11. Allie
Allie
P anic clawed at my throat, making it hard to breathe. They’d found me. After months of careful planning, fake names, and staying off the grid, Will Carmichael’s people had tracked me to this tiny town in the middle of nowhere.
How had they done it so fast?
“I have to go.” The words tumbled out as I paced the hotel hallway, my hands shaking.
Tressa whined and tried to put herself between me and the stairs.
“I need to get my car and leave,” I said. “Right now.”
“Allie, wait.” Hail took my arm as I passed, bringing me to a halt. “You’re not go-going anywhere tonight.”
“You don’t understand.” I tried to step around him, but he moved with me, gentle but immovable. “If they found my room, they know I’m here. They’ll be watching, waiting. I can’t stay.”
I’d come so close to finally having a good life with someone I was beginning to care about. My new life was being wrenched from my arms, and there didn’t seem to be anything I could do about it except say goodbye and run.
“I’ll make sure they don’t find you,” Hail said.
Only kindness and understanding shone in his eyes, but he didn’t know what they wanted or what happened.
He didn’t know how ruthless they could be.
They wouldn’t stop until I was dead, and knowing them, they’d drag my coffin out of the ground and search it if I did die.
I stared up at him, finding determination in his dark eyes.
“Hail, you don’t know these people. They’re not going to give up and go home. They’ll tear this whole town apart looking for me.”
“Let them try.” His voice carried a growl that reminded me he wasn’t human, that underneath his sweet demeanor lived a being much more dangerous. “They’ll have to go-go through my entire family first.”
The protective edge in his voice made my chest tight. Here was this sweet, shy male who stuttered when he was nervous or upset, offering to stand between me and the most ruthless criminals I’d ever encountered. The thought of Will Carmichael’s people hurting him made me physically ill.
“I won’t let you get involved in this,” I said. “I won’t let them hurt you because of me.”
“Too late.” He stroked my cheek. “I’m already involved. We’re bonded now, remember? Your fights are mine.”
“That’s not how it works?—”
“That’s exactly how it-it works. In orc culture, mates protect each other. No ex-ex-exceptions.”
Tressa had positioned herself between us and the hallway, her white fur bristling as she watched the stairs. Even she could sense the danger.
“Come home with me.” Hail’s voice dropped to that sweet tone that made my knees weak. “My house is outside town, hid-hidden in the valley. We’ll move your car where no one can see-see it. You’ll be safe there.”
The word safe felt strange after months of running. “I won’t be safe anywhere.”
“You will with me. I promise.”
The absolute conviction in his voice made tears prick behind my eyes. He really believed he could protect me. This kind orc, who made beautiful pottery and rescued abandoned wolves, thought he could stand against the Will Carmichael, the head of the Vexalar Syndicate.
I was torn between the desperate urge to run and the equally desperate craving to stay. Running meant being alone again, looking over my shoulder, never sleeping through the night. Staying meant putting Hail in danger, but it also meant not facing this nightmare by myself.
“They’re not ordinary criminals,” I said quietly. “They’re organized, well-funded, and they have resources I can’t even imagine. If they think you’re helping me, they’ll?—”
“They’ll learn what happens when someone threatens my mate.”
The possessive way he said “my mate” sent heat through me.
This connection between us was still new, yet it felt ancient and familiar at the same time.
Part of me wanted to give into it completely, to trust in something that felt bigger than both of us.
But another part, the survivor who’d clawed her way through the past few years, told me attachment was another weapon they could use against me.
“Your family,” I said. “Your brothers, their mates. I can’t put them all at risk.”
“My brothers would be insulted if we didn’t ask for help.” Hail’s mouth quirked up in a small smile. “And their mates are tough and de-de-determined. Dungar said it already, but I’ll name it too. This isn’t your bat-battle. It’s ours . You’re family.”
That almost broke me. No longer alone. What did that feel like?
I studied his face, seeing nothing but sincerity there. No doubt, no hesitation, just solid determination to keep me safe. “What if I bring them to your door?”
“Then we’ll be r-r-ready for them.”
“You can’t fight the entire syndicate with pottery tools and good intentions.”
That got a genuine laugh out of him. “You’d be surprised what orcs can do when pr-pr-properly motivated. And we have more than pottery tools.”
Before I could ask what he meant by that, footsteps came from the stairwell. All three of us tensed, Tressa’s ears pricking forward as she focused on the sound.
Greel appeared at the top of the stairs, his expression grim. “Hail. Allie.” He nodded to us both. “Strangers were asking questions downstairs. Thought you should know.”
My blood turned to ice. “What kind of questions?”
“About a woman matching your description. They claimed to be looking for a lost family member.” Greel’s dark eyes met mine. “But they didn’t feel like family.”
They’d found me. The cycle of discovery, destruction, and desperate flight was beginning again.
“Where are they now?” Hail asked, moving closer to me.
“Gone. I think they’ll be back.”
I closed my eyes, fighting the despair crashing over me.
They were here. In Lonesome Creek. Asking about me. It was only a matter of time before they connected me to the pottery barn and Hail.
“I have to leave,” I whispered. “Tonight.”
“No.” Hail sent a glare around the hall as if they were here and he was armed with a sword, ready to slice off their heads. “You’re coming home with me, and we’re go-going to figure this out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out.” The words exploded out of me, months of fear and frustration boiling over. “They want something they think I have, and they won’t stop until they get it. They’ll hurt anyone who gets in their way.”
“What do they want?” Greel asked, coming closer.
I looked between the two brothers, seeing the protective stance they’d both taken. These people were willing to fight for me, and they didn’t even know what they were up against. That wasn’t fair.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “My father was involved with some bad people before he died. They think he left me a bunch of paintings, but I swear I don’t know where they are. They weren’t in my dad’s things.”
“Your father was a criminal?” Hail asked.
“An art forger.” The words felt like glass in my throat.
The irony was, I’d grown up surrounded by gorgeous paintings, sculptures, and artifacts from ancient civilizations.
I’d learned to mix pigments before I could write my name, had studied brushstrokes and canvas preparation at my father’s side.
He’d given me an eye for beauty and technical skill I’d used to create with my own hands.
That gift had been his downfall, and now it was mine.
Everything we’d shared was tainted by the knowledge that each piece of art in our home had likely been paid for with blood.
Yet I still couldn’t find a way to hate him or the art he’d created.
“He worked for a criminal organization,” I said. “Creating fake pieces to replace stolen ones. When he died six months ago, his employer decided I must know where he kept the originals.”
“And you don’t?”
“I had no idea he was even involved in anything illegal until these people showed up at his funeral.” I wrapped my arms around myself, remembering that terrible day.
“Will Carmichael introduced himself as my father’s business partner.
He was very polite, very sympathetic. Until he started asking questions. ”
Greel and Hail exchanged a look that spoke volumes.
“I remember how his smile never reached his eyes, how he assessed everything, including me. ‘Your father was a brilliant man,’ he said. ‘He entrusted me with certain items of significance. I’m simply trying to ensure they’re properly preserved.
’” My shoulders drooped. “When I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about, his posture shifted.
He got sharper. Right then, I knew my life had changed.
When I went home after work the next day, my apartment had been searched.
Then my car was broken into and ransacked.
Someone stole my purse from my locker at work the day after that.
The message couldn’t have been clearer. He was after something, and he wasn’t going to stop until he found it.
That’s when I ran. It’s been two long years of running since. ”
“These people,” Greel said carefully. “How far are they willing to go?”
I met his eyes, making sure he understood the gravity of the situation. “There’s nothing they won’t do. To me or to anyone around me, to find what they’re looking for. They’ve already…” I
“Already what?” Hail asked.
“Hurt people who got in their way.” My voice came out hoarse. “That’s why I can’t stay anywhere long. They always find me.”
The hallway fell silent except for the distant sounds of the saloon below. I could see the weight of my words settling on both brothers, the understanding of exactly what kind of danger I’d brought to their peaceful town.
“If I leave now, they’ll follow. They’ll leave you all alone.” It was the only thing I could do. I would not endanger these wonderful people and the new life they were trying to build here in Lonesome Creek.
“Allie,” Hail said, his voice sweeter than I deserved. “Look at me.”
I raised my eyes to his, seeing warmth and determination there instead of the rejection I’d expected.
“You’re not facing this alone anymore,” he said. “We’ll…handle it with you.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying?—”
“I do.” He reached for my hands, his fingertips stroking the bond mark on my wrist. “You’re my mate. That means your enemies are mine. Your problems are mine.”
“Mates?” Greel asked, his steely gaze meeting mine. He nodded. “Good. You’re right for Hail.”
“I’m not right for anyone because it’ll get them killed,” I snarled.
“Mates are for life,” Greel said. “You’re ours to protect, ours to love. We’re not leaving your side.”
The casual way they both accepted the danger made my throat choke off. They barely knew me, but they were willing to stand with me against forces that had already proven they’d kill to get what they wanted.
My body ached to give in. I’d carried this burden alone, sleeping with one eye open, never letting myself to trust anyone.
Now these orcs were offering something I’d convinced myself I could never have again: a family, people willing to stand beside me.
What if I let myself believe in safety, only to watch it be destroyed again?
The price of their protection could cost them their lives.
I couldn’t add more names to the list of people hurt because of my father.
“They won’t stop.” I needed them to understand. “Even if you hide me, even if you fight them off once, they’ll keep coming. They have unlimited resources and no conscience. They’ll tear your town apart looking for me.”
“Then we’ll make sure they don’t find you,” Hail said.
I stared up at him, this gentle male who made gorgeous things with his hands, who’d accepted me despite my lies and secrets.
Maybe it was the bond, maybe it was exhaustion, or maybe it was just the relief of finally telling someone the truth. But for the first time in months, I felt like I might not have to face this nightmare alone.
The thought scared me almost as much as Will Carmichael did.