Page 111 of Bears Behaving Badly
“Oh? Hadn’t heard that bit. I’m sorry I made you wear salmon in a fight to the death. Well. Deaths, plural.”
Annette laughed, which hurt.Worth it.“Where were you? I kept waiting for you to spring out and try to kill us. Or spring out and try to save us. How’d you avoid getting caught?”
“Because I did not march into an abandoned warehouse I was fairly certain housed abusive fucksticks who would kill to keep their secrets?”
“Sothat’sthe trick,” David said.
“Jeez, Nadia, do you kiss the Queen of England with that mouth?” Dev asked. “Honest question. I don’t know anything about you. Like, at all.”
“Quiet, you. I hid my clothes and shifted and watched from the skies, of course. When I saw Taryn arrive in the company of several armed men, all of whom looked inbred—what is it with species purists and unfortunate facial features?—it occurred to me that someone besides Gomph knew where you’d stashed Caro.”
“Good for you,” David said, grimacing as he shifted in the torture device disguised as a hospital chair. “We didn’t figure that out until Taryn basically told us she was the bad guy.”
“Yes, which is why you glorious morons were both hospitalized while I remained whole and unchomped. Once I realized who the true mole was, I thought it worth the risk to approach the judge, and so I did. And I used this, so they wasted no time.”
She held something up. Annette squinted at it (her close vision wasn’t terrific) and said, “When did you lift my cell phone, you sticky-fingered shrew? Oh, don’t even tell me.”
“You’ll want to charge that, darling.”
“Later.” She snatched it from Nadia and stuffed it under her pillow. “So we ended up converging where it all started.”
There was a low rasp as David rubbed at his stubble, shaking his head. “Agh. Itches. It didn’t start with Lund, or even Caro. It started with Dev.”
Annette realized he was right and cursed herself for not seeing it earlier. Dev had found Caro, made her his sister, kept her as safe as he knew how. Protected her secrets when she was back in IPA’s clutches. Stuck by her like a blond barnacle. Brought everyone together. Repeatedly.
“You’ve made being a pain in my ass a superpower,” she realized aloud.
“Not justyourass,” the boy said and smirked.
“Amen to that,” David muttered.
“Pay attention to my exposition, Annette.” Nadia managed to look elegant as she snapped her fingers, which was a good trick as she was just as rumpled and dirty as the rest of them. “As I was saying, I approached Gomph, who was most displeased. And not just with us, so that was fortunate. Apparently, he’d been harboring dark suspicions about Taryn for weeks. You’re on medical leave now, but resign yourself to a series of tedious lectures by Gomph and Bob upon your return to IPA’s fetid hallways. And paperwork, of course. Meters of it.”
“It’s nice to have something to look forward to.”
“Don’t worry,” Dev assured her. “You’re still our favorite werebear.”
“Your favorite… Dev, don’tsaythat,” Annette replied. “It’s like saying Barack Obama is your favorite black person.”
“Well…”
“Just stop,” she groaned.
“Speaking of werebears, and don’t take this the wrong way, Net, but what the hell are you?”
“Oh. Right.” Not many had seen Annette’s other self. She only got the urge to shift a couple of times a month; weeks would go by while she stayed bipedal, because she had a deep love for her opposable thumbs and being able to walk into any restaurant she pleased.
“She’s a polar–grizzly hybrid, you dolts.”
“Those are a thing?”
Nadia shook her head in disapproval. “Have you never opened a paralogy textbook?”
“Nadia, be nice. We’d worked together for over a year beforeyoufigured it out. My mother was a polar were from Alaska. My father was a California grizzly were.”
“Why d’you think she keeps the thermostat set at fifty degrees?”
Annette jumped. “Ack! How long have you been standing there?”
