Page 77 of Pursued By the Orc
My mate stepped closer, her hand brushing mine. “Krusk,” she warned, voice softer now, but the fire in her eyes didn’t dim.
“Stay behind me,” I told her, knowing that the next thing that was coming from her arrogant asshole of an uncle would be violence. I already saw it brewing in his eyes. His kind of filth didn’t go down without a fight. Especially when they had other expendables to do their bidding. I angled myself until she was tucked safely behind me. If anyone was going to get hurt, it would be me.Neverher.
The uncle finally dropped his arrogant smirk, clearly weighing his options as he looked from Savla, then to me and then to the four humans he had on either side of him. “This is bullshit. Mybrotherowedthis to me.”
“He didn’t owe you anything,” Emma argued, ignoring my order and stepping out from behind my back, lifting her chin like the tigress she was. “He tried to help you, and after everything he did, youkilled him.”
His eyes were huge in his face now, shocked that the truth was in the open. He glanced between us again, trying to see if we were bluffing. But none of us backed down. Instead of fighting back, he swallowed hard and stayed silent for a long moment.
I exhaled slowly, rumbling low, letting the tension ease slightly—but not completely. “And we’ll be pressing charges.”
His eyes flashed and his smirk was back. “Good luck with that.”
“I have all the information that I need to put you in jail for alongtime, Adrian Harrington. Information that I’d say the police have been looking for, just to have this chance,” Savla added from behind us. And with a flick of his finger, papers were tossed at Adrian’s feet one at a time.
“Fraud isn’t the only thing you’ve done. Racketeering,” he added, throwing another at his feet. “Money laundering, fraud, tax evasion.” Three more. “Extortion, embezzlement, forgery.” Three more. Then he held the final paper up between his fingers. “And murder.”
I quirked an eyebrow at Adrian. “I’d say that’s enoughevidence, don’t you think?” I smirked at him, lifting my finger as my excellent hearing picked up the sound of sirens. “And wouldn’t you know? That’s the police right now.”
They still had a way to go, but they’d be here soon, and that was all that mattered. The calculation that flashed into her uncle’s eyes had me on my guard immediately and with a flick of my wrist, Savla had her behind him, backing away. Our signals were ingrained after years of hunting together.
Adrian narrowed his eyes before glancing at the males on either side of him and nodding. Two of them approached as one,and when the one on the left went for his pocket, I acted without thinking. I dashed forward, grabbing the wrist, barely twisting before I felt the bone break under my fingers.
Such a weak fucker.
I bared my fangs at him, twisting again and he whimpered, falling to his knees in front of me. I released him, ducking as the other human took a swing. He reached into his pocket as well and I could see out of my peripheral vision that the other two males were leaving their position next to Adrian and making their way toward me.
The second male rushed forward with his other hand, holding a knife high, aiming for my neck. I rolled my eyes, because I was fairly certain he wouldn’t be able to reach if he tried and would only hit my skin. That tiny knife wouldn’t even penetrate. Did they haveanytraining at all for fighting against orcs? I barely pivoted, glancing over to see Savla smirking at me as the knife met my skin.
Then I looked down at the male. His lip was curled with a sneer, staring into my eyes because his knife was right over my heart. I narrowed my eyes at him as the two males slowed, definitely expecting that this little trick had worked.
Instead, I shrugged, taking his hand in mine and stabbing a little harder, shaking my head. The terror that filled the male’s eyes told me he understood exactly what I was trying to tell him.
Can’t hurt me, asshole.
The other two seemed to realize it while the first male stood, hurrying backward away from me. Without hesitating, I grabbed the wrist of the knife-wielder mid-swing, and drove a knee into his gut so hard the air left his lungs in a wheeze. He crumbled to the ground just like the first one had.
“Where’s your warrior spirit?” I asked him, genuinely confused. “Get up.” He wheezed at me again and I scoffed. The sirens were getting louder but still weren’t close enough that Icould let my guard down. The two males ran at me, but I wasn’t looking at them. I was looking behind them.
And that was when I saw it. The shiny gun being pulled from a jacket. Before I could react, the two males hit me as one, slamming into me.
The first thing I did was grab them both by the scruffs of their necks, lifting them with each hand, and tossing them bodily at the one with the broken wrist, who was pulling the gun with his good hand. While they were midair, I moved so I was standing in front of my mate and Savla, who’d already covered her with his body.
The wail of pain followed a gunshot, but I didn’t feel anything and Savla was still covering my mate. Turning back to the group, I found one of the males on his back, moaning in pain as he rolled around, his shoulder clutched in his hand.
The male who’d been wielding the gun was crushed under the other male. I looked over at where Adrian was on his feet, backing away, the sound of the sirens loud now. He was looking at his males scattered all over the floor.
“Theseare the males you brought to protect you?” I asked him with disbelief. “Pathetic.”
I thought the words might incite him. Instead, he turned and ran for the door. I didn’t bother to chase after him. He skidded to a stop, backing up slowly as Enka walked inside, his gait slow with his eyes narrowed in fury. Rok was right behind him—a massive bulk of intimidating muscle.
“You’re just going to leave your males here?” he asked, gesturing toward where they were still recovering from the fight that had been no fight at all.
“You don’t know who you’re messing with,” Adrian blustered, spinning in a circle as he looked for a way to escape. That was when Rudgar came in through the only other doorway—the one leading into the rest of the house.
“I think we do,” he said, leaning his shoulder against the wall, crossing his arms and feet at the ankle, showing him that he was no threat. “You’re nothing but a pathetic low-level thug who thought your bosses would have your back.”
Rudgar’s grin was feral as he stared at Adrian. I peeked back at my mate, assuring myself that she was fine. And she was, glaring at her uncle with the full force of her ire.
