Page 19 of Orlando
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LIAM DIDN’T KNOW WHATto make of all of this or how to feel.Orlando wasn’t a professional killer, but he’d trained to be one.It was a good thing that he’d changed his mind about doing it for a living, but he’d still thought he had it in him.
How was Liam supposed to feel about that?How was he supposed to feel about the fact that Orlando might have been the one sent to kill him?
There was always a chance for errors, and a massive one had been made this time.The council was hunting a man called Liam Portman, and Liam happened to share a name with the guy.If Orlando hadn’t been there this morning, Liam would be dead because of that mistake.
Thinking about it made him want to scream.He didn’t know what to do about any of this.He couldn’t exactly go to the police.He doubted they would believe him, even if he explained everything.He couldn’t go to the council, either, because he didn’t know anyone there.He was just a guy who’d had a peaceful life until now.
He’d been incredibly lucky, and he hoped his luck would hold.He just needed enough time that someone could point out to whoever had ordered him to be killed that they were going after the wrong person.
“So how does it work?”he asked, even though he wasn’t sure he wanted more details.“Was Cynthia given a name?Was she the one to pinpoint me as the target?”
Orlando shook his head.“No.When the council has a job, a file is put together.You get the name of the target, as well as personal information and where you can find them.”
Liam doubted that a council member would have compiled this file.That meant that someone who worked for the council had seen Liam’s name, found him, and decided he was the right target.Had they even read the file they were compiling?“How is that possible?If this person compiled enough information about me, they would’ve realized I’m not the right person.”
Orlando grimaced.“Some of the targets live normal lives until you dig deeper, but the assassins don’t need to do that.They just need a name, some personal information, things like that.I wouldn’t be surprised if Cynthia had been following you for a few days.She probably waited until you were at the garden this morning to strike because there wouldn’t be anyone around.”
“Anyone but you.”
“I was actually there to see you.”
Liam frowned.“Why?You said you didn’t know I was your mate yet.”
Orlando bit his lower lip and looked down.It was adorable, which wasn’t a word Liam would normally associate with someone he was pretty sure could kill him in a dozen different ways.
“I noticed you on Saturday,” Orlando confessed.“Obviously, I didn’t know why I felt so interested in you, but I thought you were cute, and Martha couldn’t stop talking about you.”
That made Liam smile.“She told me about you, too.You should ignore everything she said.”
“Why would I?She thought we would be good together, and she wasn’t wrong.She knew before we did.”
Which she would never shut up about.She enjoyed being right, which, admittedly, she was most of the time.
Liam frowned.“Cynthia isn’t going to hurt anyone I care about, is she?She’s not going to torture them to find out where I am or something like that?”
“No.Even though the council is having people killed, they don’t hurt people indiscriminately.Killing monsters is okay but not hurting their families and innocent people to get information.Martha and everyone else in your life are innocent.They’re not at risk.”
Liam snorted.“I’m innocent, too.”
“I know.I promise I’m working on it.”
Liam wanted to ask if there wasn’t a phone number they could call to report the error, but he knew better.What the council was doing wasn’t good.If the word came out that they trained assassins, people would freak out.They’d probably call for the council to be shut down, and while Liam agreed that what they were doing was wrong, he knew how important the council was to the paranormal community.His boss was a shifter.Martha was one, too.He’d heard stories about how shifters had been treated both before and after they’d been exposed.No one deserved to go through that, and if the council was needed to keep peace and protect their people, Liam was all for keeping them around.
He just wished they didn’t kill people.
He supposed he understood that they were doing so to protect their community, but there had to be a better way to do that.Theredefinitelyhad to be a better way to find their targets.
He sighed.“Martha’s going to be worried when she doesn’t see me.My mother’s going to freak out, and she’ll pull my father in, and it’ll be a mess.”
“You don’t have to disappear.You won’t even be leaving town, and you can stay in contact with them.Just tell them what you told your boss.You met your mate and want to spend some time with him.Everyone will understand, especially Martha.”
Liam nodded.He’d heard the stories about Martha’s mate.They’d been together for decades before he unfortunately passed away in a car accident.It was clear that Martha still loved him when she talked about him, which wasn’t often.Liam hoped she could find a similar love with Alfred, even though he knew it would never be the same.
Martha had lost what Liam could have with Orlando.Orlando was supposed to be the love of Liam’s life, but right now, he couldn’t see it.Orlando was hot and cute, protective and capable.He was sweet and was clearly trying to make this as easy as possible for Liam, but none of that changed the fact that he’d been planning on killing people for a living.He’d eventually realized he wouldn’t be able to, but did that change anything?
Liam groaned and rubbed his forehead.He didn’t have the brain capacity to do this now.Too many things had happened since he’d woken up this morning, and he needed a little time to sit down and digest them.
