Page 19 of The Orc's Thief
I glance left. Surely she’s not brazen enough to run past the Ravens’ mansion when they’re on high alert and searching for burglars. That means…
I turn right, and there she is, disappearing around the corner. A whistle sounds somewhere behind me, announcing the arrival of the city watch, but the last thing I want is to stop and explainto Major Strahl or his men why I was here and did nothing during the theft.
But another danger is closing in—a pair of men running full-tilt after my mate. They must be guards from the mansion, chasing the intruder. The instinct to protect her takes over. I duck into the shadow of the barber’s shop and crouch, waiting for the right moment.
Their footsteps are loud in the quiet evening. They aren’t worried about being heard.
As they draw near, I swing out from around the corner and catch the man on the right in the throat. He goes down, gasping, his legs kicking out as he clutches his neck. I didn’t hit him hard enough to crush his windpipe, but he won’t be running anytime soon.
The other guard spins around, dark eyes flashing. He’s tall, and as he drops into a fighter’s stance, I realize he’s trained too. He swings his fist, brass knuckles glinting. I duck the first hit, then step into his space and punch him in the jaw. But he’s better than I expected. He stabs upward with his other hand, and pain explodes in my thigh.
I hadn’t even noticed the stiletto clutched in his left fist.
I hit him again, sending him sprawling. He stays down, groaning and clutching his cheek.
It’s an unfair fight, but I don’t care. I only want them to stop chasing the thief.
When I’m sure neither man is getting up, I run after the woman, ignoring the pain in my leg. The wound isn’t deep enough to slow me down.
I round the corner where she disappeared and scan the street. There’s an obvious choice, a narrow side alley, but it curves back toward the Ravens’ mansion, so she wouldn’t have gone that way.
Instead, I take the larger street on the right, and there she is, her footsteps surprisingly quiet on the cobblestones. I follow the dark shape of her hurtling through the night. She’s fast, but I’m faster. I gain on her steadily, my legs pumping and my chest heaving. The chase sends blood to my cock as well, and I grit my teeth against the urge to tackle my mate and kiss her right there in the street.
That would be a fucking mistake.
But so is this—chasing her through the narrow streets of Ultrup’s city center without knowing where she’s runningto. Because surely, she has a plan. A thief as savvy as her would have an escape route mapped out. If I hadn’t taken out the Ravens’ guards for her, she’d have to shake them somehow.
When she disappears into a dark alley, I know she’s doing exactly that, using that strategy on me.
I round the corner, water sluicing down my face, and pause.
Fuck, but she chose well.
The alleyway is a dead end, aye, but there are four doors leading into the buildings on either side, as well as a low roof she could climb if she needed to. If I were human, or if she had a bigger head start, I would’ve lost her here.
But the scent of her is still fresh, though the rain is washing it away too quickly. A pair of oil streetlamps cast yellow pools of light on the intersection behind me, illuminating the cobbles just enough to see.
Slowly, I step into the alley, my senses primed. My mate is close, and Ineedto find her. There is no world in which I’d let her go.
Her scent is faint where I’m standing, but the deeper into the alley I walk, the stronger it becomes. I finally hone in on the first door to the left, one that looks particularly decrepit and sad. The building must be abandoned, which makes it a perfect hideout. Maybe she even has a way to access the rooftops from inside.
That thought spurs me forward. I push open the door and duck my head beneath the lintel.
I want to call out to her, but I don’t know her name. Besides, I could be walking into a trap. I’m still amazed she was alone on that roof. The fact that she’s working a job like this by herself fills me with a strange mix of pride and fear. My mate is skilled enough to pull it off—but she’s alone. If I hadn’t been there to haul her up tonight, I don’t want to think about what might’ve happened. If the Ravens had caught up to her…
My eyes strain in the dark, adjusting from the light outside. The room is empty, but there’s a doorway straight ahead, so that must be where she?—
A faint sound behind me is the only warning I get. I turn, dropping into a fighter’s stance?—
But something slams into the side of my head, and the world goes black.
Chapter
Nine
TESSA
The orc’s eyes roll up, and he falls like a log, his big body hitting the floor with a thud. His head bounces off the rotting floorboards, and I let out a yelp of alarm. I drop the board I hit him with and hurry to his side, kneeling in the dust and mice droppings.
