Chapter 13

Jess

It was almostthree in the afternoon, and I was done: achy, exhausted, and grumpy as hell. I didn't usually work on Saturdays, but there was still plenty of prep to do for the Beach Bash, and it's not like I had anything better to do.

Yeah, fine, Karnak hadn't returned to my place last night or this morning, and I was salty about it.

I'd just shut down my laptop and slid into the shoes I wore to walk home, when my phone dinged. I lunged for it, thinking—hoping?—it might be Karnak. But it was a text from Meli.

And not a good one.

GET HERE NOW 10

My bestieand I had a system when it came to texts. A request to chat usually came with a number after it, one through ten, indicating how important it was and how much we had to worry.

A level ten? Definitely time to worry.

I didn't bother packing up, and I was glad I didn't have to worry about locking the building. I just pulled my office door shut and took off running, phone in my hands.

It's difficult to dial a cell phone while running, FYI, but I didn't let that stop me. I was, however, a little worried by how long it took Meli to pick up, and by the time she did—a block and a half later—I was getting winded.

Maybe less cheese and more yoga, Jess.

"Jess! Tell me you're on your way?"

"Yes," I panted, turned onto Main Street. I could see a crowd of people near the bake shop. "Are you okay?"

She sounded worried when she said, "I'm okay, but Karnak's not."

What?

I stumbled to a stop, bracing one hand against the old brick facade of one of the empty storefronts. My heart was pounding in my ears, my lungs weren't working properly, and I was certain I had misheard her.

"Ka—Karnak?" I repeated.

"Karnak has started coming down Main Street on his way home after his afternoon swim, yeah? Well, Geoffrey was waiting for him with the police and the asshole is yelling something about assault. Jess, tell me you're almost here!"

There was a police cruiser on the road near the crowd, lights flashing.

Suddenly, I didn't have to worry about my heart beating too quickly; it had ceased entirely and dropped into my stomach.

"Jess?"

"I'm here—I mean, I'm there." I'd forced my legs to move and was now stumbling closer to the crowd. "Outside your shop?"

"I'll find you," Meli snapped. My phone went dead.

I barely remembered slipping the phone into my pocket, or the sense of relief I felt when my bestie materialized from the crowd—a look of determination of her features—and took my hand in hers.

Meli pulled me forward and suddenly we were standing on the edge of a circle of bystanders, all of us staring incredulously at the drama unfolding in front of us.

Karnak stood barefoot, his hair pulled back in a messy bun, wearing nothing but those sexy swim trunks of his and a paint-splattered t-shirt I knew he liked to wear around the house. His arms were folded across his impressive chest. His expression was…well, only someone who didn't know him would call him bored, but it looked like that's what he was trying for.

I could see the anger and the worry in those dark eyes.

Off to one side stood Tim Ortiz, Eastshore's police chief. One of the rookies—Ethan—stood beside him, trying to look as composed as Tim did, but eyeing Karnak worriedly. And pacing around Karnak like an angry fly…

Geoffrey looked like hell.

His normally perfect hair was disheveled and there were bags under his eyes. He wore a t-shirt, which I don't think I'd ever seen, not with his obsession with suits. The t-shirt was more suited to an island like Eastshore, but he hadn't done it to be informal, or to attempt to pander to the citizens.

He was wearing the shirt because his arm was bandaged from the tips of his fingers to his elbow, resting in a sling across his chest.

"Do you want to live in a town where monsters attack innocent citizens?" he was yelling, stomping back and forth. "If this beast could attack someone as powerful as me, what do you think he'd do to you?" Geoffrey pointed randomly into the crowd, and I was pleased to see people leaning away from his finger. "Everyone knows monsters are unreliable, untrainable! There's a reason they keep to themselves! He sent me to the hospital!"

Meli's hand tightened around mine, but I barely felt it. I was too numb, too stunned.

I stared at Karnak, willing him to look at me. He avoided my gaze.

Karnak…wouldn't.

Would he?

He was no beast, but he'd made no secret of the fact he considered himself a warrior, even after coming through the veil to our world. And yesterday…

Oh God.

My knees felt even weaker now than when I'd been running.

I'd been so focused on how to tell him that I loved him, I'd forgotten what had happened at the council meeting. Not the way Karnak had impressed the Town Council, and made certain they approved of my plan to bring other orcs to Eastshore…

But what Geoffrey had done.

He'd tried to intimidate me. He'd hissed nasty things to me, and I know Karnak had seen that. Had he left me at my home, then gone to Geoffrey in…I dunno, some sort of intimidation technique?

Had Karnak lashed out, out of control?

"Uncivilized, primitive, and we can't trust them around our children!" Geoffrey was ranting, but Chief Ortiz finally stepped forward.

"Mr. Harrison, let me get this straight. You're saying you were walking home peacefully last night—not driving that fancy car of yours? And Mr. Karnak jumped out of the shadows and attacked you?"

"With a beer bottle, Your Honor." Geoffrey lifted his bandaged arm. "Eight stitches, and Doc Payne says she managed to get out all the glass."

"So you saw Doctor Payne here on the island? You didn't go to the hospital after all?" Tim was taking notes in his little old-fashioned notepad, not looking at Geoffrey. His tone of voice alone made it clear he didn't approve. "And you don't have to call me Your Honor. That's what you call the judge, when you get yourself a lawyer, and he or she brings charges against Mr. Karnak here, and you go to court."

Geoffrey straightened his shoulders. "That's what I'm trying to do. I need you to arrest this monster."

Arrest. Oh God. I exchanged a glance with Meli. If Karnak had attacked Geoffrey unprovoked—no, no, that was being unfair. Karnak wouldn't do it unprovoked.

But would he do it?

Yesterday at the council meeting, he'd done such a good job reining in his instincts. I could see that he'd wanted to hurt Geoffrey then. He hadn't, but he'd wanted to.

Had he tracked Geoffrey the way he'd tracked Muffins? Not to find him, but to hurt him?

"I'm not going to arrest him yet," Tim drawled, finally looking up from his notepad. "Why would Mr. Karnak assault you?"

Geoffrey sniffed. "Because he knows Jess and I were dating, and—"

I felt myself reacting viscerally. "That's not true!" I blurted loudly, trying to step forward.

But Meli's hold on my hand prevented me from going to Karnak. It was almost as if she was trying to keep me out of the drama. To be fair, Tim glanced at me and nodded, but Geoffrey merely waved dismissively, and Karnak…

Karnak didn't look at me at all.

"We were supposed to be dating," Geoffrey corrected. "But this monster convinced her to be with him. Maybe because his dick—"

As the crowd gasped, Tim snapped, "I'm not going to listen to this speculation, Mr. Harrison."

Tears—angry, impotent tears—threatened, and I blinked rapidly. Why wouldn't Karnak look at me? Did he believe what Geoffrey said? That I was only with him because he was a monster and had some sort of special monster di—No, I wasn't going to even think that.

Meli's arm wrapped around me. "It'll be okay," she whispered.

"I love him." My voice cracked, and I knew she was the only one to hear it. "It's not like that, I love him."

"I know, honey."

Geoffrey was still arguing with Tim, who waved the notepad at him. "Where did you say this assault happened?"

For the first time, Geoffrey sputtered to a halt, his angry—nervous?—energy leaving him. "I—I don't remember."

And for the first time, Karnak spoke. "I do."

There were murmurs around me, but I didn't look away from Karnak, who held the gaze of the police chief. When Tim gestured for him to continue, Karnak dipped his chin slightly, as sign of respect, I was certain.

"Mr. Harrison was injured in front of my house. I can give you the address."

Tim waved away the offer. "No need. Did it happen the way he said?"

"That I melted out of the shadows like a wraith and beat him about the head, magically creating glass and inserting it into his arm?"

Karnak's tone was dry enough to cause a few chuckles from the bystanders, and I felt my shoulders relaxing slightly. He didn't sound worried, did he?

Tim made a show of checking his notes. "That is what he claimed, isn't it?" His surprised grin made me relax even more.

"No sir, it didn't happen that way." Karnak slowly lowered his arms, resting his hands on his hips. "Geoffrey had been drinking. I came home from my swim and he was waiting for me. Confronted me. Like now."

Tim hummed as he nodded. "And what happened then?"

"He was angry over…" Karnak hesitated, then shook his head. "Over something that happened yesterday. Something work related. And he was drinking from a beer bottle."

I was certain he'd been about to mention me. Which was weird as hell, because Karnak still hadn't once glanced my direction. Surely he knew I was there, right? Geoffrey had been angry about me, hadn't he?

"So he was angry, and drinking. Was he drunk?" Tim asked.

"Look, Your Honor," Geoffrey interrupted, "there's no need to ask that sort of question in front of all these people. That's insulting."

Tim just shrugged. "You were the one who decided to do this in public, Mr. Harrison. And again, I'm not a judge." He nodded to Karnak. "Go ahead."

Karnak sighed. "I didn't attack him. He was drunk, and he tried to attack me."

As the crowd murmured, and Geoffrey flushed, the police chief made a note on his pad. "Tried?"

Karnak pulled himself up to his full height, and until that moment I hadn't realized he'd been slouching. Had he been trying to fit in? But Tim—and Geoffrey and the rest of us in the crowd—now had to tip our heads back.

"Sir, when the day comes that I can't duck a swing from a man like Geoffrey A. Harrison, especially when he's intoxicated, you can probably bury me."

Tim managed to turn his snort of laughter into a cough, but the rest of the crowd tittered, including Meli. I was too anxious, watching Karnak, to think about his words.

Tim bent back over his notepad. "So you ducked his attack?"

"Well, I'm taller than he is, so I guess I sort of got out of his way, sir." Karnak rolled his shoulders, and for the first time, looked at me. "He kept coming, so I just kept backing up. I knew if I hit him back, he'd go down, and I didn't have any need to fight him. I think it made him angry, that I didn't stand and fight him. When his fist finally connected, the bottle broke, and he ended up with a handful of glass."

And all of a sudden, I could breathe again.

I wasn't certain if it was his words, or the fact he was acknowledging me. Or maybe the fact it felt like he was talking to me, and me alone.

Whatever it was, I understood. I believed him. And all of my earlier worries and doubts just…bled away.

I smiled.

And something in his gaze changed too, as if he was relieved as well.

Karnak

She hadn't been certain.I hadn't realized that until I saw the moment she did.

I wasn't sure if I was hurt or not.

I was a monster; I knew that, and she—hells, everyone knew that. They expected me to act like a monster. Half the time I expected myself to act like a monster; it was why I pitted myself against the elements each time my Kteer began to overpower my control.

But Jess could calm that part of me.

Because she was my other half, even if she didn't know it.

Even if she didn't want to be.

My Mate would trust me, wouldn't she? She would believe in me, and know I wouldn't hurt a male smaller than myself, especially one who was incapacitated by drink. But Jess had doubted.

Because she doesn't know she's your Mate.

If I'd had the courage to ask her, to tell her, then we wouldn't be in this situation. If Geoffrey knew she was mine and I was hers, then he wouldn't have confronted me last night.

This was my fault.

As Jess smiled at me, the police officer was speaking again. I didn't want to focus on his words, but I had to. I held her gaze, and tried to listen.

"—can believe you were able to avoid his blows, but those are some serious cuts he's got, Mr. Karnak."

I dragged my attention from my Mate. "Yes, sir." I nodded to the officer. "That's what happens when you break a beer bottle against an orc skull."

"Your skull?" The man glanced at Geoffrey, who was ranting about lies and monsters and untrustworthy.

"My jaw," I clarified, pointed at my chin. For the first time, I was glad Geoffrey's blow had left a bruise.

The officer leaned closer, squinting, and I imagined him trying to guess what a bruise looked like on green skin. He hummed. "It does look darker," he agreed. "So you're saying he hit you with the bottle? The blow connected?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir. The glass broke, and the pieces fell over both of us."

"Lies!" Geoffrey screamed. "I'm the injured party here."

I felt a small hand slip into mine and strength flowed up my arm. I didn't have to glance down to see Jess beside me; I could feel her, scent her. I knew where she was at every moment, and most of the time I knew what she was thinking.

Right now, I had to admit it was gratifying to feel her support.

"You have any sort of proof, Mr. Karnak?" the officer asked.

Now I did glance down at Jess, only to offer her a smile. I released her hand and lifted my arms, pulling my t-shirt over my head. There were noises from the crowd, and I had to admit it was kinda gratifying to hear a few of the whistles and sighs from the women.

Pretty certain one of them was Meli, Jess's best friend. Good to know she likes the way orcs look.

As I straightened my shoulders, Jess gasped. "You're cut, Karnak!" She was already reaching for my chest, her small fingers hovering over the lacerations I'd treated last night, using a sweet-smelling paste my grandmother had used.

I grabbed her hand before she could disturb them. "I'll be okay."

"Is this why you didn't—" Her head was tipped back, staring up at me, and when she suddenly blushed and dropped her gaze, I knew what she was asking.

I put my arm around her shoulders and tucked her up against my side, not caring how possessive it looked. "I was distracted," I offered as an excuse, wanting more than anything to kiss her.

"I gotta admit," the officer was saying, "It's hard to believe you'd jump out of the shadows and attack Mr. Harrison, then bruise your own jaw and slice up your own chest."

"I can't believe you're trusting this monster!" Geoffrey screamed, stepping up closer, getting up in the officer's face. "He attacked me! Ask Doc Payne! She'll tell you my injuries are consistent with a vicious attack!"

I felt Jess tense. I wasn't sure what she'd say, but it made me proud that my Mate was going to try to defend me.

But she didn't have to, because a young man from the crowd stepped forward. "Look, I can't say much, because of HIPPA and privacy and all that, but you know I work my aunt's—Doc Payne's front desk, and I think if Chief Ortiz was to go talk to her, she'd probably have a different story."

Before the police chief could respond to that, another voice from the crowd called out, "Yeah, Geoffrey's story sounds pretty fishy to me!"

"I don't think he could take Karnak sober, much less drunk!" another yelled, and that set off another round of laughter.

And to my surprise, more people spoke up in support.

"Karnak ain't the type to make trouble!"

"He helps this community!"

"He bought my bowl!"

"Yeah, that Harrison's the one who doesn't belong."

Shocked, I glanced down at Jess, who was smiling. No, not smiling, beaming. She was beaming up at me, one arm wrapped around my back and the other pressed flat against my bare stomach.

"See?" she whispered. "You do belong here."

I…belonged?

A little dazed, my eyes flitted around the circle of people who'd stopped to watch the show on Main Street. I'd assumed they'd gathered to mock me, or to push me away. But instead, they were…supporting me?

In the last decade, I thought I'd hidden myself away. But it had been impossible.

There was old Mr. Jevonovich, whose car broke down a few years ago, and I pushed it to Cairo's garage while he'd steered. There was Mrs. Albee, the librarian, who helped coordinate the volunteers at the animal shelter and had been so grateful when I'd offered to paint the building. There were the artists I'd met at the craft fair, who had seemed to genuinely value my insights, as well as a half-dozen others Jess had introduced me to only recently.

And beside me…Jess.

There were people here who I'd allowed to know me. Or I'd allowed myself to help, I suppose. I'd tried to be a recluse, so I wouldn't bother the humans, but I guess in spite of everything, I'd wanted to be a part of Eastshore.

Huh.

That was new.

"People, people." The police chief was waving his hands, trying to get everyone to settled down. "We're not here to talk about Mr. Karnak's character."

"Seems to me that's exactly why we're here, Tim!" someone called, to cheers and jeers.

But agreement came from an unexpected source.

The crowd parted and a bent figure shuffled forward. "I agree, Chief Ortiz," called out Mrs. McGee, in her firm voice.

"Finally!" sputtered Geoffrey. "A voice of reason! I knew we should defer to our elderly!"

Mrs. McGee waggled a finger at the guy, as if this was one of those TV shows from thirty years ago. "I'm not elderly, boy, I'm mature. Lots of things get better with age!"

"Like fine wine," agreed Jess, her amusement hidden behind a serious expression.

"Or blue cheese!" called out Meli from the crowd.

Mrs. McGee huffed. "My point, Timothy, if you all would shut up and let me make it, is that we don't have to debate Karnak's character, just what happened last night."

"Well now, Beatrice, we don't have to debate anything," the officer began, likely intending to remind her this wasn't a trial. Just a group of citizens.

But the old woman waved away the objection. "I'm telling you I got the whole thing on video, young Timmy!"

Well, that shut the crowd right up.

The officer—Tim, or Timmy as I was sure his friends would now be calling him—slowly closed his notebook. "So you can corroborate their stories, Beatrice?"

Mrs. McGee snorted and jabbed her finger at my bicep. "See, a few years back, my trashcan started disappearing. It'd be dragged out to the street on trash day, then back behind my garage by that evening. I'm not one to believe in brownies or housework fairies, although that would be nice…"

Her gravelly voice trailed off, and Tim cleared his throat. "And that's why you got a camera?"

"Exactly! My nephew set it up for me. I thought maybe Eastshore had bred the first variety of truly helpful racoons or something."

"They are called trash pandas," Jess agreed, amusement dancing in her tone.

"Yes, well, it wasn't racoons, it was Karnak." Mrs. McGee patted my arm, and I had to admit, her honesty surprised me. "He's a good boy. He thinks I don't notice all the things he's done for me, and maybe I haven't thanked him properly—and I don't plan on starting right now, so don't get any ideas! But he's a good boy."

"The camera, Beatrice, please," the officer urged. "Did you record last night's confrontation?"

"I checked it this morning when I found all the glass all over my yard. It happened just like Karnak says, and I'm happy to show it to you or whoever doubts him. That other boy was drunk, and Karnak did his best to keep out of his way, but the other boy hit him with a bottle and cut them both up."

Tim was nodding as he turned. "Well, Mr. Harrison, that seems…"

He trailed off when he realized Geoffrey was no longer standing in the circle. As others realized that, chuckles began to spread.

"He went that way, Tim," someone called, and another agreed. "Right around the time Beatrice started talking."

"Well, that was easy," the officer mused, slipping the notepad back into his pocket. "I guess he doesn't want to file charges, after all."

Jess pressed closer. "Does that mean Karnak can go, Chief Ortiz?"

The other man flashed a grin and offered his hand. It was as if, now that the notebook was away, his official duties were done. "Call me Tim. Not Timmy."

Hesitantly, I switched my t-shirt to my opposite hand, and gripped his. His handshake was firm and…approving? "Tim."

"Glad to finally meet you, Karnak. Eastshore is lucky to have citizens like you."

It was as if his words broke a dam. Suddenly I was buffeted on all sides by people slapping my shoulder and back, welcoming me to town, as if I hadn't lived here for close to a decade. I didn't know them all…

But I wanted to.

I glanced down at Jess, and her smile threatened to lop off the top of her head. Her lips formed the words, "See? You belong," and I felt them in my chest.

But belonging in Eastshore was one thing.

I wanted to belong to her.

It was time.

I had to tell her.