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Damn it. Had they heard me and Amber’s tousle? Maybe I shouldn’t have slammed the door on my way out, either.
One of the guards picks up the box I’m hiding in. I hold my breath.
“... Dude, I think you just heard this box fall over,” the second voice says. He sets me on top of another pile of boxes.
“Oh… You know what, that might’ve been it.”
“Come on, let’s go. We gotta stay focused.”
“Right, right.”
Once they retreat from the aisle, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
So, the place is guarded. And judging by how easily that guy picked up a box with a grown woman inside of it, the guards are pretty strong. I couldn’t get a glimpse of them, but by their strength and heavy footsteps, I suspect they weren’t human. Orcs, maybe?
If Tarek was here, I’d stand a better chance of getting out of this place unscathed. Fighting Amber was one thing, but fighting a monster five times my size is something else.
Just thinking about him makes my heart ache. But I shake those thoughts away before they can bring me down. Right now, I just need to focus on surviving and finding my way out of here.
CHAPTER 31
Tarek
The door to the warehouse is, of course, locked and made of metal. I throw my shoulder into it but only manage to bruise my shoulder as the punishing metal booms on impact. Doesn’t look like it’s in the mood to budge.
So much for a stealth attack.
"I may need some Yeti power here," I say, standing back.
Gage is practically hopping up and down behind me, clapping his enormous hairy hands. "Let me at it! I got this!"
"Hold on, Gage," I say as he begins to back up. "We don't know what's on the other side of tha –."
With a surprisingly frightening roar for such an upbeat sweetheart, Gage flies past me and hits the door with his shoulder at full speed. It crumbles like it's a stale cookie, and Gage goes flying into the warehouse and out of sight.
The rest of us hazard a quick glance of panic at each other before following him in.
Gage is standing in the middle of an open floor with multiple aisles branching off. He lets out a roar that shakes the metal shelving.
Lewis throws his hands over his ears.
"Sorry,” Gage says, sheepishly. “Too much?"
"You're fierce!" Angel says, dancing up to him and giving him a tiny-handed high-five.
"Thanks, Angel," Gage says, and I think I can see a tinge of red under his fur.
Two large orcs appear from an aisle on our left looking fierce and determined, one carrying a bat with nails and the other a rusty-looking sword.
I'm always a little concerned when I see some of my brethren looking like the thuggish stereotype we so easily fulfill. It always gives me a moment of existential crisis. Like, do I really look like that?
But now is not the time. I snap back to reality as they advance toward us.
"Hey, gents," I say, trying for the mutual species, friendly orc-to-orc stuff. "Sorry for the disturbance but we're looking for our friend. Do you know if she's here?"
"You've broken into private property," one of them rumbles. "I think we're totally justified when we beat your ass."
"Where's our friend, you gigantic mound of ugly?" Angel yells. She zooms toward his face, a sparkling firecracker streaming light and pixie dust.
