Page 40 of Orlando
The question was, would she be doing that before or after killing them?
The door burst open, startling all of them.Liam stayed where he was and stared at the door, but Orlando and Cynthia both acted.She raised her knife, ready to defend herself from whoever was there, while Orlando placed himself between Liam and the door.
Only to have Tex appear.
He and Orlando had been friends in the program, but Orlando hadn’t seen him since he left.He had no idea what Tex was doing here.He didn’t even know how Tex had found out where he lived.
“Stop!”Tex said.
“Who is this now?”Liam asked, sounding exasperated but also a little scared.Orlando could feel how terrified he was, and he was proud of his mate for not showing it.He wished Liam didn’t have to go through any of this, though.
“The order has been rescinded,” Tex said.
Orlando blinked.What?”
“What are you talking about?”Cynthia demanded to know.“I talked to my supervisor a few minutes ago, and he didn’t say anything about that.In fact, he insisted I continue what I was doing.”
“Your supervisor is an idiot.”
Cynthia snorted.“I can’t say I disagree.You know this isn’t how this works, though.”
“Check your phone.Someone is going to call you.”
Cynthia didn’t look convinced, but thankfully, she stepped away.She was still in the room, and she was still dangerous, but for now, Orlando could breathe easier.
He shifted back.His mouth tasted of blood, and he desperately wished he could go to the bathroom and brush his teeth, but he didn’t dare.He kept his focus on Cynthia, needing to know she’d finally been stopped.
“Are you guys okay?”Tex asked.
Orlando nodded.“We’re fine.”
“Who stabbed her?It’s a nice touch.”
“My mate.He was defending me.”
Tex whistled.“Well, that’s impressive.I hope my mate will be just as fierce if I ever meet them.”
“I hope your mate won’t ever have a reason to be so fierce.”
Tex grimaced, but Orlando wasn’t offended.He was proud of Liam because he knew how much this had cost him.He’d never wanted to hurt anyone, yet here he was, having stabbed a woman.“You know what happened?”Orlando asked.
“Her supervisor happened.You know I can’t give you names, but he’s the one who made a mistake.He was tasked with supervising the death of Liam Portman.He put the file together, but clearly, he didn’t look very deep into the man he was ordering dead.”
“He almost got an innocent man killed.He almost got mymatekilled.”
“I know, but it’s over.”
It wouldn’t be over until Cynthia was out of there and her supervisor had been dealt with, but Orlando relaxed.With Tex here, Cynthia wouldn’t try to hurt Liam again.If she was going to continue attempting to kill him, she’d be back.
Orlando didn’t hate her, but he hoped he never had to see her again.
“What’s going to happen to the supervisor?”he asked.
“He’s getting fired.I was sent here to make sure that Cynthia didn’t go through with the job, but I wish I could’ve been there.That guy is an asshole.”
“He certainly isn’t a good person if he was willing to sacrifice my mate just so he wouldn’t have to admit he made a mistake.”That didn’t mean he should become Cynthia’s next target, but at least he wouldn’t hurt anyone else.Orlando suspected he was the kind of person who didn’t care if an innocent man paid for one of his mistakes.If he did, he would’ve listened to Cynthia instead of ordering her to take out her target.
Since Orlando was sure that Tex would step in if Cynthia tried anything, he turned to his mate.Liam was pale, and his hands shook.When Orlando moved toward him, he didn’t push him away.He didn’t even seem to realize that Orlando was still naked.He allowed Orlando to wrap his arms around his waist and hold him close.It was a bit awkward to comfort Liam because he was taller, but Orlando didn’t care, and he didn’t think Liam did, either.
