Ross’s eyes fluttered shut for a second.The fervent promise sent chills racing through him, setting his heart pounding in an entirely different way.Glenn sounded so angry, so protective in his rage, that it seemed to mock every doubt Ross had.Was it not obvious, in this moment, how deeply Glenn felt?
Still, he could feel deeply and not want to be lovers.Ross didn’t know.He did know he was tired of dithering back and forth, and either way, he wanted an answer.They both deserved an answer.And if something happened to him before Glenn could ride into the rescue, then he’d best say it now.“Glenn.You know, I want to go on a date with you.”
There was an audible hitch.“I’d like nothing better.”
Despite the scary circumstances, a smile broke over his face for a moment.“Yeah?”
“Why don’t I come kill that son-of-a-bitch who took what was mine, and then I’ll properly romance you.”
Ross really couldn’t stop the shit-eating grin now.“I’m good with this game plan.How close are you?”
“Less than five minutes now.You say you’re in the back?Stay there.We’re coming through the front.”
Ross’s worry upgraded from the 2.0 version to 3.0 with a bonus option.“Uh…I’m really going to need you to run your game plan past me on this.What’s your strategy?”
“Sorry, no time to explain.Sit tight.” The sound went choppy, as if he’d opened a window, and then Glenn bellowed out in a war cry, “AN Ó RIAGÁIN TO ME!”
Why did Ross have the terrible, terrible suspicion that Glenn’s strategy basically devolved down to ‘ramming speed!’Surely not.The man had fought in multiple wars.He knew strategy.Right?
“Have to run.Hold tight, Ross.” The phone call abruptly ended.
With no one to reassure him, Ross found himself praying.For common sense, mostly.He also couldn’t help a peek through the door, trying in vain to see where everyone might be.It seriously unnerved him that the interior of the building seemed to be completely empty aside from him.
A great deal of yelling started up outside, people cursing, howling—mostly in panic, from the sounds of it.The front doors of the hangar were nearly thrown off their hinges as they were bulled through, Man-Shik and his henchman sprinting inside.A horrendous clash went through the building, and the whole thing shuddered, visibly shuddered, the metal of the front bay doors groaning as metal twisted in.Just what had they hit the building with?!A second later, he saw it, as the noses of several vehicles crunched to a halt, the headlights and bumpers smashed in and hanging off the front.
No, seriously, what was he doing out there?!
With people inside again, he didn’t dare leave the door open even that crack and shut it, his ear glued to the flimsy wooden door to hear through it.
Man-Shik was clearly audible over the din, raging in full voice, “I cannot believe his gall!He just rammed the building with cars!Unmanned cars!”
Ross’s mouth parted in delight.Ingenious.Of course the wards were set to let vehicles through—Hairy wouldn’t have been able to bring Ross inside otherwise; the nose of the car preceded him after all—and as long as no one was inside them, the wards would only register a vehicle.Wards were very, very literal things.No one inside equaled no reason to stop the vehicle.
“Glenn, you brilliant, sexy man,” he breathed, barely restraining a cackle.He felt a little mad witch coming on and had to swallow it down.“I’m doing such wicked things to you later as a reward.”
“Get me that bastard he’s fucking!”Man-Shik raged.“I’ll put Glenn in his place!”
Ha, fat chance.They’d have to tear the building apart to find Ross right now.He eyed the room, looking for a good place to hide if he needed it.Under the desk would be too visible, even from the door.Behind the door, now, that looked like a good possibility.It was only about seven inches of space, but enough that anyone doing a quick check would miss him entirely.
Ross put himself in position, just in case.No sense staying in a visible place, anyway.
Something wrenched metal again, and it screamed as it was twisted and yanked.Ross listened hard through the door, trying to make sense of the sound.
“High Wizard, the doors!”
Oh.Oh, that was the side hangar doors, meant for cargo and such.Had to be—the main hangar door was already in shambles.Why hit those?He’d told Glenn he was in the back of the building.Were they trying to open a door for him to slip out?There was a lot of snarling and howling outside, mostly of frustration.The henchmen were all stomping around inside, not engaging at all.
The ward was still up.Not one person of the clan could come in here after him.Ross wasn’t sure what Glenn’s plan was, how he’d manage to extract Ross.Did he think to simply lure Man-Shik out and kill him?The wards would fail automatically if their creator died.It seemed feasible, as Man-Shik’s temper was such that it made him easy to goad.But that might take time, and if the henchmen started firing into the werewolves, there were bound to be injuries.
He’d really rather not have injuries.Hiding until this was all over wasn’t a good plan.Glenn wanted him to stay put, but it would be much, much better if Ross wasn’t used as a hostage.And the window for that happening slowly closed.
It was beginning to look a lot like ‘fuck this.’Ross came around the door and cracked it open, just a sliver.Just enough to get a view of the outside.The bay was chaos, multiple cars now filling the area, most of them with broken windshields and grills hanging off by one edge.Man-Shik had forcibly stopped them somehow, as they were arrayed around him like a quorum of angry machines.
The two side cargo doors were completely off their hinges, one of them draped over the back of a car.And through that open door, Ross could see his clan’s werewolves in full battle array, snarling and pacing.The henchmen were all arrayed around Man-Shik like living shields, ready to leap to his defense.A dozen of them altogether, all facing outward, eyes on the werewolves, vampires, and dwarves all ready for a fight.Absolutely no one watched the back of the bay, where he stood.That looked like freedom to him.Ross eyed the distance, judging how much time it would take him to sprint across it.
“MAN-SHIK!”Glenn bellowed.
“Glenn Ó Riagáin,” Man-Shik snarled back, rage a palpable thing.“Oath-breaker that you are, you still think you can come and collect what I’ve taken?”
