Page 112 of The Hive Queen

“And look!” The tattoo-covered, Amazonian woman in the group grabs a slender, short man under the arms and lifts him into the air like he weighs nothing. “Jerry’s back in working order.”

The walking cast on his left foot says otherwise. The clunky boot looks as big as both his legs put together, and the tight blue shirt he wears shows off muscular, but narrow shoulders and slender arms, like he hit the awkward stage of puberty and stopped growing, leaving him gangly.

Jerry looks resigned to the manhandling and just lifts a hand in greeting. “Hi.”

“Stop that, Savannah,” the older woman of the group admonishes. She wears her steel gray hair pulled back in a severe ponytail, but the deep laugh lines around her lips softens her appearance. “He’s still not fully recovered. He’s not here to work.”

“But he can get into all the small places.” Savannah’s biceps bulge as she cuddles him against her flat chest. “Can’t you, my little bendy man?”

Jerry tosses sandy-brown hair out of his eyes and casts a pleading look at Pen. “Please let me join your team.”

Savannah gasps and swings him away, her broad shoulders completely blocking him from view. “Hush your sweet little mouth. You’re not going anywhere.”

Jerry reaches up to pat her closely cropped black hair. “Can I go to the couch?”

“The couch is taken,” comes Amalia’s voice from the living room. “And I already told them we don’t need more help. I’ll be back to one hundred percent in an hour.”

Trent runs a hand over the top of his bald head. “Full of piss and vinegar, that one.”

The older woman slaps his back. “Hush, you.”

“What? It’s the truth.” He steps toward me, his hand out. “Good to see you again, Gavin.”

Searching for anything familiar, I stare into his pale blue eyes, made startlingly bright by thick, sooty lashes, before shaking my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember you.”

“No worries. It happens.” Savannah strides past, still carrying Jerry, and deposits him in the chair in the living room, dragging the footstool closer for him to prop his leg on. “We can get reacquainted over some drinks once we deal with this monster infestation you have going on.”

Flint limps forward to shake Trent’s hand. “Can’t say I’m sorry to see you. We could use more fighters.”

A grumble comes from the couch, which everyone ignores.

With half of my officers still recovering from last night’s battle, I have to agree with Flint. “Do you know what we’re up against?”

“Took a look at the books.” Trent gestures to the dining table. “Nasty business, but if it can be killed, we’re your people.”

Amalia pops her head up over the back of the couch. “Yeah, we already tried that. I stabbed it with the freaking magic Shard you guys charged me an arm and a leg for, and it did nothing.”

Trent’s eyes widen before he breaks out in laughter. “You’re Lavoro Cane?”

“Screw you, old man. I want my money back.” Without waiting for a response, her dark eyes shift to Darius. “Who the fuck are you? And why are you naked?”

Darius looks down his slender nose at her with disdain. “I am the one who last defeated the Hive Queen.”

Her gaze rakes over him with equal disdain. “Good for you, Tarzan. Did you wrestle a bear before coming here, too?”

Marc scowls and catches Darius’s hand, drawing him toward the hall. “Come on, you can shower while I grab you something to wear. Do you want the black cashmere? Or something more fitted?”

Darius’s response is too low to hear as the two men disappear.

Pen watches them go, her expression carefully blank. She had said little since Flint and Marc joined us, with Darius standing between them, covered in blood and dirt, wearing nothing but a swath of black cloth around his waist and his hair stiff and tangled down his back.

It was clear the man had been through rough times over the last month.

Amalia glances back at us. “Touchy.”

“Shut up, Amalia,” Flint snaps, and Anny barks in agreement.

“Whatever.” She flops back onto the couch. “The Shard didn’t work, and neither did dropping a ceiling onto the monster. So, what’s the next plan of attack?”

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