Page 18 of How to Fail at Escaping an Alpha Orc (How to Fail #3)

Chapter Eighteen

Daria

O nce Marcus and I finally untwined, we got dressed and headed downstairs to make breakfast. Sam was already in the kitchen, standing before the coffee pot. I could smell fresh coffee brewing, and my stomach began to knot with morning hunger pains.

He greeted us with a look of disgust, mouth fixed in a silent snarl. “Daria, you probably didn’t know this, but this is one of our family’s safe houses. It’s well-built, but the one thing it doesn’t have is soundproof inner walls. And orcs have excellent hearing.”

I felt my cheeks grow warm and slapped my hands over my eyes. He’d heard us having sex? I was so embarrassed.

Marcus harrumphed, looking very unashamed. He walked to a drawer next to the refrigerator and opened it. He then pulled out a small clear package and tossed it to Sam. “Ear plugs.”

Sam caught them, frowning. “Wish I’d known earlier. Am I going to be the third wheel this whole time? This sucks.”

“I could send you back to Death Mask.”

Sam grumbled and put the package in his pocket.

Angie appeared next to me. “I feel his pain. At least I can disappear and go somewhere else, though. This could be like a fun group getaway if I was alive because he’s kind of cute, right? Like, I would swipe right on him.”

Sam winked in my direction, a smug grin on his face. “I’d swipe right on you, too, beautiful.”

I froze and then followed his gaze. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking next to me. At Angie. I looked over to Marcus, who was standing in stunned silence, also seemingly looking at my ghost bestie.

“Wait,” Angie began, voice excited. “Can you see me? Did you hear what I said?”

Marcus nodded, still silent. Sam put a fist to his forehead as if he was having some sort of epiphany. “Yoo, are we psychic too now?”

“I don’t see how that’s possible,” I replied, turning back to Angie and assessing her. I reached out to touch her and my fingers went through her ghostly skin like before. I knew she hadn’t returned to life, but it was disappointing. “I’ve only heard of this in one situation, and that’s when a person is an amplifier. Meaning they can spread their powers to those in their vicinity.”

“So, you gave us your psychic/necromancer abilities by proximity?” Marcus asked.

I tapped my chin, giving Angie thoughtful, narrowed eyes. “That would be odd. That’s not how my powers would work. To amplify, there would have to be an amplifier around. No, I suspect it’s not that I gave you both powers but that my powers got boosted so that others will see the ghosts I can see. It, in a sense, gives the ghost more power.”

Angie squealed and clapped her hands together. “So awesome. Did you boost me enough to change my wardrobe? I’ve been wearing these out-of-style skinny jeans for way too long.”

I tilted my head, perplexed by her priorities. “I don’t know. Let me test my theory out first. Everyone stay here. I want to see how far I can go and whether you’ll still be able to see her.”

I then spun around and ran up the stairs to my room. “Can you still see her?” I shouted.

“Yup!” Marcus and Sam said in unison.

I ran down the stairs and to the front door. I then turned off the alarm, but Marcus was right behind me before I opened the door. “Nope, you can’t leave the house.”

I went to the coat closet, put on a large men’s coat with a hoodie, pulled out a surgical face mask from a box on the top shelf, and then stuffed my feet in my tennis shoes. “I won’t go far. You’ll stand out more than me.”

He grumbled, but I didn’t give him a chance to argue before taking off. When I was a hundred feet away from the house, per the counter on my phone, I called Marcus on my cellphone. “You still see her?”

“Yes,” Marcus replied.

I walked fifty feet more. “See her now?”

“She’s fading now. Okay, she’s gone.”

I hung up and ran back into the house. “Okay, a couple hundred feet is the radius,” I stated as I took the coat and mask off.

When I walked back into the kitchen, I paused to see Angie wearing a peach-colored maxi dress with the sides cut out, exposing her waist. She wasted no time, but I was happy she could change the clothes we saw her in. I knew it pleased her.

Angie waved her hands out to the side. “I know this may not be useful for our situation, but I will hold my own and help us out somehow. You don’t know how much it means to be seen by others, having been a shadow all this time.”

Her eyes started to tear up, and I touched my chest at her reaction. I never took for granted what she was going through in this state. The loneliness except for encountering other ghosts at various mental states. Everyone she’d known and loved moving on without her. I wished I could hug her.

Sam slapped the counter, drawing our attention with a cheesy grin. “Well, you’re seen now and what a sight to be seen.”

He really was a charmer.

***

Marcus

We settled down for breakfast, and it felt almost surreal to be seated at the table with four of us now. Angelica had been with us, but not seeing her before didn’t make it count. While Sam and Angelica seemed to be having fun flirting, I couldn’t so easily shake off the threat we were still under. We were in hiding but vulnerable if caught, even with our defenses. If there was a surprise attack, our biggest chance would be to escape until we could form our own ready support. We’d need guards—lots of them.

“Tell me about Rorrick,” Daria asked, picking up her coffee mug. “I get the feeling you knew of him once he said his name?”

I wiped my lips with my napkin, having taken my final bite. Sam and Angelica fell silent, staring over at me in anticipation. It was understandable that everyone was scared after seeing that horror show yesterday. Not to mention, if he technically killed one of his own, we were fair game. “You’re all too young to remember, but there was a time when crime was rampant in this city. We almost lost it to complete chaos. He was one of the reasons. You saw him drink blood out of the neck of a gang member who was there to support him. Imagine what he did to those not on his side. He has no loyalties. Death Mask will soon learn they won’t be able to control him.”

Sam slouched in his seat, his brows furrowed together in contemplation. “Did our family ever have any dealings with him?”

I shook my head. “No. And that should tell you something. He’s dangerous and chaotic. That’s both a strength and a weakness. For him to be so old, he wasn’t that smart. He wasn’t a planner nor was he good at not getting found out. He was good at not getting captured. He bulldozed his way through the city like a runaway freight train, and then the witches finally subdued him. Things got better with him gone.”

Daria lowered her head. “And I just brought him back. He could destroy the city.”

I reached over and squeezed her hand. “It wasn’t your fault. It was his.” I pointed to my brother without looking.

Sam let out an exaggerated breath. “Awesome, I was waiting for the lecture to come.”

Daria scooted back in her seat, eyeing a weary-eyed Angelica. “Perhaps we should let you two talk.” She got up and kissed me on the cheek before whispering, “Go easy on him.”

“Yeah, go easy on me,” Sam cosigned.

I gave him the middle finger as I watched the women leave. “Did you apologize to her yet?”

Sam threw his arms out to the side, being his usual over-dramatic self. “Of course I did. What kind of asshole do you think I am?” He frowned. “Wait, I think I did. Nah, I might be an asshole. I’ll do it after your lecture.”

I glared at him. “I should have let her escape.”

“I’m sorry, bro. I know this fucked up your life. It’s a good thing you and her ended up bonding. You can get out of this clean now. Smart thinking.”

I wanted to flip the table over and grab him by the neck. He was an idiot. “I claimed her to protect her and because I care about her. I knew as soon as I kidnapped her that my old life would be over. But I thought you were worth that for some reason, although I can’t remember why.”

He leaned back, eyes wide with fake innocence. “Uh, because I’m your little brother.”

I shrugged. “Meh.”

He shook his head, running a hand through his short hair. “I know I fucked up. I’m going to get my shit together. This was a wake-up call. I had time to think during those two weeks with Death Mask. I thought I was going to die. You could have easily ignored the call and let me die. I know Harris would. There was a point where I thought I didn’t deserve to be saved. I looked back at my life and realized how much I’ve been wasting it.” He looked up at me with uncharacteristically sad eyes. “I’ve been lucky. I didn’t have to be in the family business like you and Harris. I was living good, and I took it for granted.”

I crossed my arms, studying him. He seemed genuinely remorseful, which was a change from his usual. “While I agree you have wasted time, I get it. I know Dad, and then Harris turned their backs on you. I know that felt like shit. But I need you to push past that pain and make something of yourself. I can’t do this again, baby brother. Especially not with Daria connected to me.”

Sam sat up straight to show he was taking me very seriously. “Oh, you never have to worry about that. I won’t put sis-in-law at risk ever again. Speaking of, will we talk about you claiming someone against their will? That’s wild, bro.”

I sighed. “Not my finest hour, but I don’t regret it. She kept trying to escape. I don’t blame her, but… I couldn’t have that.”

“Well, she seems to have forgiven you.”

“Maybe. But I wouldn’t be surprised if, after all this dies down, she comes to her senses and leaves me. Especially after we freeze the bond.”

Sam shrugged, his resting smile back on his face. “She might surprise you. When you think about it, you should be thanking me. You wouldn’t have met her otherwise.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, annoyed once more. “When you go to sleep, I’m going to put a pillow over your face.”

“Look at you, getting spicy in your old age. Sounds like a threat Harris would make.”

I grumbled and scrunched my face. He was right; our older brother loved to threaten us—the asshole. “We could use his help now. We don’t have enough manpower to fight an entire demon gang. Getting you out was one thing. Going to battle is another.”

“True, but Harris hates me. He might get involved if it’s you.”

“No, I’m on his shit list because I left the life. We’re on our own.”

Sam’s eyes widened in alarm. “Then what the hell are we going to do? Leave the country? Take up new identities? I’m down with that.”

I tilted my head back, thinking. Our situation was serious, and I didn’t have any ideas that would end up with Daria returning to her old life. It was frustrating, and I hated that I might have to let her down and do the thing I never wanted her to do.

Run.