My Orc Santa Claus (Eastshore Isle #5)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Nikki

Okay, credit where credit was due: Eastshore Isle’s Christmas festival was just adorable . And seeing it through Emmy’s eyes was even better.

I was able to forget, for a little while, that this was my last day here. I would be leaving after the parade this afternoon, but for now…

For now, I could soak in all the wonderful things about being part of a community like Eastshore.

The day was cool and bright, the sun meaning we could get by with our sweaters and vests instead of coats and scarfs. Emmy was wearing her brand-new red sparkly dress that twinkled when she twirled—she showed me this morning. I wore that silly Christmas sweater Ro made me get for the school concert…

And Sakkara wore his Santa costume.

I have to admit…he looked good .

I mean, I’ve never had a Santa kink before, but seeing his eyes sparkling—that hint of green in the dark depths—in between that ridiculous beard and the fuzzy red hat? It made me want to laugh. And to pull down that beard and kiss him.

Holding Emmy in one hand and me in the other, he led us up one side of the park and down the other, stopping to ho-ho-ho and pose for pictures with kids and adults alike. It was remarkable how many of Eastshore’s residents knew and liked him. This really was the perfect place for him to rebuild.

I was going to miss it.

No, you’re not supposed to think about that right now. You’re supposed to focus on the fun you’re having.

Yeah. Yeah, Christmas in Eastshore was fun, and I loved how the community really came out to support each other. And I was surprised how many of the kids and families recognized me , coming up for hugs or at least waves and “Merry Christmas! See you next year!”

The kids thought this was a hilarious joke, but they didn’t realize I wasn’t going to be in the classroom when they returned in January. A substitute would have to cover their education for the rest of the year because I’d be running from the best thing to ever happen to me.

You’re doing it again. Stop .

Right. Damn. I needed to focus on having fun.

So anyhow, that’s why I trotted around Eastshore Park with a big frantic grin plastered on my face, determined to enjoy myself dammit . It almost worked. I was able to push aside that fear and lose myself in the laughter and the games and the festival food.

Did you know you can fry ice cream? There was also fried cheese on a stick, funnel cake, fried Oreos, and deep-fried butter, which seems a little overboard if you ask me.

I didn’t try it .

As we strolled, we ran into the rest of Sakkara’s family too.

Luxor and Zoe were set up in front of the library, manning the “puppy booth”—as Emmy called it—that tried to encourage the adoption of the shelter’s dogs. Of course we paid the five-dollar fee to let her climb into the pen with the puppies, and her shrieks of laughter as they licked her would make anyone melt.

We stopped by the Meli’s Bake Shoppe booth, which was doing fast business with savory sandwiches, cake pops with little Santa hats, and cookies iced to look like beautiful Christmas trees.

Meli made Sakkara pose for at least fifty photos she claimed she would use for social media, while Cairo stood in the back of the tent, arms crossed over his chest, scowling like a champion.

Meli’s sister, Harper, who was hugely pregnant—despite only being about halfway through—sat in a camping chair and was in charge of running the register while her Mate Giza did his best not to fuss over her.

Emmy and I tried the cake pops and decided they were the best Santa hats we’d ever eaten, which to be fair wasn’t that high a metric.

A little further down the street, we stopped to admire the display Ashlyn and Thebes had set up: Eastshore Christmas Through the Years . It was a bunch of framed photographs of the parades and festivals. Ashlyn, as the president of the Eastshore Historic Society—and owner of most of the historic district—had written up little captions explaining each photo…or rather, knowing her dyslexia, Thebes had done the actual typing.

There was a bandstand set up at one end of the park, with various groups playing live music for the event. When the MC announced Olivia Zhang would be playing, we joined the tide of people heading to hear Eastshore’s most famous resident play the violin.

Her music was hauntingly beautiful, and I saw so many smiles—and a few tears!—during her rendition of Silent Night .

More impressive to me, however, was the way her Mate Tanis, in his fancy bodyguard suit, stood at her side through it all. If I’d thought Harper was “hugely pregnant,” then Olivia—I’d heard she was having twins , and she was so petite!—had reached the “outrageously pregnant” stage. “Ridiculously pregnant?” “Too pregnant?” Wow.

She was big, was my point.

As we were enjoying the music, and Emmy was showing off her dance moves, I heard someone calling Sakkara’s name. We turned to see Jess hurrying toward us, clipboard in hand, looking frazzled and being trailed by three male orcs; her Mate Karnak and the two I met last night.

“Sakkara, there you are! You’d think it’d be easier to find a seven-foot-tall Santa—”

“He’s green too,” added Karnak unhelpfully.

“But I’ve been looking everywhere,” she finished, as if her Mate hadn’t interrupted. “Come on, we’re staging for the parade. I have my golf cart to take you to the dockside parking lot where your float is.”

As the Community Development Coordinator, it made sense that Jess was in charge of the parade, but she looked a little overwhelmed.

I was surprised when Sakkara hesitated, his hold on me tightening. I glanced up at him. I couldn’t see his mouth behind that beard, but I guess he was frowning.

“Sakkara?” I murmured.

Instead of answering me, he asked Jess, “Can Nikki ride with me? I don’t want to leave her alone. ”

What? That’s ridiculous . “I have to stay with Emmy,” I pointed out at the same time Jess said, “I don’t know, can we get her an elf outfit in the next ten minutes?”

I wriggled out from Sakkara’s hold so I could step in front of him. “I promised Emmy we’d watch the parade together and catch all the candy. We’ll be fine.”

Emmy’s small hand slipped into mine, and she nodded vigorously. The girl was very candy motivated.

Sakkara still wasn’t convinced, but he sighed, knowing he was outnumbered. Still, I think he would’ve gotten his way—the male was determined to protect everyone!—had Karnak not stepped up at that moment.

“Sakkara, I’m going with Jess, but the twins can hang out with your ladies.”

“Yep,” chirped the outgoing one, Simbel. “We know what to look out for, and we’re prepared.”

The other one, Memnon, crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. “Like to see him try.”

Who?

Confused, I glanced back at Sakkara, who was nodding in contemplation. “I’m trusting you two with my life,” he finally said, although that still didn’t make sense.

Then he was pulling me to him, and he’d yanked down that beard and Dios mio ! Kissing Santa was everything I’d ever hoped it would be, if you know what I mean.

When he set me down, I was a little dazed, and Emmy was making gagging noises.

Par for the course then.

I’ll admit I stood there with my fingertips pressed to my lips and watched the sexiest Santa I’ve ever imagined drive away in a golf cart with a miniature Christmas tree on top.

Heh.

I’ll take Sentences I Never Expected To Say for six hundred, Alex .

I became aware of Emmy tugging on my hand. I shook myself and glanced down at her. Clearly, she wanted something, but she was also eyeing the newcomers warily.

Ah .

“Emmy, you remember Memnon and Simbel? They’re your dad’s friends. We hung out with them last night?” I remembered Simbel had made her giggle by balancing a mozzarella stick on his nose, so I leaned closer and whispered, “Simbel is the one with short hair.”

Memnon snorted. “I grew mine out so people would quit confusing us.”

“I promise you, no one has ever confused us,” his brother declared, throwing his arm around the grumpy male’s shoulders. “I’m far better looking.”

“You know what would make you less good looking?” Memnon shrugged off his brother’s arm. “A broken nose.”

Simbel immediately lifted his fists, his grin growing. “You’re welcome to try, old man.”

“So you admit I’m the older one?”

“I didn’t say that!” Simbel danced around like a prizefighter. “Maybe I was calling myself even older!”

Although the banter seemed to be putting Emmy at ease—or at least, she was amused, waiting for the fight to break out—I cleared my throat. “Do you guys want to watch the parade with us? Emmy and I already staked out our spot.”

The little girl at my side bounced in place and pointed eagerly down the street. Immediately, Simbel dropped his hands and gave us both a little bow.

“It would be my honor, ladies, to escort you to yon festivities.”

Emmy giggled as Memnon rolled his eyes. He fell into step behind us. As his brother enthusiastically pointed things out here and there, he murmured quietly to Emmy, “ Don’t worry, kitling. You don’t have to speak to us, but we’re here to protect you.”

I was impressed that the male, who I’d assumed was asocial from his grumpy tendencies, had thought enough to reassure the little girl. More than that, he’d recognized she didn’t want to speak to him and let her know he wasn’t going to pressure her. That showed a lot of insight—

Wait a minute .

Protect us?

Protect us from what?

Peter .

I’d told Sakkara about Peter yesterday, and he’d told me he’d help me leave Eastshore. Was he so worried that he thought Peter might arrive today in the middle of the festival?

I felt my muscles knotting up as I tried to look in every direction at once. My grip on Emmy’s hand suddenly seemed slicker, and my breathing was erratic.

“It’ll be okay,” Simbel announced. I glanced at him and was surprised to see his expression serious for once. He nodded. “Really, Nikki, we’ve got it. Relax and enjoy the day.”

I don’t know how he could possibly know what I was worried about, but…it worked. Just like having Sakkara take charge allowed me to finally let down my guard, my decision to trust his brothers meant I could relax a bit.

My smile was probably weak, but Simbel returned it.

“Now, Miss Emmy, where’s the best place to watch the parade?

We ended up on Main Street, right on the corner of Roe Row, which was basically the alley to cut back toward the rear entrances of the businesses like the bakery. Emmy was excited because she could see the bakery, and she was right next to one of the lampposts that had been bedecked with garlands and big red bows.

We stood, Emmy in front of me, my hands on her shoulders, and the twin orcs behind us. As the parade started, I felt my shoulders loosen.

We’re safe .

Whenever the fear would start to creep in, I reminded myself of that.

We’re safe .

Sakkara couldn’t be here with us, but he made sure we’d be safe with his friends, who were solid walls of muscles at my back. There were people crowded all around us, and the holiday cheer was infectious.

I exhaled and felt myself smile as the first float started past.

Well, I say “float,” but these things were basically over-decorated vehicles. Everything from golf carts to semis had been converted into something resembling parade floats, and honestly, seeing the craftsmanship was half the fun.

We waved like crazy at the Miss Eastshore participants, and the Lion’s Club guys doing their golf cart gymnastics, and cheered for the Eastshore High School cheerleaders. The marching pep band—all twelve of them—played loud enough for a much bigger school, and decided the scouting troops had the best-decorated floats.

The parade wasn’t terribly long, but the sun was heading toward the horizon and the air had definitely become cooler. I wasn’t sure how Emmy still had energy; she’d been jumping up and down and clapping and waving wildly all day.

Maybe it was the fact she was scarfing down all the candy the parade participants were throwing.

High metabolism, indeed.

Suddenly, a wave of excited voices spread up the parade route. Both of us craned our heads and saw the final float in the distance.

“Santa! Santa Claus!” came the delighted calls as kids and their parents realized who was coming. “Santa is coming!”

The crowd surged forward.

I felt people pressing against us on all sides, and I pulled Emmy back from the curb to keep her from falling into the street. Now we were no longer right in the front; the crowd had pushed us toward the back.

I heard Memnon mutter a curse under his breath. But it was Simbel who reached around me and plucked Emmy from under my hands. “You can’t see Santa from down there, kitling,” he declared, lifting her high in the air.

I saw her stiffen, but when he plopped her on his shoulders, she relaxed and grinned, holding his hair to keep steady. I felt Memnon at my side as I watched Emmy began to wave wildly at her father, over the heads of the people in front of her.

Every child here knew the Santa on that sled wasn’t the real Santa Claus. For one thing, the real Santa had to be busy in his workshop, with only a few days left before Christmas Eve. For another, Sakkara was a seven-foot-tall green orc. He didn’t exactly look the part.

But that didn’t seem to matter; they were all yelling and hollering and waving.

And Sakkara, perched up there on a fancy overstuffed chair, waved right back, ho-ho-ho-ing at appropriate moments and tossing candy canes into the crowd.

It was a perfect holiday parade, and I felt my chest filling with the love and excitement of the season.

When the hand closed around my wrist, I assumed it was Memnon trying to get my attention. I glanced up at him with a smile…but didn’t get a chance to speak. Wh oever had my hand yanked , and I went stumbling backwards.

I opened my mouth to yell, but slammed into a hard chest before I could make a sound, and the blow knocked my breath out of me. With my gaze on the back of Emmy’s head, I inhaled—

And froze when I felt the barrel of a gun press against my jaw.

“Hello, bitch,” hissed a familiar voice in my ear. “Miss me?”

Peter .

I’d read about someone’s blood running cold, but it always seemed impossible. It was impossible, but I swear, in that moment, I felt ice in my chest. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, could barely support myself with my own knees.

All I could focus on was Emmy, sitting up there on Simbel’s shoulders, waving happily at her father on the approaching float.

Keep her safe keep her safe keep her safe .

Sakkara had lost Dahshur; he couldn’t lose Emmy.

Gotta get Peter away from here .

“Hi Peter,” I managed to croak. “What are you doing here?”

He dug the gun into my jaw, forcing my head back. I felt tears pricking in my eyes, and I prayed Emmy wouldn’t turn around.

“Looking for you, of course, babe. I can’t believe you thought you could fuck me over like that. You’ve been a bad, bad girl, haven’t you?”

My breath caught on a sob. This was a game we used to play, back before I realized how beautiful a real male could make me feel. Peter thought taking control in the bedroom meant punishing me, hurting me, when I hadn’t done what he wanted.

I was ashamed to hear myself stutter, “I-I’m sorry.” I wasn’t, not really, but I’d say anything to get him away from this crowd. “Can’t we go somewhere and talk about it?”

He stepped backward, and with his other arm pinning my arms to my chest, I had no choice but to stumble backward after him. “Oh, we’re going someplace special, bitch.” His breath was sour against my temple. “Someplace I can shut you up, permanently.”

Dios Dios Dios Dios .

He was going to kill me for betraying him. “Peter, you can’t do this—”

“The fuck I can’t.” I felt him tense, then he slid backward around the corner to the alley. “I found you, didn’t I?”

I tried to take comfort in the fact we were away from the crowd now. If Peter did fire, none of them would be hurt.

Keep him talking . “How did you find me?” I did my best to put the terror I was feeling into my voice. Give him what he wanted.

“You’d be impressed, babe.” When he nuzzled my neck, I did my best not to squirm away. “Bribe money can get me anything I want. Found out your new name, and some sleuthing turned up your new hire paperwork for this district, so I addressed a letter to each school. Yours was the only one that wasn’t returned. Can’t believe you thought you’d make a good teacher.”

That, more than anything, had me bristling. “I am a good teacher,” I declared, trying to straighten away from him.

Chuckling darkly, Peter just yanked me back .

“How are you at geometry? You can calculate the angle of my bullet.”

I wanted to close my eyes. I wanted to cry. But from this position, I could still see Emmy, waving happily to her father on the float that had now drawn even with us, and closing my eyes to that sweet image seemed like a betrayal.

“Hey, buddy.”

The new voice was unexpected, and judging from Peter’s sudden whirling, he was surprised as well. “Who the hell are you?”

Memnon.

Memnon had somehow gotten around us and was now standing in the back of the alley, his hands clasped behind his back, a faintly curious look on his face, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Go! I wanted to shout. Protect Emmy ! If he would just look at me, I’d try to give him the message. But Memnon’s gaze was locked firmly on Peter, over my head, his dark eyes alert.

I knew Sakkara had put him in charge of my protection, but I didn’t want him to get hurt.

“Memnon,” I croaked. “I’m okay.”

Peter snorted. “You know this monster, bitch? Is he your new lover boy?”

“Just a friend,” I managed.

Memnon had cocked his head, his expression still neutral. “You don’t look okay, Nikki. This creep needs to back down.”

This creep has a gun on me ! I didn’t yell it though, because that would be foolish.

“Nikki?” Peter huffed. “That’s a dumb name.”

It’s my name. The one I chose for myself, not the nickname you gave me or the one my junkie mom hung on me. It’s mine .

“Nikki, it’s going to be okay,” Memnon said more soothingly than I thought possible. I saw his gaze flick over Peter’s head once, then back to us so quickly I doubted Peter noticed. “Just relax.”

His twin brother had told me to relax earlier and look how well that turned out.

“Look, asshole, get out of here,” Peter growled.

“No, I don’t think I will.” How could Memnon sound so calm?

There was a roaring in my ears.

“Oh yeah?” Peter pulled the gun away from my jaw and began to turn it toward Memnon. I opened my mouth to scream, but Memnon was already moving.

The roaring increased. I needed to breathe.

Memnon dropped to a crouch as he pulled his hands from behind his back. One of them held a handgun—where had that come from?—and his mouth was moving. But I couldn’t hear any of the words over the sound of the roaring in my ears.

Then Peter jerked away from me, and the gun went off once as I went flying out of his hold.

The roaring wasn’t just in my ears.