s face—one of the few men who actually could—“ask me to lead this . . . mangy sobaka into the territories of my people?”

Vic placed his hands on Grigori’s shoulders. “Referring to a fellow wolf as a dog does not help anyone, Grigori Volkov.” Vic stepped closer to his friend. “But giving a fellow wolf assistance in this matter . . . would reward you , old friend, with a powerful ally.”

“More powerful than me?”

“In this country? Yes.”

Grigori turned away, and Vic knew the old wolf was turning over the possibilities of an alliance in his head. Like a true Alpha wolf, Grigori only appeared to be led by emotion, when in fact, wolves were a cold, calculating species, often loving only to those they considered part of their Pack.

“To help you in your decision-making,” Vic said, “I have something for you. From my father.”

Vic placed the briefcase his father had given him on the table and opened it.

Grigori glanced at it, quickly looked away, then slowly back. “That is for my Pack?”

“The gold bricks are. The cash is for any last-minute issues that might come up. A sign of goodwill.”

“Your parents,” Grigori said, smiling, “never fail to surprise me, Victor Barinov.”

“Are you in?”

“To help an old friend?” Grigori held his arms open wide and happily bellowed, “How could I not?”

Vic drove down the Rhode Island street. His errands had taken longer than he’d wanted, but still . . . things seemed to be working out.

Shen tapped his arm. “Hey, Vic?”

“Huh?”

“Are those cars heading down the road to Novikov’s house?”

Vic sighed. “It’s my fault really. I left Blayne Thorpe alone in a house full of badgers. It was like I was asking for it.”

Sure enough, they pulled into the long, curved driveway in front of Novikov’s house and saw all the cars parked there, the doors and windows of Novikov’s house wide open, music blasting from inside.

“I’d have to say,” Shen remarked, “this is not discreet.”

Shaking his head, Vic stepped out of his SUV. He stopped to grab a shopping bag from the backseat and then followed Shen into the house. It wasn’t too late, but the party was already going strong, Novikov’s house filled with wolves, wild dogs, bears, and felines, as well as the honey badgers who’d already been staying there.

“Do me a favor,” Vic said to Shen. “Check on Melly.”

“Because she’s smelly?” He laughed at his joke.

“Shen—”

“I’ve got it,” he said, heading for the stairs. “I’ve got it.”

Vic walked through the house, greeting those he knew, nodding at those he didn’t but who looked like they might come over to talk to him if he didn’t nod.

He’d never been a fan of crowds. Small dinner parties were more his speed. Quiet discourse over good food. But this sort of thing just made Vic nervous. He’d been caught in too many out-of-control crowd situations during his time in the military.

And something told him that—for different reasons—Livy felt the same.

“Vic! Vic!”

Vic turned and saw Toni making her way through the crush of bodies. Once she reached him, she placed her hand on his arm, and Vic leaned over so she could say into his ear, “You know where to find her, Vic.”

He stared at Toni a moment, then smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Vic cut through the crowd and headed into the kitchen.

“Vic!” the badgers cheered, bottles of snake poison–infused vodka spread out on the island along with what he was guessing was snake jerky.

“Hi.”

“Vodka?” Balt offered.

“Nyet.”

The badgers laughed at his quick use of Russian, not realizing he always fell back on the first language he’d learned when he was particularly stressed out.

Vic walked to the high cabinet where he and Livy had stashed their favorite honeys, out of easy reach of her family. He opened the door and Livy—thankfully fully dressed this time—glared at him until she recognized Vic.

“Where the holy fuck have you been?”

Vic didn’t answer; he just put down the bag he carried and reached in for Livy. He pulled her out of the cabinet, dropped her over his shoulder, retrieved the bag, and escaped out the sliding kitchen doors.

Livy didn’t complain that she’d been tossed over a man’s shoulder like some sort of deer trophy. She was just glad to be out of that house with so many goddamn people.