Page 16 of Orlando
“Liam.You’re okay?”
“Cynthia hasn’t found me yet, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Itiswhat I was asking.No one else?”
“Do I have to worry about someone else coming after me?”Just how many assassins had been sent after him?Did Orlando know all of them?
“I don’t think so, not for a few days at least.Besides, Cynthia won’t want anyone else to take this job.She won’t want to disappoint the council and put her job in jeopardy.”
Liam’s stomach churned.Killing people was Cynthia’s job.“Do you know anything?”he asked because he didn’t want to dwell on that.
“I just have confirmation that the council wants a man named Liam Portman dead,” Orlando explained.“I need to talk to you.Would you be comfortable enough to tell me where you live?”
“I don’t see what it would change if I was uncomfortable, would it?There’s still an assassin coming after me.”And Liam doubted that Cynthia would ask him for his address.She probably already knew where he lived, and the only reason she wasn’t here trying to stab him was that she’d promised Orlando that she wouldn’t.
“I’m sorry.”
Liam didn’t know Orlando.He just knew that they were mates and that Orlando was doing what he could to keep him safe.Liam needed to back off, at least a bit.It wouldn’t do anyone any good to stress Orlando out when he was protecting Liam.“It’s fine.”
“It’s really not, but I need to talk to you.”
“You can come.”
Liam told Orlando where he lived, and they hung up.He glanced at Parsley, who was now washing one of his paws.He wished he was a cat right now.
Maybe he needed to make arrangements in case anything happened to him.He didn’t want to think about that, but with an assassin after him, he needed to be realistic.He needed to know that Parsley would be safe.
Maybe he should call his mother to ask her to take Parsley, but how could he?She would freak out, and that wasn’t what Liam wanted.She’d know something was up if he asked her to look after Parsley, which meant he couldn’t do it.Would Cynthia kill Liam’s cat, too?
Liam sucked in a breath.He needed to stop doing this.Cynthia wouldn’t kill his pet.Parsley was just a cat.
Liam resumed pacing since it was one of the few things that was keeping him sane.If he stopped, he’d start thinking about dying and what would happen to the people he left behind, and that wasn’t something he wanted to consider at the moment.Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long until there was a knock on his door.He tripped on the carpet in his rush to get there, narrowly avoiding slamming against the wall.He steadied himself with a hand and threw the door open, then realized he should probably have checked who it was before opening it.
Luckily for him, it was Orlando.
“Can I come in?”Orlando asked.
Liam stepped aside to allow his mate into his apartment.He should probably be freaking out more over the fact that he’d met his mate, but his entire focus was on surviving.Hopefully, he’d have enough time to get to know Orlando.
Orlando looked around and smiled.There wasn’t much to smile about in their situation, but Liam couldn’t help but smile back.
“I see you have a lot of plants,” Orlando said.
“Well, I do love them.”
“Me, too.You have some very nice ones.”
One of Liam’s exes had said that he lived in a jungle, and maybe the asshole hadn’t been wrong.Liam could admit he had a problem and that he had way too many plants in his apartment, but he didn’t care.This was how he liked things and, apparently, how Orlando liked them, too.
The smile slipped from Orlando’s lips.“So far, the only thing I’ve been able to confirm is that the council has hit on a man named Liam Portman,” he explained.
“It can’t be me,” Liam said as he rubbed his palms over his thighs.His skin felt like it was crawling, and he didn’t know how to make it stop.
“I agree.Like you said, your name is pretty common, so it’s probably a case of mistaken identity, but we have to get the council to realize that, and there’s no way I can do it on my own.”
“So I’m dead.”
Orlando shook his head.“I can’t do it on my own, but I know people who know people.They’ll be able to contact a council member or whoever made the decision, but it’s going to take some time.”
