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“No. She’s much better off without me bothering her.”
I sighed. Liam and Ansel may not be actual blood-related brothers, but they were very similar in how they dealt with their feelings.Bury it deep down inside. Ignore it and it will eventually go away.
Liam didn’t stay for much longer after that. He scribbled his number on a piece of paper with instructions to call him if I needed anything. He made me promise that I would take a self-defense class, add more locks to my doors, install a security camera, and most of all, stay on my side of the city and away from any alleys whatsoever. Liam assured me Baltimore was much safer now that Gregor was gone, but there would always be bad people looking to take advantage of women like me.
The next day, when I came up from my black depression cloud for air, I mustered enough strength to call my supervisor. Mr. Smith was deservedly upset and gave me an earful about how unprofessional it was to disappear without proper notice or even an explanation, especially when my team depended on me so much.
I listened to his rant quietly. When he finished, he took a deep breath, and his tone softened as he started to explain how lost the department was without me. I was the backbone of the entire team, he told me, and just as Marcie had guessed, he wanted to offer me my own office and give me a nice, fat promotion.
I guess absence made the heart grow fonder, or at least made my boss realize how much he depended on me.
I immediately declined his offer. I told him that I needed some time off to take care of some personal things and would resign from the company, effective immediately. I had a sizable nest egg (not to mention all the PTO that would be paid out), and I would be quite comfortable for the next six months—maybe even a year if I was extra careful with my money. That gave me plenty of time to figure out my next step. I had no fucking clue what that would be, but I would figure it out. I would press forward, as Liam had suggested, and figure out my own path.
Chapter thirty
Threemonthslater
“Here’s your coffee, miss.”
I looked up from my laptop as the human barista set my iced honey latte on the table. I smiled at him and nodded my head in thanks before returning to typing on my laptop. Summer was quickly approaching, the weather already warming up, but there was enough of a morning breeze today that it wasn’t too miserable sitting outside. I’d stayed locked inside my apartment for so long, I had almost forgotten how nice the fresh air felt brushing against bare skin.
The last few months had been utterly hellish. I didn’t really leave my apartment unless I absolutely needed to. With the convenience of having my groceries delivered, and even my therapist agreeing to do our sessions over the phone, the only time I left my house was to refill my fountain drink at the gas station down the road.
I was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, though. I was done feeling sorry for myself. I had been through too much to live the rest of my life hiding. I signed up for a self-defense class, just like I had promised Liam, by exchanging boxercise for actual boxing classes. I even signed up for a class on gun safety and was looking into getting my permit to carry a firearm.
They were small steps in the grand scheme of things, and only momentarily distracted me from the orc-shaped hole in my heart, but considering I had been marinating in the same pair of sweatpants the past couple of weeks or the fact that I had been eating ice cream straight out of the carton using a cookie as a spoon every night for dinner . . . It was still a win.
That’s why I had agreed to meet with Marcie after weeks of her non-stop calls and texts. I needed another win.
I checked the time on my laptop. We had agreed to meet up at ten, but knowing Marcie and her time blindness, I had at least another twenty minutes to work on my computer before she texted me to tell me she was “almost there.”
“Skye!” Marcie’s bright voice rang out, making me jump in my seat. I turned as she approached my table. She wore her usual getup; a flannel covering a black crop top and ripped jeans, her grunge look tied together with her ass-kicking Doc Martens. But the huge smile on her face was different. I had seen her smirk plenty of times before. But beaming? Never.
“Hi, Marcie.” I stood up to hug her. “I can’t believe you’re actually on time.”
She rolled her eyes as she took the seat across from me. “That’s not the only surprise I have in store for you today.” She held out her hand across the table and wiggled her fingers in front of my face, showing off her new ruby ring.
“Holy shit,” I gasped, snatching her hand out of the air to examine the ring closer. I looked up from the beautiful ruby in disbelief. “You’re engaged?! I didn’t even know you were dating anyone.”
She pulled back her hand and examined the ring on her finger before giving me a coy look. “A lot of things have changed since you’ve been gone. But I’ll fill you in on all that later. You owe me an explanation, bitch.” She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest and narrowing her eyes at me. There was the Marcie I knew. “Now spill.”
I ended up telling Marcieeverything, sparing no detail about the reality of my kidnapping, the orc mafia, and having my life threatened on multiple occasions. I told her about marching into Carter’s office to confront him. Up until that point, Marcie had been listening intently, hanging onto my every word. But as soon as I told her about the punch that broke his nose, she actually cheered. The couple sitting behind her turned around in their seats to give us both dirty looks.
I told Marcie about Ansel and how he broke my heart. I did leave out the more intimate details of our time together. Marcie and I had always been open—too open for coworkers turned friends—about our sex lives. But I wanted to keep those moments personal. I wanted to keep them close to my heart.
After I finished, Marcie slumped back in her seat like the air had been knocked out from under her wings. “I am so, so sorry, Skye,” she said eventually. “If I had known I was putting you into that kind of danger, I would have never—”
I waved a hand, silencing her. “Marcie, don’t even worry about it. It’s not your fault. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I honestly think I just have the worst luck in the world.” I leaned forward in my seat, holding her gaze. “But please promise me you’ll stay away from that side of town and just away from alleys in general.”
She laughed, wiggling her engagement ring-clad hand again. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m a kept woman now. No more prowling the streets for me.”
I forced a smile. I was happy for her, I really was, but the gaping hole in my chest cracked, growing a little wider, knowing I’d never get to experience that kind of happiness.
Marcie took a swig of her coffee. “I just can’t believe he left you like that,” she said, referring to Ansel. She shook her head. “Without an explanation? Without so much as a goodbye? What a fucking dickhead.”
I sighed, shrugging. The pain was still there, but I was very slowly coming to terms with the fact that I would never see Ansel again. “There’s nothing I can do about it now.” I took a sip of my iced coffee, pausing to take in the other tables. It was busy for a Sunday morning and without meaning to, my eyes stopped on a pair of orcs that sat on the periphery. They looked normal enough—two orcs sitting on a bench, ignoring each other as they stared down at their phones—but my stomach knotted at the sight of them. Neither of them were drinking coffee as far as I could tell. So why were they here? They looked so out of place, especially among the throng of elves, humans, and other fae.
Ever since I started leaving my apartment, I couldn’t stop seeing orcs. They were always there, hanging outside my apartment as I checked my mailbox for packages or loitering outside the building where I took my boxing class. I knew it was probably a psychological response from missing Ansel and that I didn’t need to pay it much mind. I missed Ansel so much my brain was automatically focusing on anything tall, green, or brooding—anything that reminded me of him.
