Chapter One
Stevie
Five-fifteen…five-seventeen…five-nineteen.This condo building was bigger than it looked from the outside; I was impressed by how many individual living spaces there were. It reminded me of a bigger city, not someplace as quaint as Eastshore Isle.
I stopped in front of the condo labeled “521”, swung my backpack off my shoulder, and took a deep breath.
This, according to Dad’s instructions, was where Garrak Longspear lived.
I remembered how pissed off my father had been to lose that poker game against the big orc, although I hadn’t been there. He’d ranted and railed for like two weeks after, then got real quiet about it. When he suddenly announced last week thatIwas going to have to head tothe East Coast to pay off the guy, I’d honestly forgotten about it.
I guess Dad had come up with the money somehow.
After some consideration, I arranged my backpack on the floor beside the door, trying to tuck it out of the way. This wasn’t the first time I’d acted as a go-between, and I tried to stay professional.
Granted, blue jeans and a leather jacket wasn’t exactly a polished look, but I was delivering a check, not giving a boardroom presentation. Still, I took the time to fluff my short hair and run my tongue over my bottom lip to try to make it look shinier. After some consideration, I removed the jacket and draped it over my backpack—this looked like a classy area, I probably didn’t have to worry about shit being stolen out here—although my favorite purple t-shirt wasn’t that much better of a look.
“Okay,” I whispered to myself. “You can do this.”
I pulled Dad’s envelope out of my back pocket, clicked the stud in my tongue against the back of my front teeth—a nervous habit my dentist hated—and knocked on the door before I lost my nerve.
It was late enough in the day that Mr. Longspear should be home. I didn’t know what kind of job he had, but it was after dinner, so there was a greater chance he’d be here. I could hand off Dad’s money, head back to the ferry terminal, and get a room at that disgustingly cheap motel I’d noticed on the mainland…
After a long moment of my heart pounding in my chest—nerves, right? So illogical—I lifted my fist to pound on the door again.
And the damn thing opened, leaving me about to smack my fist against the chest of the biggest, greenest monster I’d ever been this close to. I tipped my head back, eyes wide…and only just stopped myself from breathing “Wow” out loud.
I thought it awfully damn hard though.
Mr. Longspear was…
Wow.
I wasn’t completely out of the loop; I knew that we had orcs living among us, and I knew that Eastshore Isle had more than the average. And I knew that Garrak Longspear was earning a name for himself on the professional poker circuit.
I’d just never met him in person.
And suddenly, that seemed like a huge shame.
He was huge, of course, and green, with this sexy tattoo that disappeared under his scrunched-up sleeve, and intriguingly straight tusks that jutted from his lower lip. His beard was precise, but his hair was wavy, and?—
“Can I help you?”
And his voice was deep and…vibratey? Is that a word? It seemed to cause something low in my gut to shiver, and I found myself pressing my thighs together to catch a hold of that delicious sensation.
I liked the way his lips curled slightly—almost arrogantly—as he studied me. Any chance he was as intrigued bymeas I was by him?
Fucking pay attention! He asked you a question!
“Oh! Y-Yeah.” I shook my head, debated apologizing for my distraction, then shoved Dad’s envelope toward him. “Just delivering this, Mr. Longspear.”
“Garrak,” he corrected me with an amused tone as he took the envelope. Our fingers brushed, and I thought he might have done it on purpose.
And I wondered if he felt the same flash of warmth I did.
“The postal system is changing.” His gaze swept over me. “For the better.”
Welldamn, was he flirting with me? I smirked. “I wouldn’t mind a steady gig like that, but I’m just a courier.” I nodded to the envelope. “Trevor Hendricks is sending what he owes, apparently.”
