Page 26 of The Orc Boss

“So soon? Didn’t your shift just start?”

Shit. I glanced down the hallway, expecting Ansel to round the corner at any moment. Bram was the last person I wanted Ansel running into. Not that Ansel couldn’t hold his own against this perv, but the last thing I wanted was to draw more attention than needed. It was the whole reason Liam sent me here in the first place, after all.

“Actually, I’m not feeling very well. I think I ate some bad food earlier.” I pivoted, so my back was against the wall. And just as I expected, Bram followed my movements until he had me pinned. He was so tall and wide, there was no chance of escape unless he let me out. But his focus was on me, and not those who may be passing behind him in the corridor. Perfect.

It was a long shot, but if I could hold Bram’s attention long enough for Ansel to sneak by without him noticing, it was worth a try. “So I’m gonna head home a little early to get some rest.”

I hated Bram’s foul, hot breath on my face. He reeked so much of hard liquor; my eyes burned. At least now I didn’t owe Ansel anything for the orgasm anymore . . . We were definitely even.

Bram moved his hand to my shoulder and squeezed a little too hard. “I’m sorry to hear that. Let me drive you home. You shouldn’t drive if you’re feeling sick.”

I glanced over at his hand, still resting on my shoulder. When he didn’t take the hint, I turned my attention back to him. “I’ll be ok. My friend is actually coming to pick me up.”

“Well, let me keep you company while you wait.”

“No thanks. They’re actually here now, so I should get going—” I shrugged my shoulder to loosen his grip, but his hand only tightened. “Can you let me go? That kind of hurts.” I don’t know how I was remaining so calm when my instincts were screaming at me to run. Where the hell was Ansel? I didn’t know how much longer I could do this.

He ignored my request, but his grip loosened only slightly. “I’ll let you go, but not without a kiss first. I’ll never forgive myself if I let you leave without knowing what you taste like—”

“She said let her go,”a familiar voice growled behind him.

“Huh?” As Bram turned around to see who was standing behind him, Ansel grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back. Bram was able to jerk his head enough to catch sight of the younger orc. “Ansel?! What the fuck?” he hissed out as he struggled against Ansel’s grip.

“Hi, Bram. It’s been a while. Did you miss me?” Ansel sneered in a sugary sweet voice.

Bram stopped struggling for a moment as his lips curled into an evil smile. “The only one missing you is Gregor. You know that. I don’t know why you keep avoiding him—he’s family, after all. He just wants to talk.”

My veins turned to ice as I watched Ansel’s face harden from vicious to deadly.

In one swift movement, almost too fast for me to clock, Ansel raised a knife to Bram’s throat and sliced one long red line from ear to ear. Bram’s eyes bugged out of his head as he opened his mouth, but no words escaped. Only a sickening gurgle. I watched in horror as his mouth opened and closed. Opened and closed. Bram still made no sound, but the blood pulsed faster from his throat, the red so bright against his green skin.

I couldn’t move. But I couldn’t look away, either. I was frozen in place as I watched the light drain from Bram’s eyes. Suddenly, his body began to sag forward, almost crushing me against the wall—

“What are you doing? Let’s go!” Ansel yanked me out of the way before I was crushed under dead weight.Literaldead weight. Ansel had me pressed against his body, dragging me so quickly my feet barely brushed the ground as he rushed us out through the hallway, the locker room, and to the fancy sports car outside. He didn’t let go of my body until he opened the passenger door and shoved me inside, resting his hand on top of my head so I didn’t bump into the low ceiling.

There was a scream building in my chest. I had just watched someone die, and I couldn’t open my mouth, I couldn’t fully exhale a breath, without shattering into a million pieces. I think I was in shock; it was the only way to explain why I wasn’t currently leagues deep in a panic attack right now.

The sound of leather squeaking behind me made me whip my head around to the backseat. My eyes met with Robbie laying on his stomach on the backseat, his hands and feet tied with rope, and duct tape covering his mouth. He squirmed and wiggled, his eyes locked on mine, silently pleading for help.

Just then, the back door opened. Ansel hooked his finger into the rope by Robbie’s feet and dragged him across the seat towards the open door.

“Don’t hurt him!” I screamed once I saw him whip out his knife again. Another man’s blood coating the steel.

Ansel ignored me as he cut, slicing off the rope binding Robbie’s feet, and then his wrists. Ansel ripped the tape off Robbie’s mouth once he was freed.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Ansel said gruffly, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a lanyard attached to a key card. He handed it over to Robbie. Ah, well, that explained how Ansel was able to sneak into the building with no one noticing: he snuck in through the back door using someone else’s key.

“You know how to get rid of a dead body, right?” Ansel asked.

Robbie stopped rubbing his wrists to stare at Ansel. He hesitated, but finally nodded.

“Good. I left you one in the hallway, and I need you to take care of it for me. Oh, and one more thing . . . It’s not a matter of Gregor finding out I was here, but when. And when he finds out you were involved, he’s going to rip you to shreds. So I suggest after dumping the body, you flee the country. Tonight.”

Ansel didn’t wait for Robbie’s reply—a quiet nod, his face drained of all color—before rounding the car. He slammed the driver’s seat door behind him, and the car jerked into motion, tires squealing as he pressed hard on the gas.

I squeezed my eyes shut as we sped down the road. I couldn’t tell if I wanted to let loose the scream still building in my throat, puke, or a fun mixture of both.

“What’s wrong?” Ansel asked. He placed his hand on my knee and without meaning to, I jumped a little in my seat.

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