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There’d been no sign of the monster since this morning. I nibbled my lip, filled with edgy worry. The monster shouldn’t have been meeting with other monsters. I still couldn’t believe it. They weren’t that smart, and they couldn’t communicate with each other. They didn’t work together. They were just hungry, wild, mutated beasts.

I’d heard stories of the Gizzida growing up. The alien species had been smart. Dad loved to tell us about all the fights Hell Squad and the berserkers had gotten into. My parents were heroes. They’d helped save the world.

I’d also heard plenty of stories of the hybrid monsters left behind, as well. But by all accounts, most were singular and solitary. The presumption had been they weren’t clever, just mindless killing beasts. We’d never seen any evidence about them being smart enough to work as a group.

If they were working together now…

No. An icy shiver skated down my spine. Hunter Squad would kill this monster, end of story. I’d get this project finished and the dam operational.

I looked at my team. They were all still reeling from the loss of Travis and Sam, but they were doing their jobs.

There was a whoosh of sound above, and I looked up. The Talon stopped in the air, hovering, then I watched as it lowered onto a grassy area nearby.

It looked like Colbie was back with Maxim.

I glanced at the dam plans again. There were some tweaks I wanted to make to the design. I’d get Frankie and Jordan to check it over with me. As I tucked the tablet away, I saw Jameson walking my way and my heart knocked against my ribs. Why did he affect me like this? I just wanted to keep looking at him.

Fighting the urge to tug at my clothes, I rose and straightened my shoulders. Jameson Steele wasnotmy focus.

He would never be mine.

Ignoring the shot of pain from that thought, I turned to face him. His gaze met mine, and I shot him a breezy smile.

His brows drew together.

“I’m back.” Colbie walked over to us, bouncing as always.

Right behind her came a handsome, dark-haired man. Maxim was tall and lean, his dark hair a little long. He looked like he should be a pirate marauder, or a spy, or something else, dark and ruthless. Someone who worked in the shadows.

He saw me and smiled. “Greer.” He lifted me off my feet and smacked a kiss to my lips. “Beautiful as always.”

I rested my hands on his shoulders. “And you’re as charming as ever.”

“Maxim, we have work to do.” Jameson’s terse voice.

“There’s always time to kiss a beautiful woman, my friend.” Maxim shot me a wink. “Especially a smart one.”

I couldn’t help but smile back. His harmless flirting felt nice.

Behind me, Jameson growled. I glanced back and frowned at him.

“We have a monster to kill,” he said.

Maxim nodded and set me down. “Show me what we’re dealing with.”

We walked across the dam wall to where Kai was standing, surveilling the water.

“We haven’t seen the asshole for a while.” Kai crossed his arms over his chest.

“It’s there,” Jameson murmured. “Lurking.” Then, he pointed across the water.

In the center of the dam, a tiny ripple suddenly bubbled. We waited, and for a full minute, nothing happened. Kai picked up a rock and flung it. It sailed through the air, then landed with a splash.

Four tentacles peeked out of the water.

“Hmm. It looks big.” Maxim’s gaze narrowed. “Sasha said you want to electrocute it?”

“I don’t want to contaminate the water,” I said. “We have good filtration systems, but…”