And they didn’t fill bags with night gear and surveillance equipment.
Greel huffed, clearly irritated they’d be this bold.
“It’s them,” I said softly as we left the tent, peering around. I studied the ground in a widening circle, eventually returning to stand with my brother near the firepit. The ashes were stone cold, with weeds starting to grow through them. “They’ve been gone for d-d-days. Maybe a week.”
Greel crouched by the tent, examining the interior more carefully. “Look at this.” He pointed to a layer of dust on the equipment. “And these food containers aren’t just empty, they’re starting to mold.”
I nodded, relief mixing with wariness. “They used this to watch Allie when she first ar-ar-arrived. Before we led them away on the false trail. It doesn’t ap-ap-appear they’ve come back.”
“Makes sense they’d pick this location. It’s a decent vantage point of Main Street and the pottery barn.” Greel stood, brushing off his hands. “But they’ve moved on now.”
I pulled out my phone, photographing everything systematically—the tent setup, the equipment, the cold firepit, and especially the detailed map of town they’d left behind. “Dungar will want to see all of this. And Detective Fernandez.”
“Evidence.” Greel watched me document the scene. “Don’t touch anything else. Leave it to Fernandez and his team.”
I paused at the map, studying the markings. Red X’s at the hotel, my pottery barn, and several other locations around town.
“Except…” I carefully lifted the town map, rolling it up. “If they come back and use this location to hide, they’ll know we found this place when they see this is missing.”
Greel’s grin was sharp. “A subtle message. I like it.”
“Better than destroying everything and losing the chance to find more clues about their behavior here.” I tucked the map under my arm. “Let’s go. We need to tell Dungar about this immediately.”
Feeling better, we returned to our sorhoxes and mounted, urging them onto the road and over the rise and beyond.
“They plan to return,” I said, the growl in my voice making my sorhox snort.
“They may. We can hope they think she’s gone. She’s fled other places and didn’t return. No reason for them to believe she wouldn’t follow the same pattern.”
True, but I wasn’t sure I trusted it.
If they came back… Well, I know what an orc would do and then Will would no longer be a threat. This was my territory, my business, the place where Allie was learning to trust and create again. They’d contaminated it with their presence, turned it into a hunting ground when it should be her sanctuary.
They hadn’t tried very hard to hide their presence. Did they think we didn’t know every bit of our own land? The arrogance of their actions made my hands shake with the need to hit something.
“Will you tell Allie?” Greel asked.
The thought made my belly clench so tight it was a physical pain. “She’s on the edge all-all the t-t-time. She’ll remind me that-that…staying here puts everyone in danger.”
“Doesn’t it?”
I turned to face my brother, seeing the concern in his dark eyes mixed with determination. “Are you suggesting we let her leave for-for-forever?”
“I’m suggesting we prepare for a fight, because whether she runs or stays, they’re not giving up. No one leaves that much equipment behind if they’re tracking someone. They must’ve suspected we were trying to lead them away, so they’ll be back. Not sure when, but soon. And no, I don’t want her leaving. At least if she’s here, we can protect her.” He scanned the area. “I expect we’ll see them around town soon. If we’re lucky, Fernandez’s team will grab them.”
“Yup.” What were the odds of that?
The ride back to the ranch felt like the longest of my life. Every hoofbeat carried me closer to a conversation that would shatter the fragile peace Allie and I had built. I hated the idea of watching fear creep back into her eyes when she’d started to feel safe.
But she deserved the truth. Then she could make informed decisions about her own life, even if those decisions might break my heart into pieces too small to reassemble.
We split up when we reached town, me riding toward my home, him to Dungar’s office to update him on the news.
I left the map in the barn and told Ostor to go home, that I’d keep an eye on the house. Inside, I found Allie making breakfast, humming softly as she scrambled chumble eggs. The domestic scene made my chest tighten with longing so fierce it stole my breath. Her hair was still mussed from sleep, and she wore my shirt from yesterday, the fabric hanging on her small frame.
This was what I wanted, quiet mornings with my mate, simple routines built around shared meals and gentle conversation. The kind of life where the biggest worry was whether we had enough nimmel bread for breakfast.
“Morning.” She smiled over her shoulder at me with so much warmth it made my knees weak. “How was patrol?”
