Some things you can outrun. The SWARM isn’t one of them.

In the small town of Mullins, Nebraska, two things are certain: nothing good happens on Caleb Hartwood’s birthday, and the government building known as The Hive has been a mystery since the day it was built.

Men in suits call it agricultural research. The residents of Mullins say nothing at all. But as kids, Caleb and his best friend, Bryan Kightlinger, had theories. Every summer, the two would-be detectives crept closer, dug deeper, and pieced together a truth about what was really happening behind those gleaming walls.

Then his eighteenth birthday destroyed what little he had left, and Caleb fled town, swearing he'd never return.

Fifteen years later, he’s back to bury his father, but Mullins isn’t the town Caleb remembers. Bryan has grown more politically ambitious. The townsfolk have become more reclusive. And The Hive has noticed Caleb is home.

To survive what’s coming, Caleb will need the town that fears him, the friend he no longer knows, and answers to questions he stopped asking a long time ago.

Coming October 8

Available Now

Rule one of being the coach’s kid: don’t fall for the players.

Tommy Jenkins has spent the past three years as the batboy for the Wildbrook University’s baseball team. He keeps his head down, his grades up, and his distance from the players who treat him like a kid brother at best, invisible at worst.

Evan Brock is a hot-tempered slugger with a reputation for breaking rules and hearts in equal measure. What was supposed to be a night out on the town with his teammates ends in a bar fight that goes viral on social media, suddenly putting Tommy in the position of babysitting the team’s biggest problem.

Sharing hotel rooms and keeping Evan out of trouble quickly turns into something hotter, deeper, and far more dangerous. Because Evan needs something only Tommy can give.

Behind closed doors, they burn. On campus and in the dugout, Evan won’t meet Tommy’s eyes. A reputation is everything, and falling for the coach’s son is a risk his draft prospects can’t survive. Not if he wants the future he’s been chasing his whole life.

As the season heats up and the stakes climb higher, Tommy will have to decide how long he’s willing to be kept a secret before it breaks him.

Meet the Author

Christopher J. Brice is the author of adult and young adult queer romances.

Ever since he was a young boy, Christopher J. Brice has had a very active imagination. His love for creating interesting characters couldn’t be stopped, and he started putting the proverbial pen to paper shortly after graduating from college.

When his writing journey began, he had a choice to make—screenplays or novels. He honed his craft creating stories for the silver screen, from romance to drama, and horror to soap operas. As an avid reader, he realized that he had so much more to tell that a two-hour movie could never convey. Thus, Christopher decided to write his very first novel. And as the saying goes, the rest is history.

When Christopher is not writing or reading, he enjoys spending time with friends, family, and the most adorable cat known to mankind.

You can follow Christopher on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads (@authorchristopherjbrice).