Epilogue

Cort

Istomped into the small town bar, barely registering the rustic pine walls and the scent of stale beer. A baseball game played on the widescreen over the bar, but the volume was muffled by the laughter coming from a darts game in the corner.

I didn’t care about any of it. I needed a drink.

I slid onto a barstool, my weight making it creak. Orcs might not be an oddity anymore, but that didn’t mean they had started designing furniture to accommodate our size.

The bartender flicked his gaze to me, grunting in acknowledgement before asking what I wanted. If I was back in LA where I lived, I would have ordered a twelve-year-old scotch, but I doubted this was the bar for a top shelf liquor.

“Beer,” I grunted. At least my drink choice wouldn’t make me stick out any more than I already did. My tailored black suit didn’t exactly fit in among the flannel crowd, although it was what all the bodyguards who worked for Orc, Inc. wore. Not that I was on the job anymore.

I took a grateful swig of the beer that was placed in front of me and tried not to think about the job that had just evaporated. I’d flown all the way up to the middle of nowhere to take over from my boss, but then my protectee had run off with him and left me with nothing to do but fly home.

I swallowed the cold beer and swiped at my mouth with the back of my hand. I guess I shouldn’t complain. Roc had apologized and promised to pay me for the gig even though it fell through, but that still left me stuck in a nowhere town until my flight the next day. After the year I’d had, having time on my hands was not a good thing.

Hence the bar and the beer.

At least the locals didn’t seem to have a problem with an orc in their bar, but they’d had a movie shoot nearby for weeks, so they’d no doubt seen more interesting things than me. We also weren’t far from the mountains, so they might have seen other orcs. Orcs who didn’t wear fancy suits and enjoy high end liquor.

“You here alone?”

The soft voice didn’t register right away, but when I glanced to one side there was a woman sitting on the stool next to me. I blinked at her a few times, sure she couldn’t be talking to me.

Human women didn’t approach me, and they certainly didn’t make small talk with me. My green skin and imposing stature ensured that most women gawked or scurried away. Most men, too. It was why I was such an excellent bodyguard.

“I’m going to take that as a yes.” The woman tipped her head at me and smiled, waving to the bartender and tapping her empty glass. “Just because you came here alone doesn’t mean you have to drink alone.”

I still hadn’t spoken to her, but that didn’t seem to matter. The pretty woman tossed her black hair off her face as the bartender slid a fresh highball glass toward her, the ice cubes clinking.

She raised the glass high. “Cheers to not drinking alone.”

I managed to lift my beer and tap it against her glass. “Cheers.”

She sipped the amber liquid in her glass and then eyed me. “You know, I don’t bite.”

“I think that’s supposed to be my line.”

She laughed, her dark eyes sparkling. “He speaks, and he’s funny.”

I grunted, allowing myself a small smile. I hadn’t come to the bar looking for anything other than a drink, but after the last few months, maybe a no-strings hookup was exactly what I needed.

The woman drained the last of her drink and gave me a sultry smile. “How do you feel about not going home alone either?”

Suddenly, my evening was looking up.