CHAPTER 50
Krusk
Itried to rush to help Emma, but she was already down and pounding her way along the walkway to the front door before I could get to her. Then it was just a matter of following her.
I glanced back at where Savla had exited the SUV as well, making his way forward at a much slower pace. I had a feeling that he was interested in the show more than anything else. I knew he had my back no matter what, so I didn’t mind.
We got to the front door, and Emma didn’t bother to knock or wait. And she shouldn’t. This was her home, no matter what her uncle had told her.
When we stepped inside, I was blown away by how grand it was. The shocking shift from this house, to what I knew her current apartment looked like, must have been jarring.
Just another thing that I wanted to kill her fucking uncle for. No matter how many times Rudgar insisted that we weren’t actually allowed to kill anyone until we had his approval. It was absolute bullshit. Her uncle deserved to suffer for what he’d done.
The house smelled of polished wood and stale cigar smoke—the kind of lingering arrogance only someone who thought they could steal a life and intimidate anyone he faced could leave behind.
I stepped inside the doorway. My mate was beside me, head high, eyes on fire.
Savla brought up the rear, calm and calculating, hands full of the original will and the other evidence he’d gathered.
Inside, Emma’s uncle Adrian lounged in a leather armchair, a cigar clutched in one hand. Four human males flanked him, silent as statues, their suits stiff and dangerous. My lip curled as I surveyed the scene. This wasn’t going to be a polite conversation.
“Uncle Adrian,” Emma called, her voice serious, carrying across the polished floors. “We need to talk about the will.”
Adrian smirked, blowing a curl of smoke into the air. “Ah… the orc and his little entourage,” he said, completely ignoring my mate as if she were meaningless. “My sources told me that you’ve been sniffing around my business. You really think you can just waltz in here?”
I let my fangs show in a small, controlled snarl. “I don’t think, I know. You tried to steal from what’s mine to protect. And anyone who threatens her…” My eyes locked on him. “…answers to me.”
Adrian’s smile faltered as the four males shifted, sensing the tension radiating from me. “Steal, huh? You’ve got some nerve to come in here and accuse me.”
I growled, stepping closer, the floorboards creaking under my weight. “You don’t know the half of it. I’m an orc. And orcs don’t negotiate with thieves.” I wished he could see how we dealt with them on Hellplane. That hand of his would look like a fine souvenir on our mantle.
My mate’s glare along with my growl was enough to make the males flinch.
“My dad trusted you,” she said. “Your brother trusted you. And instead of respecting his wishes, you cheated him. You tried to take my home, my inheritance, and my future,” she continued, voice sharp as a blade. “You’re a criminal.”
Adrian coughed on his cigar, trying to regain composure. “You don’t know the last thing about criminals. If you think—”
I let the rumble in my chest deepen, making the windows vibrate slightly. “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I was you,” I said. “Anything you say to disrespect her is a mark against me and my clan.”
Savla moved subtly, keeping an eye on the men, a hand near the folds of his coat, ready if things went sideways. “We’re not here to fight,” he said evenly. “But we’re not leaving without justice.”
Adrian’s males shifted again, uneasy. My tusks glinted as I leaned slightly forward, close enough that my mate could feel the heat of me. When I saw the male on the far right reach for something in his pocket, I released a low growl. “Try me,” I rumbled, itching for a fight.
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. Never her.
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. My brother owed this 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, you killed 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 a long time, 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 enough evidence, 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 have any training 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 I could 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.
“These are 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.
“You should have looked into the clan you were messing with, Harrington. Do you think we made our way to the top of this city without knowing who else was in it?” He scoffed, shaking his head. “Turns out your boss isn’t taking lightly to you threatening the clan he has a truce with.”
Adrian’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard, shaking his head. “No! I didn’t do anything to your clan. I just... My brother should have left everything to me. I was just fixing what he’d done wrong.”
“She’s part of my clan, you spineless coward,” I hissed, pointing to where my mate stood. “She’s my mate.”
Adrian’s eyes were all but bugging out of his head now. His gaze flickered between everyone in the room, and I could see the moment he knew he had no way out. Especially when the sound of stomping feet made its way to the front door.
Frustration and surrender poured off of him in waves. He stood in the entryway near Rudgar, shoulders hunched like a male trying to make himself as small as possible.
His hands kept dancing toward his pockets, as if he was hoping something might appear out of thin air and save him. But he’d been too confident. It was obvious he hadn’t thought his plan through. He’d never thought to protect himself because he’d been so sure the males would be able to.
“Y-you don’t have to do this,” he said, his voice jittering as the pounding on the door started.
“Look, I can... I can make this go away.” His eyes flickered in the direction of the door when Savla turned to walk toward it.
“The boss—no, listen! Stop! Listen to me!” He called to Savla, but he completely ignored him.
I ducked into his line of sight, quirking an eyebrow. “Go ahead. You were saying? Your boss?”
I watched him babble, watched every bit of confidence he had left leak out of him. But then he perked up. “The money! The house! I can give it all back!”
I smirked at him, crossing my arms over my chest. “Like you had a choice?”
He turned to face Emma and I could feel my temper boiling over. “I’ll get you more money,” he screamed. “I’m your uncle! How can you do this to me?”
I turned to look at her, knowing that this part wasn’t my place. It was up to her. And as I saw the cold fury in her eyes, I knew she wouldn’t regret a moment of this.
“You’re no uncle to me,” she hissed. “I hope you rot in jail for what you did to my father.”
The little hope he had in his eyes died at those words.
“You made your choices,” I said softly. “Now sit down.”
He sank onto the same chair he’d treated like a throne. Now he slumped in it like the broken male he was. I watched my Emma turn away from him, pride filling my chest.