Page 97 of Honey Bee Hearts

He shakes his head. “It’s near impossible. Not only would we have to buy our way out with money we’ll never have, but we’d have to convince the leaders to accept it on both sides. One could decline. Both could. We have no way of knowing, but we can’t just stop without endangering everyone here.”

I bite my lip. “Mel and all the others know?’

“They do. You weren’t really supposed to be here. We missed the reservation in the systems until the last minute and well. . . we need the money. We thought we could keep it quiet while you were here, but. . . as it turns out, you were a wild card none of us expected. And Colt, Colt has always been a little trigger happy.”

“Why tell me all this?” I ask, watching him carefully. “Why give me more evidence against you?”

He shrugs. “I trust you. If you go to the cops, you’re not just turning me in, you’re taking down all of us. I don’t mind going to jail, but Mel, the others? They don’t deserve that. I drug all of them through this and they stayed out of loyalty.” He squeezes my hand, three times, and my heart throbs painfully in my throat. “You can leave here, Fable. We’re not holding you prisoner, but I ask you to keep our secret and that you wait until your scheduled flight to leave. Let us convince you. We’ll keep you safe. We just. . . we want you to stay through the rest of your trip.”

“Bullshit,” Colt spits from the doorway. I’d never even heard it open. “Stay forever, not just four more days.”

My eyes widen. “What?”

“You heard me,” he says, crossing his arms.

Rhett scowls over at him. “Don’t be such a dick.”

I swallow, my throat thick with the turmoil in my heart. On one hand, I get it. I really do. It’s easy to get in too deep and they clearly want out. On another hand, they’re in a life I want nothing to do with. Do I care about them enough to forgive that? I can’t stay here. I want nothing to do with what they’re doing, even if I want everything to do with them. They’re still the same men I’m falling hard for, but. . . some things can’t be overcome.

“Can y’all go?” I whisper. Rhett looks down at me and I glance away, refusing to meet his eyes. “I need some time alone. Please.”

Colt straightens, and with a lingering look toward me, disappears back out the door. Rhett carefully releases me, helping me to stand before he does the same.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” Rhett says, a sad smile tugging at his lips. “I’d like you toremember me as the carefree asshole, not the idiot who ruins everything.”

He turns to leave, but I have to ask.

“What about you?”

He looks over his shoulder at me. “What about me?”

“Do you want me to stay forever?”

It’s a stupid question, one that the answer shouldn’t matter, but Rhett, of the four men, has been the most resistant to any kind of commitment. Granted, that resistance makes even more sense now that I know what they’re up to, but part of me has to know. I need all the puzzle pieces. I need to know everything.

He studies me, his eyes tracing over my face, taking it all in. He’d told me it was just sex before, that he doesn’t do anything past that, but now, something flickers in his eyes. Something that gives me my answer before he does.

“Every hive needs a queen, Wild West Barbie,” he says. “And I’ve never seen someone more suited to a crown than you.”

He disappears, closing the door behind him, and I’m alone again in the cabin.

Every hive needs a queen.

“Shit,” I moan, covering my face with my hands. “Fuck. This is bad.”

I wait for Jinx to pop up and agree with me, but she doesn’t. Instead, silence closes in on me.

“No advice?” I ask, looking toward the urn. “Bad or good?”

No answer.

I press my hand against my chest and Jethro moves closer to me, whining softly at my distress. My fingers curl in his fur and I feel a little better, so I tug him into a full-blown hug.

“Thank you,” I whisper to him. “For everything.”

I don’t leave the cabin for the rest of the day. At some point, someone knocks and leaves food outside the door, but I don’t touch it. The longer I sit in the cabin, going over every detail inmy mind, the more everything feels like a lie. Am I imagining their care for me? Were the relationships I had with them all just a way to keep me distracted and happy, so I didn’t stumble into their business? Could I really stay here knowing what I know? The longer I ask myself these questions, the easier it is to convince myself that this is all a ruse, so I don’t go to the cops.

They said I could go at the end of my trip, that they want me to stay the rest of the time. That’s four days from now. But do I trust them to let me go when it’s time? Part of me thinks they could still just kill me and save themselves all the trouble. They wouldn’t have to pretend anymore. Four days is long enough to figure out where to hide a body.

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