Page 102 of A Thousand Cuts

All this time he had been just sitting here and taking it, feeling helpless. What if he could find a way to finish this once and for all and fight for the good things that had finally come into his life? What if he didn’t just lie down and accept it and hope someone else figured it out before the end?

Those thoughts occupied his mind as he sat in an armchair in the living room one afternoon, an abandoned outfit he had been sewing strewn across his lap and King warming his feet as he stared blankly out of the window.

King’s warning growl brought him back down to earth, and he snapped his head around to see a stranger walking into the room.

The short, dark figure paused on the threshold, hands in the air and eyes lined in black liner fixed on King.

“Somehow he’s more terrifying than anything Wren has brought home.”

Liam frowned, a retort sharp on his tongue but the need to identify stronger. “You know Wren?”

Brown eyes rolled. “By way of a wannabe arsonist.”

“What?”

“I’m Morgan, Ash’s boyfriend.”

Realization struck like a lightning bolt, making him sit up straighter. This was the person who was currently looking into his streams. Every detail of them. He flushed a little pink.

“Hi.” He tried for a friendly smile. He didn’t know if it landed. “Thank you for looking into my case. I appreciate it.”

Morgan smiled back, so maybe it had. “I wish I’d found something to make it worth our while. But I’m a big fan, so there’s that.”

“You are?”

He hadn’t done a stream since he left his apartment. Fix had packed his equipment but Liam just…he didn’t think he could do it. Being naked knowingthat personmight be watching made him feel sick.

“Totally! The number of hours of nakedness I sift through on a weekly basis is astronomical, so I can spot a talent when I see one,” Morgan said.

“Thank you.”

“I do have a few questions though.”

“About my streams?” Liam asked with a frown.

“Nothing huge, don’t look so scared.” Morgan took a step into the room then looked down at King. “Is he going to maul me if I get closer?”

Liam shook his head. “If you stay on that side of the room he’ll just glare at you.”

“Pretty fucking used to that,” Morgan said easily, taking a seat on the three-seater couch and kicking his huge boots off to bring his feet up. “Now…I think you should really get someone to invest in your setup. You could be making BANK with the right camera lens and angles.”

Liam shifted uncomfortably. “I like to keep it pretty low-key.”

“Nothing wrong with low-key,” Morgan said, “but low-key doesn’t equal low budget. I work for Indecent Events, and my boss would KILL to have you on.”

Liam gaped, because that was the biggest damn porn production company…ever, probably. “I highly doubt that.”

“Well you can doubt it all you want. I have messages from the man begging.” Morgan took his phone out and waved it. “I can send them to you. He’d pay a fucking fortune to have you sign with us. You’re like…the top of his list.”

“List?” Liam asked.

“He has this list—it’s a fucking vision board, but try telling him that.” Morgan snorted. “It’s a list of independent artists he’d been wanting to bring into IE. You are number two, if I’m not mistaken. And his number one is a mythical creature from a graphic novel so, like, fuck all that does for him.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Liam said, trying desperately not to show how much he wanted that. To do what he loved under a company famous for being ethical and supportive and just the best when it came to this line of business. Liam would adore that. In any other circumstance.

“Why?!” Morgan gasped. “You’regoodat this. Is it something you don’t enjoy? Just paying the bills? If that’s the case then fairenough, but you could still be making more money faster than that shady site cuts you. We’d pay you SLATES, my dude.”

“It’s…complicated,” Liam said, avoiding Morgan’s probing gaze.