Page 20 of Orlando
“We really need to go,” Orlando murmured.“I’m sure that Cynthia knows where you live.”
“Yet you sent me home on my own.”
“Because I trust her.She’ll give us a few days to work things out.”
“The council won’t send anyone else?”
“Probably not.They know that sometimes the hits can be complicated, so they’ll give her as much time as she needs.As long as she reports that she’s still working on it, you’ll be fine.”
“Then I could stay here.”
“You could, but I’d feel better if you were in my apartment, where I know for sure that you’re safe.Or I could stay here with you.”
Liam didn’t feel like he had much of a choice.It was either staying here with Orlando or temporarily moving in with his mate.As little as he wanted to leave his apartment, he also didn’t want the place to be tainted by bad memories in case anything happened.Orlando seemed sure that Cynthia wouldn’t come there, but Liam didn’t know her beyond the fact that she’d tried to kill him.Hedidn’t trust her.
“I’ll go pack my things,” he said with a sigh.
“Is there anything I can pack for Parsley?”
Liam was touched by the offer.He was pretty sure Orlando was making it because he wanted to get them out of there as soon as possible, but it would’ve been easy for him to dismiss Parsley and what he needed.Liam wouldn’t go as far as thinking that Orlando cared about Parsley, but he seemed to care about what Liam wanted.
It made sense.Liam was Orlando’s mate, so Orlando wanted to keep him happy.He wanted to keep him safe even more, though, and Liam was pretty sure that Orlando would take things into his own hands if he didn’t go to his bedroom to start packing.
“You can wash his bowls and pack them up along with the cat food in the cupboard.”
In the meantime, Liam would go to his bedroom to get his things and pray this wouldn’t be the last time he saw his apartment.
Chapter Four
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ORLANDO WANTED TO MAKEthis transition as easy as possible.Liam hadn’t chosen this.He didn’t want to leave his apartment and stay with Orlando.He didn’t want to have to hide for God knew how long.Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice.
Neither of them did.
It was good that Liam had agreed to come stay with Orlando for a bit without Orlando having to push.He wasn’t sure what he would’ve done if Liam had refused and had decided to stay home and risk Cynthia finding him.Orlando didn’t want him to regret anything, but he was pretty sure that ship had sailed.No matter how nice Liam was being about all of this, he was still being asked to leave his apartment, pack up his cat, and hide from a professional killer who wanted him dead.
Orlando looked around his apartment.It wasn’t much, but he’d given Liam his bedroom.He was there right now, unpacking his things with Parsley.
Orlando had been surprised at how sweet Parsley was.He hadn’t fought Liam when he’d put him in his carrier, and while he’d clearly been unhappy as they transported him, he’d stopped yowling as soon as Liam had opened the carrier once they were in Orlando’s apartment.
Liam had picked Parsley up and had disappeared into the bedroom, and Orlando hadn’t seen either of them since then.It had only been an hour, but he was getting antsy.What could he do to help?He’d given Liam space, but it didn’t feel like enough.He wanted to do more, maybe to reassure Liam, but he had no idea how to do that.
Should he knock on the door?Or should he give Liam more space and leave him alone until he decided that he was ready to come out?He’d have to eat eventually.Unfortunately for both of them, Orlando wasn’t a great cook.He wouldn’t burn down the kitchen, but he could only make a handful of things.
He swallowed and glanced at the fridge.Maybe he could get started on lunch.
He opened the fridge and blinked at the lack of anything edible in it.When was the last time he’d gone to the grocery store?He couldn’t remember, which made sense considering the state of the fridge.
He rolled his lower lip between his teeth.This wasn’t good.He was supposed to be taking care of his mate, but how could he do it with no food in the apartment?It meant he’d have to leave Liam alone, which he wasn’t crazy about considering how dangerous the situation was.Better today than any other day, though.Cynthia would leave them alone for a few more days, but not any longer than that.If Orlando needed to leave the apartment, he had to do it now.
He sighed and closed the fridge.He didn’t want to go, but the sooner he left, the sooner he’d be back.
He knocked on the bedroom door.He waited for an answer, but none came.He wasn’t surprised.He also didn’t blame Liam.“I’m going to the grocery store.Do you need anything?”
Silence met him.He wasn’t sure if Liam was awake listening to him or if he’d fallen asleep, but it didn’t matter.
“Well, you have my number if you think of something,” he added before stepping away.
