Page 59 of The Hive Queen

“Good man.” With a pat on the shoulder, he releases me, and we step out into the hall.

Bailey stands a little farther down, which surprises me. I thought for sure he’d eavesdrop.

As we head toward him, my phone vibrates in my pocket, and I slow my pace to check the new message.

Flint’s name pops up on the screen, and my pulse quickens when I open the message.

“Everything okay, Sharpe?” Bailey calls out.

“We have a lead.” I skim over the brief message. “We know what the monster is, and how to kill it.”

I tap the picture attached to the text and memorize the insect-like face.

Lynch strides back to me. “What are we looking at?”

I show him the image. “It’s called a Hive Queen.”

Lynch grimaces at the picture. “As in bees?”

“It sounds that way.” I thumb through the rest of Flint’s message, but it doesn’t have all the details. “There were bees in the parking garage. They kept diving at us.”

And Pen was stung. Nausea roils in my stomach. What if that was more than a normal bee? She was surprised it got infected the way it did, and I’ve never known Pen to get sick.

Concern fills Lynch’s gaze. “You okay, son?”

“One of my people was stung, and it hasn’t been healing right.” I close my phone and tuck it back into my pocket. “It might be related.”

“You should go check on them, Sharpe.” The worried expression on Bailey’s face falls flat. “We gotta take care of our own.”

His kindness now sets off all my red flags. “No, that’s okay. I’ll check on them after the press conference.”

Lynch frowns. “No, he’s right. We can handle this. Go see to your people, and start working on a way to locate this Hive Queen so our next press conference can be a happier one.”

My head snaps toward him. “But, sir—”

“Go, Sharpe.” The firm note in his voice lets me know this is no longer a suggestion. “And message me once you’ve checked in on them to let me know everything is okay. We can’t afford to lose any of your people right now. There already aren’t enough of you.”

My shoulders pull back. “Yes, sir.”

With a nod, Lynch turns and strides back down the hall.

Bailey smirks at me. “Don’t worry, Gavin, I’ll make sure to bring up your division during the press talk.”

It takes everything in me to hold back the urge to punch his smug face.

There’s nothing I can do about what will happen here, but I can make sure we don’t see another death like this in Clearhelm.

Turning on my heel, I stride away.

lavoro cane

- Marc -

A gentle tapsounds on my closed bedroom door. “Marc? Are you coming out?”

I scrub a hand over my face. “Is Flint still raging?”

Pen hesitates for a heartbeat. “He’s in the grumbling stage, so he’s winding down.”

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