Page 13 of Orlando
“Hey, Liam,” Michael said when he answered.
“I need to request some time off.”
“Is everything all right?”
Liam wanted to scream that everything was not all right, but he swallowed and nodded.“Yeah.I just, well, I visited the community garden to water my plants this morning and bumped into a guy who ended up being my mate.As you can imagine, I’m a bit overwhelmed.”
“Your mate?Liam, that’s great, and of course you can take as much time off as you want.Just let me know when you’re ready to come back to work.”
Liam knew that Michael meant he could take a few days off, maybe a week or two, but not more.He hoped he wouldn’t still be running for his life in a few weeks, though.He wasn’t sure he’d survive the anxiety.“Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me.Just spend time with your mate, get to know him, and we’ll talk when you come back.”
Liam’s hands shook when he hung up.He wasn’t surprised that Michael had been so understanding, but he wasn’t sure where it left him.What was he supposed to do now?
“He took it well?”Orlando asked.
Liam nodded.“He did.He said to take as much time as I need, but that doesn’t mean I can be away for more than a few weeks.”
“I hope you won’t have to.I wasn’t lying when I said I know people.”
Liam wanted to scream.He didn’t care that Orlando knew people.He wanted Orlando to tell him what the fuck was going on.
Unfortunately, there was little he could do.No matter how many questions he had, he would have to wait until Orlando was ready to answer them, and he wasn’t yet.
It also looked like the only person Liam could rely on was Orlando.Orlando hadn’t mentioned calling the police, and something told Liam it would be a bad idea to do so.The council was involved.Whatever they wanted with the other Liam Portman, the guy couldn’t be a good person.Liam couldn’t say he wanted the man dead, but he needed to know more about what was happening.
He listened to Orlando make a phone call, but from what he could hear, the people on the other side didn’t know what was happening.Orlando had a worried expression on his face when he hung up.“All right.I think you need to go home.”
Liam frowned.“I thought you were going to protect me.”
“I will.I need to see people, though.I want answers, and the best way to get them is to talk to people face-to-face.That way, they can’t let me go to voicemail or tell me to make an appointment.”
“I could come with you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.Trust me, please.”
Liam wanted to laugh.How was he supposed to trust a man he didn’t know?Was he supposed to do it just because Orlando was his mate?“So what do you want me to do in the meantime?Sit on my couch and wait for Cynthia to come back?”
Orlando reached over and squeezed Liam’s hand.It surprised Liam, but he squeezed back.He needed the comfort.He might not know Orlando, but part of him recognized his mate.Holding Orlando’s hand made Liam feel more at ease, and some of the fear left him.
“I’ll give you my phone number,” Orlando said gently.“Call me if anything happens, and I mean anything.If you hear a creaking outside of your window, you need to call.If a door slams in the distance, you call.”
“Won’t that bother you if you’re busy?”
“I’m never too busy when it comes to you.”
“We barely know each other.”
“It doesn’t matter.You’re my mate, and both me and my jaguar will do everything in our power to make you happy.”
“And to keep me alive.”It was a good thing that Liam didn’t have to go to work because he wasn’t sure how he would’ve managed.The only thing he wanted to do was sit on his couch and stare at the wall as he tried to make sense of everything that had happened today.
Luckily for him, that seemed to be exactly what was planned for his day.
Chapter Three
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