Page 102 of The Bone Man

Marc shakes off his officer’s hand and steps through the bar door with a glare that promises retaliation if the other man tries to get handsy with him again.

The officer flinches back, grabs the bar door, and slams it shut, the electronic lock engaging with awhirringsound.

I sweep a glance over my partners to make sure they’re uninjured before I turn to meet Bailey’s self-satisfied gaze.

Bailey stands just outside the cell, glee at seeing us behind bars shining in his beady eyes. Rage boils in my blood at seeing him standing in my jail area as if he already owns it.

I strangle the bars, imagining they’re around his thick neck instead. “What the hell is going on?”

Bailey smirks, and the lines on his weathered face deepen. “Sharpe, how are you finding the accommodations from the other side of the bars?”

“Cut the crap, Bailey. Why are they here?” I gesture toward Pen and Marc, my patience waning by the second.

“They’re just the start.” Bailey crosses his arms over his barrel chest. “Clearhelm will be going through some changes soon, and your little side project is no longer needed. I’m dismantling the Joint Task Force of Paranormal Investigations. This city requires a firmer hand, with stricter policies for the Others, and I’m just the man to see that through.”

I clench my fists, my knuckles turning white against the bars. “Stricter policies? You’re starting a war, Bailey, one that humans can’t win.”

Pen steps forward, her voice laced with urgency. “He’s right. The Others have been living in harmony with humans for centuries while in hiding. Now that they’re out, they won’t go back to the shadows. This will only create chaos.”

Bailey scoffs, his tone condescending. “Don’t be delusional. Demons and witchblood lived on the fringes because they were scared of being wiped out. All this talk about equality is crap. The Others are too dangerous, as proven by the recent infestation of monsters. But we’re going to put a stop to all of that.”

Marc steps closer to Pen, his large body a protective wall at her back. “The witchblood and demons fought before, and it nearly destroyed the demon plane. If that happens here, the witchblood and demons will join forces against the humans. Humans will be wiped out.”

I watch Bailey’s face for any sign of reason but find none, and his stubbornness infuriates me. “You need to listen, Bailey. You can’t just force Others out or impose stricter laws. It will incite a bloodbath, and innocent people will suffer.”

He shakes his head in disgust. “You had nearly six years to try things your way, and it didn’t work. Maybe if your little band of Cleaners had chosen a side sooner, things would be different. But now it’s time to do things the way they should have been done from the start.”

I shake my head in disbelief, anger bubbling up within me. “You’re playing with fire, Bailey. You’re letting pride blind you to what will happen. Even as we speak, another one of those monsters is preparing to rise. Your officers aren’t equipped to deal with what’s coming.”

Bailey glances at the officers who stand guard behind him. “You hear that, boys? Sharpe thinks he’s a better cop than you are.”

Two of them laugh nervously, while the others sweat and look ready to puke. They’ve never had to deal with the monsters that came with the thinning of the veil. My people have always stepped in and taken the hits. But they’ve seen it, and they know they’re screwed. Bailey is going to get his people killed.

“Enjoy your stay here, Sharpe.” Bailey turns and walks away, his voice carrying back to us. “The Others will either bend to the new rules or be forced to leave the human world. But you’ll be too busy rotting down here to see it.”

The officers behind him stare at us with varying levels of derision and panic before they turn to follow their boss.

Their footsteps recede, leaving us alone in the cell, and I exchange a worried look with Pen and Marc. None of us likes our current predicament, not with a monster on the rise while we’re trapped behind bars.

“What happened?” I pluck a sliver of wood from Pen’s hair. “Where did this come from?”

“Our ceiling. They ambushed us in our home,” Marc snarls. “They’re tearing the place apart. When our lawyer gets us out of here, we won’t have a home to return to.”

I shake my head in confusion. “What are the charges?”

“Child abduction and resisting arrest.” Pen’s fingers drum against her thigh. “The charges won’t stick. There’s no evidence, and we have proof we were just defending ourselves.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask about Aediva. She’s the only reason Bailey’s people would go to our home. But we don’t know who’s listening in on our conversation, and the fact Flint and Darius aren’t here gives me hope that Berdherst didn’t get what he was after.

Pen touches my arm. “Why areyoudown here?”

“Destruction of public property and obstruction of justice.” I roll my shoulders and wince.

“Here, let me help with that.” Marc steps up behind me and rests his hands on my injured shoulder.

Warmth spreads from his palms, soothing some of the pain.

“Thank you.” I sigh with appreciation. Marc’s hands are better than any heat compress.

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