Page 19 of Falling for the Grumpy Orc (Monsters of Saltford Bay #1)
Chapter Fifteen
Gerralt
The setting sun paints the sky in shades of amber and purple as I guide my truck along the familiar road to the Saltwater Lodge. My hands flex on the steering wheel as I battle with myself over what I'm planning.
It's just coffee , I lie to myself. It's not even a date. It's just an orc male asking a human female if she wants to drink a cup of coffee, sitting at the same table, in the same restaurant as him.
Yeah. The lie isn’t even convincing enough to convince me.
Part of me wants to floor it in the opposite direction, bury myself in work until these feelings fade.
It'd be smarter, safer. But the memory of that kiss hits me like a punch in the gut whenever my stupid brain goes back to it.
I also know that I can't ignore how I feel about her any longer.
Damn it all to hell.
My encounter with Joren Veckett earlier has left me raw, exposed, but somehow lighter. Like letting go of an anchor I'd been dragging for twenty years. Maybe that's what's messing with my head.
What if she says no? What if she has someone else in mind and that kiss is just a mistake for her?
I growl low in my chest, a sudden surge of possessiveness rising inside me like a burning tide at the idea of Cassidy with any other man. I’m pulled from my jealous train of thought by the sound of an engine coming up the deserted road.
A black pickup truck roars past me in the opposite direction, and my grip tightens on the steering wheel as I recognize Bogdan Ashvale behind the wheel.
What is he doing here? There's only one house up that road and it's the Saltwater Lodge.
Before I can think more about it, the lodge appears between the overgrown bushes up the drive and I make a mental note to trim them before the first snowfall.
It's probably nothing , I tell myself. Just a bitter orc looking at something he can't have. No big deal. It's not like he's going to try anything while I'm there with Cassidy.
And since I have the intention of staying around, indefinitely if she will allow me, then he's no threat .
The lodge windows glow warmly in the gathering dusk and I frown as I see an unfamiliar silver sedan parked next to Cassidy's beat-up Honda. A silver sedan with rental plates on it.
Someone is here with Cassidy.
My heart immediately hammers hard against my ribs, and I climb out of my truck. I don’t know who is there, but I need to make sure Cassidy is safe.
I take the porch steps two at a time in my haste to see her, then pause in the foyer. Voices drift up from the basement. Cassidy’s is tight with tension and when a male voice answers her, my blood runs cold. I waste no time going down there.
The basement stairs creak under my weight as I descend. The scene that greets me makes my jaw clench: Cassidy backed against the electrical panel, her face pale but chin lifted defiantly. A well-dressed troll towers over her, his blue-gray skin gleaming in the fluorescent light.
"What's going on here?" My voice fills the space like thunder.
They both turn to me in a single movement.
Cassidy's shoulders sag with relief, the troll's face flickering with annoyance before smoothing into a practiced smile.
His mottled hands fidget with the lapels of his suit, and I catch the slight twitch of his left eye.
A tell I've seen too many times in folks with something to hide.
"I'm sorry, but we're in the middle of an official inspection." The troll draws himself up, but I've got at least four inches on him. "This is a private city matter."
"I'm the contractor hired to rebuild this place." I step forward, letting my size do the talking. "And Cassidy can tell me herself if she wants me to leave. ”
“I want Gerralt to be here!” Cassidy is quick to say, her hazel eyes turning to me in a quiet plea. “Chief Inspector Millings is telling me that I have to redo the entire wiring of the lodge and replace this panel in a week or the entire house will be condemned.”
Her voice holds the shrill sound of panic, full of fear, and it makes my fists clench. I never want to hear her afraid.
“I know for a fact there's nothing wrong with that panel.” I cross my arms over my chest as I face the troll. “And there is certainly no need for rewiring.”
"These wires here are completely wrong for residential use," he declares, jabbing a finger at the neatly bundled wires emerging from the panel. His hand trembles slightly, and I notice a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.
I step closer, letting my shadow fall over him.
"Those wires are exactly what the code requires. Want to know how I know?"
I tap the permit stamp still taped to the panel door. "Because Inspector Martinez signed off on it himself five days ago."
The troll's Adam’s apple bobs as he shuffles through his papers, the pages crinkling under his fingers. My suspicion grows with each nervous gesture. A real inspector would know all this.
"The grounding system appears inadequate as well," he stammers, clearly grasping at straws.
"Everything's properly grounded and bonded." I bare my tusks in what might generously be called a smile, watching him squirm. "Want me to walk you through the whole system? I can quote the code numbers if you need a refresher. "
His clipboard trembles more noticeably now. The stink of fear rolls off him in waves that my sensitive nose can't miss. "The branch circuits are totally—"
"Are all properly labeled and protected," I cut him off and I don't miss how he takes a small step back and his gaze shifts to the basement stairs. I've seen enough to know this man is no inspector. The real question is, what does he want with Cassidy?
“Now, why don't you show me your city inspector credentials?” My voice comes out as a low growl. “Chief Inspector Millings, is it?”
The way his eyes dart toward the stairs tells me everything I need to know.
"I'll have to follow up with those later." He edges toward the stairs.
I grab his shirt. "You're not leaving until the sheriff gets here."
The troll's lip curls into a sneer, his mottled blue-gray skin darkening with anger. "Take your hands off me, you brute. This is official city business."
"Like hell it is." My fingers tighten in the fabric of his shirt.
"Wait a minute.” Cassidy’s voice catches my attention and her small frame comes at my side. "Mr. Millings, if you're really an inspector, you won't mind waiting for the sheriff to verify your credentials, right?"
Smart girl. Her voice only trembles a little as she pulls out her phone.
The troll's face twists. "I don't have to prove anything to you."
"Actually, you do." Cassidy's thumb hovers over her phone. "Because I just remembered something. Inspector Martinez told me there was no need for another inspection when he left."
Cassidy keeps her hazel eyes steady on the troll as she makes a call. "Hello, sheriff's office? I need a patrol car sent to the Saltwater Lodge immediately. There's a man here whom I suspect is impersonating a city inspector to get into my home…"
The troll's composure cracks.
Everything happens fast after that. The troll twists away, his shirt ripping. His meaty hand shoots out, knocking Cassidy to the ground and sending her phone clattering a few feet away. She yelps and something in me snaps at the sight.
Before I can get a better grip, he snatches up a loose board from a pile lying next to the wall and swings at my head. Pain explodes across my forehead as wood connects with bone.
Blood trickles into my eye as I burst at a sprint after him through the basement and up the stairs, my boots thundering against the wooden steps. The troll's scent of fear leaves a trail I could follow blindfolded. Ahead of me, he crashes through the front door, nearly taking it off its hinges.
My muscles burn as I charge after him, rage fueling each stride, but he has enough of a lead on me that I know I won’t catch him. My claws itch to tear into him, to make him pay for threatening what's mine.
Cassidy's scream pierces the twilight air, high and terrified. "Gerralt!"
I skid to a stop, gravel spraying as the silver sedan flashes down the driveway and onto the road.
I turn back to the house, forgetting about him entirely. "Cassidy!"
She stands on the porch, arms wrapped around herself.
"He hit you so hard." Her voice cracks with unshed tears. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." I reach for her without thinking, my hands settling on her shoulders, then I pull her against my chest. She's trembling in my arms and the surge of possessiveness and protectiveness that rises inside me is totally feral.
"Stay here. I'll check the property, make sure no one else is here."
"Don't leave." Her fingers curl into my shirt. "Please. Stay with me until the police come."
Something in my chest clenches at the vulnerability in her voice and I nod. I keep her like that, nestled against my chest as we wait for the police. We don’t have to wait long. We hear the sirens before we see the flashing lights painting the walls in alternating red and blue.
Sheriff Wolfsbane lopes up the drive, his powerful frame moving with predatory grace despite his police uniform.
His ears prick forward as he approaches, and his nostrils flare, no doubt catching the lingering scent of the troll.
The werewolf is good at his job and his senses are the perfect asset for it.
"Everyone alright?" he asks, green eyes scanning the property before settling on Cassidy.
"I'm fine," Cassidy says, though her voice shakes slightly. "But he tried to tell me the electrical was unsafe, that I'd have to rewire the whole building or be condemned. He wanted me to leave the house immediately."
The werewolf turns to me and a low growl rumbles in his chest when he spots the blood on my forehead.
“When I asked for his credentials, he bolted. I tried to keep him here, but he hit me with a wood plank and it gave him just enough of a lead to get away."