Page 11 of Orlando
“But Liam has nothing to do with the council.He’s a gardener.There’s no way the council wants you to kill him.”
“His name is Liam Portman?”Cynthia asked.
They both turned toward Liam, who slowly nodded.“That’s me,” he confirmed.
“Then, unfortunately, my orders are to kill you.”
“Why?”Orlando asked.
“I don’t know.You should know better, Orlando.We weren’t trained to ask questions.We were trained to take the names we’re handed and kill whomever it belongs to.”
She was right, but that didn’t mean Orlando would allow her to do it in this case.Someone had to have made a mistake somewhere.
Orlando wouldn’t be able to get Cynthia to back off permanently, but maybe he could beg her for a little more time.“Look, Portman isn’t an uncommon name.I’m sure there has to be a mistake somewhere, but I need a little time to look into it.Can you give me that?”
Cynthia didn’t look happy, but she didn’t say no outright.That gave Orlando some hope.He continued staring at her, silently begging her.
“You’re sure he’s your mate?”she eventually asked.
“I smelled him when I slammed against him.I can do it again if you want to be sure, but I’m not lying to you.What reason would I have to lie?”
“You’re trying to protect him.You knew that telling me he’s your mate would give me pause.”
“But I also know that eventually, you’ll have to finish the job.Besides, why would I want to protect someone I don’t know?”
“Are you sure you don’t know him?”
“I’d never spoken to him until this morning.”She didn’t have to know that Orlando had seen Liam from afar on Saturday.He understood better why he’d been instantly attracted to the man now.He should have realized it, but what were the odds that he’d meet his mate in a community garden?
Apparently, the odds were quite high.
“I just need a few days to look into this,” Orlando said when Cynthia didn’t answer.“If there was a mistake, you don’t want to kill an innocent man, do you?Especially not a man who’s the mate of one of your friends.”
Cynthia’s lips quirked.“We’re friends now?”
“I wouldn’t say we’ve ever been best friends, but what we shared matters.Please.Just a few days.”
“How are you going to look into it?You don’t work for the council anymore.”
“You know the same people I know.I’m sure I can get someone to poke around.I just need to know that you’re not going to try to kill Liam while they do so.”
Orlando was afraid to look at Liam.His mate still hadn’t said anything.He seemed to be in shock, but Orlando didn’t know if it was because of everything with Cynthia or because he’d just found out he was Orlando’s mate.He wasn’t sure which one would be better.
Cynthia sighed.“Fine.I’ll give you a few days, and I’ll try looking into it, too, but I can’t make any promises beyond that.You know how this works, Orlando.You know what I can and can’t do.If there was no mistake, I’ll have to kill him.”
Orlando nodded.He was convinced that a mistake was the only explanation for this.Portman was a common name, even paired with Liam’s first name.Orlando just had to get someone from the council to realize they’d made a mistake and that they’d sent an assassin to kill the wrong Liam Portman.“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet.We don’t know how this is going to end.”
They didn’t, but at least it gave Orlando a chance.He couldn’t lose his mate before really talking to him.Even if Liam hadn’t been his mate, though, it wouldn’t be right to allow Cynthia to kill him.There was no way Liam was involved in anything that would push the council into wanting him dead.
There was a reason the assassins were trained extensively and that only a few of them passed the final tests.It wasn’t like the council ordered people killed left and right.They only did so when traditional methods of stopping criminals didn’t work.They sent their assassins after people who trafficked shifters and humans and after murderers and other horrible people.There was no way Liam was any of those things.
He didn’t seem like the type, but, more importantly, he wouldn’t be Orlando’s mate if that was the kind of person he was.
Cynthia turned without adding anything.Orlando couldn’t relax until he was sure she was gone, so he watched her walk away.He wasn’t surprised when she moved to the center of the garden and leaned down to pick up her gun.Orlando tensed for a moment, half expecting her to try and shoot Liam, but instead, she tucked the gun away and continued moving.
Orlando waited five more minutes before he finally turned to Liam.Liam was still staring at him, and now that the danger was over, Orlando wasn’t sure what to say.
