Page 14 of Echo and the Homicidal Sea Panda

The orca tilted his head, staring a hole through Echo. “If I wanted you harmed, I would’ve allowed those sharks to do as they wished.”

The reminder of the shark attack caused another shudder to sweep through Echo. Not necessarily the attack so much as the orca’s easy slaughter of a great white. It would’ve been nothing to kill Echo and be done with it. The chase had simply been sport. A bit of fun.

“I saved you last night,” the orca continued, rounding the bed. “I think that alone should afford me a little honesty.” He stopped beside the bed, near the end, facing Echo. “I just want to know what was so important that you were willing to start another war between our people.”

“I don’t want a war,” Echo said, his voice low. He let out a slow breath. “I mean no harm to your pod. I swear.”

“That’s not enough,” the man said.“Whatwere you doing out there?”

Echo couldn’t trust an orca with his secret.

The orca moved too damned fast. Echo was snatched and dragged closer with one arm.“Whatwere you doing out there?”

Echo hesitated.

The belt cracked over his bottom, and he yelped, though it hadn’t been as hard as he’d expected. Surprised, Echo eyed the orca.

“Tell me,”the orca growled, his voice deeper and rougher.

Echo whimpered, shaking like a leaf. He couldn’t get his mouth and lips to work, his brain was on overload.

Another crack came over his ass. He didn’t yelp a second time. No, he moaned and arched against the predator holding him prisoner. Shame burned on his face. Echo couldn’t look at the man. He was too embarrassed.

The hand with the belt lifted to his face, and he winced. Only there was no blow. The man rubbed the back of his hand gently across Echo’s cheek.

“Tell me why you were out there,” he pressed, his voice gentle. He dropped the belt on the floor before running a hand over Echo’s stinging bottom.

“I just… I needed to prove something.”

The orca forced his chin up with a guided finger. “Provewhat?”

“That my grandfather… wasn’t crazy.”

“Don’t talk in circles.” The orca sighed and lifted a brow. “I don’t have the patience tonight.”

Echo was terrified to share what he’d been doing, but he wasn’t getting out of trouble without coming clean. Hopefully speaking the truth wouldn’t turn out to be a mistake. What did it matter, though? He’d lost his chance. “My grandfather claimed there was something out there—relics from our pod’s origins. He said he’d seen them himself when he was younger. No one believed him, though. They called him a crackpot. I want to clear his name. Finding the relics might do that.”

The orca’s gaze took him in, eyes narrowing. “What kind of relics?”

Echo shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know what you’re looking for… how are you supposed to find them?”

“He claimed there’s a cave,” Echo said on a rush before he lost his nerve. “I was looking for the entrance he’d… he’d mapped out in his journals. I found them after he died.”

The orca released him and stepped back. After sitting on the arm of the chair, he crossed his massive arms over his equally massive chest. “We hunt that territory regularly in warmer seasons. I think we would’ve found a cave by now—if one existed.”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Echo replied. He missed the man being closer, the idiot that he was. He stared at the belt a few seconds. “If it was made by dolphinkind, the entrance might be small. Too small to catch a larger creature’s notice. It might be filled in with sediment or buried under it. Hidden. It could take weeks, if not months, to find it.” He sighed, realizing his folly. There was no way he would’ve found it out there at night, on his own. “I was an idiot for thinking I could manage it myself in a night or two, but I guess I hoped the X marked on his map would lead me straight to it.”

“Scuba diving would make more sense,” the orca murmured, his gaze drifting toward the floor. “We wouldn’t need to come up for air as often.”

“We?”

The orca’s gaze jumped to his. “Do you really think I’d allow you to roam free in our waters after you snuck in? If you want to search, you’ll be accompanied by me.”

A glimmer of hope sparked in Echo’s chest, his skin prickling all over. A way in? Protected by one of their own?

Protected?

---