Page 92 of Honey Bee Hearts

I stare at it in surprise as Dolly immediately shoves through the opening I made and disappears inside.

“No! Dolly!” I hiss, peering into the darkness. “Dammit.”

I glance down at Jethro who looks up at me happily. “Shit. We gotta go get her.”

I ease the door open the rest of the way and look around. I don’t know what I expected to find, but when I see all the crates stacked up in a very large room, I frown. What’s so special about crates that they didn’t want me to see. They’re just wooden crates stamped with the Circle Bee brand.

Dolly bays in the barn and it echoes around us as she reappears from the darkness.

“Hang on,” I tell her, looking around the door for a light switch. When I find one, I flick it, and the large room is floodedwith light. “Whoa,” I breathe, taking in just how many crates are in here. The barn is completely full of them.

Dolly paws at one of the crates and I frown, moving over to see what she’s trying to show me. The crates are held closed with only wire.

“What is it?” I ask her, my anxiety hitching. “What do you smell, girl?”

I thought Colt mentioned Dolly was a retired rescue dog, but maybe I’m remembering wrong. Was she a bomb dog? Or was she a drug dog? I don’t even remember if he told me.

If she’s sensing a bomb right now. . .

“Fuck,” I grumble, reaching up and untwisting the wire. “I’ll just make sure it’s not a bomb or something,” I tell myself. Jinx would have already searched through every crate. The least I can do is check one of them. I grab the edge of the lid and hold my breath, just in case something is about to pop out and get me.

“One. . . two. . . three,” I count out loud.

I pop open the lid and look inside. Honey jars. Lots of them. Each is cushioned in foam. I reach in and pick one up, look at the Circle Bee label, and sigh.

“See. There’s nothing here, Dolly,” I tell her. “Just honey.”

She paws at the crate again and whines, insistent. I frown and look down in the crate, searching for what she could be smelling. It’s large enough that there should be layers of these things. I can just doublecheck, right? What would it hurt? I put the jar back into the foam and grab the edges, lifting the heavy tray of honey jars up and out. I set it on top of the crate beside it and look back down, expecting to see more honey jars.

My eyes widen. “What the?—”

“What the fuck are you doin’ in here?”

I whirl, my heart leaping into my throat as I take in the sight of Rhett standing in the door. Gone is his relaxed carefree smile.Instead, his face is twisted with anger, his eyes flicking between me and the honey I’d lifted out of the crate.

“You broke the rules,” he snarls, taking a menacing step toward me that has me stumbling back. Jethro barks at Rhett, sensing my unease. Dolly just watches.

“I didn’t,” I argue, shaking my head. “It was unlocked.”

Rhett freezes. “What do you mean it was unlocked?”

“What I said,” I spit, glancing at the crate again. “Dolly wanted in. I tried to show her it was locked. It wasn’t. She ran inside and I followed.”

Colt appears in the doorway as Rhett steps fully inside. His lips twitch at the sight of me standing by the crate. “What do we have here?”

Rhett shoots Colt a look. “The door was unlocked.”

“Was it?” he asks flippantly. “How careless.”

Gunnar appears in the doorway, a frown on his face. When he sees where I’m standing, his eyes widen. Trent appears a second later like they sent up a fucking bat signal. All the while, I stand beside the crate, my eyes flicking between them and the items in the bottom of it.

“I should go,” I say, stepping to the right like I’m going to go around them.

Colt moves with me, blocking the exit. “Sorry, Annie Oakley,” he says. “We can’t exactly let you leave just yet.” He grins at my unease, clearly enjoying this.

I look back at the crate. “What kind of police dog was Dolly?” No one answers and I nod. “So, you wanna explain what this is then?” I ask, pointing to the crate. “Or we gonna just stand here and pretend it’s not there?”

“It’s nothing but flour,” Rhett answers, his eyes unwavering on mine, as if he thinks not moving will keep things civil.

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