She stilled at the use of her nickname.
“There’s still so much to do,” she murmured, going back to what she was doing.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
We hadn’t talked about Ricci or Arrow. It was as if she had gone into lockdown in her mind. As if nothing was real if we didn’t say anything. Instead of answering my question, Badger spun in my arms and placed a dollop of frosting on my nose. She let out a giggle as I gave her a deadpan look.
“Well, that wasn’t very nice,” I said, swiping the frosting off of my nose and licking it from my finger. It was buttercream and tasted like heaven.
Badger left my arms and swept to the other side of the island.
“What are you going to do about it, Hammer?” she taunted.
I gave her a predatory smile before lunging around the corner to catch her. She squealed and ran, frosting in hand, down the hallway. I chased after her. I knew what she was doing; she was deflecting. She wanted an escape from reality, and for the time being, I would provide that to her. I just hoped she would eventually let me in.
Only time would tell.
THIRTY-ONE
BADGER
The first gunshot of the three-volley salute startled me as it echoed through the air. I stood next to Phantom, holding her hand as the priest continued the service for Arrow. Only Phantom knew his last moments, and she had yet to tell me in detail what had happened.
I didn’t blame her. Her trauma was something she needed to work through on her own. When she wanted to talk, I would be there.
Across from us stood Kade and Machine, both with solemn expressions. Machine wore a black bespoke suit with no tie and black shoes.
Last night I had taken him to bed, not wanting to talk about everything I was feeling. That’s not what this was. We didn’t do feelings. We were attracted to each other, and that was it.
Yeah, sure, whatever you say, the little voice in the back of my mind taunted.
I looked over at the rest of my team, and was sucked into a memory of how I got my code name, the first time I’d met Arrow.
“So, what’s your specialty?” he asked as we stood in the gym.
I gave a small smile. “It’s better if I show you.”
His eyebrows raised. I pointed to the sparring ring.
“Jump in,” I said with a mischievous smirk.
Arrow shrugged and climbed into the ring. Chief walked up to the ropes and smiled. He knew what I was about to do. I climbed in and got into a fighting stance.
“Bring it,” I goaded.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you,” Arrow said with a worried expression. He was adorable.
“Give me your worst,” I instructed, giving him a come-hither motion with my hand.
I ducked his punch and threw my fist right at his stomach. Before he could stand back up, I swept his legs and sent him to the floor. We went back and forth for several minutes before he tapped out.
He sat in the ring, sweating and out of breath. He put up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, new girl. I get it.”
Buddha laughed from the sidelines.
“You remind me of a badger,” Arrow said with a laugh. “Cute on the outside but fucking lethal.”
“Honey badger don’t care, honey badger don’t give a shit,” Buddha chimed in next to Chief. We all started laughing.
