Page 2 of Orlando (Council Assassins #20)

ORLANDO HAD MIXED FEELINGS about the community garden. He’d liked the place, even though there were no houseplants in sight, but he could have done without Martha. He still wasn’t sure what she’d been trying to do, but every time he thought about her, he also thought about Liam, and that was a road he wasn’t sure he should travel. Yes, Liam was cute—hell, he was insanely hot—but shouldn’t Orlando focus on himself before wanting anything with anyone? Or was finding a boyfriend part of his new life?

He supposed that both things could be true. Eventually, he did want to find someone, but maybe he should focus on himself first. He still felt completely lost and panicky when he thought that apart from his apartment, he didn’t have anything going for him. He wouldn’t even have an apartment if it weren’t for the council still paying him. It was what they owed him, but it still felt like charity. It wasn’t something he was comfortable with, and he needed to find a job to continue paying rent, anyway.

He wasn’t sure that going to the community garden would help him decide what his next step should be. Still, for some reason, he stood in front of it, relieved that it seemed empty this early in the morning during the week. When he’d come over the weekend, the place had been full, and he’d been cornered by Martha and Miriam. Martha had been more interested in him as a possible boyfriend for Liam, but Miriam had tried to convince Orlando to get a plot in the garden. He’d said no to both of them, but he regretted only one of those nos.

Which, now that he thought about it, was probably the reason he was here. He hadn’t stopped thinking about Liam, and for some reason, he’d gone to the store yesterday and had bought sunscreen and a hat. He hadn’t told anyone, not even Seymour and Jimmy when he’d seen them for dinner. Seymour would’ve been delighted, but Orlando still didn’t know how to feel.

He hated the uncertainty. He’d never felt that way, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. Since he was a teenager, he’d had his goals clear in his mind. He’d finish high school, go to college, and get away from his parents.

He’d done that. He’d also become a part of the assassins’ program, and he’d enjoyed it, although not the killing part. He’d liked being part of a group, making friends, and becoming a sort of family. He felt like he’d lost all of that, even though he hadn’t. He was still close to Seymour and a few of the others, and the people he wasn’t close with now, he hadn’t been close to to begin with.

But that had nothing to do with the reason he was standing in the parking lot, early on a September morning, staring at the gate that would lead him into the community garden. He had no idea if Liam was here or if he’d come by today. It was Monday, so Liam probably had work.

Orlando wished he did, too.

He hesitated. No one would probably think anything of seeing him walking around with sunscreen and a hat. He could go to Liam’s plot, which Martha had helpfully pointed out on Saturday, leave the hat and the sunscreen, and go home. It was better that Liam wouldn’t be there. Orlando wouldn’t have to humiliate himself.

Bringing these things for a man he hadn’t even talked to was weird, right? He hadn’t even been in Liam’s vicinity. He’d stayed with Martha until she and Miriam had started bickering, and he’d seen a chance to save himself.

But he was here, so he might as well do this and go home. He could even stop at the coffee shop to get coffee and ask if they were hiring.

Satisfied with his plan, he nodded to himself and reached for the gate. It squeaked a bit when it opened, but no one appeared to ask him what he was doing there. He was starting to realize that everyone was really welcome in the garden.

He liked that.

He took his time, wandering down the path and peeking into the various plots. He hadn’t dared do that on Saturday because of the many people there, but he could today, and he smiled at the various plants he recognized. He wasn’t surprised to see many pumpkins growing. Halloween was right around the corner, and soon, he’d see them all over town.

The sound of something heavy dropping to the ground made Orlando frown. He glanced around, but he couldn’t see anyone. It was a bit creepy, to be honest, but he’d decided to come early on Monday morning, and he hadn’t expected a crowd. Still, gardening was best done early in the morning, right?

“What the fuck?”

a voice asked. It was a man, and he sounded shocked.

Orlando waited, unsure what he should do. The stranger probably wouldn’t be happy with him interrupting whatever they had going on, but he would never forgive himself if he didn’t check to make sure whoever was there was okay. What if they needed help and Orlando left? He doubted anyone else would be coming around anytime soon. If this person needed help, he’d have to be the person to provide it, and if they didn’t, well, he’d just apologize and leave.

He could still hear noises, and they were alarming. Something else fell, and the man swore again. He tried saying something else, but his words turned into a yell, and Orlando knew he couldn’t stand back.

He dropped the hat and the sunscreen and ran toward the center of the garden. He didn’t know where he’d have to go from there, but he’d let the sounds guide him.

He didn’t have to look far. He ran between the benches, quickly looked around, and found Liam stumbling away from his plot. For a second, Orlando didn’t understand what was happening. Liam was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, along with work boots. His skin wasn’t as pink as it had been on Saturday, but his hair was messy. He didn’t even look in Orlando’s direction, but Orlando wasn’t offended, considering there was a woman trying to punch him.

Liam moved, tilting his body in a way Orlando hadn’t expected. He couldn’t see the woman who was trying to punch Liam, but he couldn’t think of a good reason for anyone to want to do that. Of course, he didn’t know Liam, so he could be wrong.

“Lady, I don’t know you. Why are you doing this?”

Liam asked. He kicked at something, and Orlando realized there was a gun on the scene.

His amusement left him. He moved without thinking about it, his entire being focused on helping Liam. His jaguar approved. It thankfully didn’t try to fight to take over, but then Orlando had been trained to avoid things like that.

It had only been a few weeks since he’d stopped training to become an assassin. He still used the gym, but it was a gym in town, and it wasn’t the same. It didn’t matter, though. Things had been ingrained in him while he trained to be an assassin, and it felt natural to move back into that role.

He slipped in between Liam and the woman and raised his hand to catch her fist. His eyes widened when he realized she was holding a knife. She wasn’t trying to fight Liam. She was trying to kill him.

Which kind of made sense considering that Orlando knew her.

Cynthia didn’t pause, not even when she recognized Orlando. If anything, she put even more energy into trying to punch Orlando. He was still holding her wrist, but she’d trained to fight with both hands, just like he had.

In a way, this was like when they’d been training. Orlando knew each of Cynthia’s weaknesses, like the way she always favored her right foot. It was something the trainers had tried to make her stop doing, but it seemed she was still struggling with it, and Orlando wasn’t above taking advantage of it.

He had no idea what was going on, but he wanted answers, and the only way to get them was to get Cynthia to stop fighting and start talking.

That was easier said than done.

LIAM HAD NO IDEA WHAT the fuck was going on. He’d been minding his business, watering his plants before work, when he heard something. He hadn’t thought anything of it because he was never the only one in the garden early in the morning, but when another noise had come from even closer, he’d been curious.

His curiosity had saved him. He’d turned to find a woman standing behind him, a gun in her hand. He’d reacted on instinct, using a shovel he’d left nearby to hit the woman on the arm. She clearly hadn’t expected him to react because she’d dropped the gun, and he’d managed to push it away with a foot.

Unfortunately, that hadn’t stopped the woman. She’d come at him with her fists, and if he wasn’t wrong, she had a knife in one of her hands.

Liam swallowed and glanced at Orlando. He had no idea why the man was here, but he was relieved. He was also pretty sure that Orlando had just saved his life. The woman would have eventually killed him if no one had intervened.

But what about Orlando? Liam would never forgive himself if something happened to him because he’d been defending him, but he wasn’t sure how to stop what was happening in front of him. Besides, it looked like Orlando knew what he was doing. The woman might have a knife, but Orlando was still clutching her wrist so she couldn’t use it against him. She was punching him with her other hand and kicking him, but it didn’t seem to matter to him.

Liam was scared, incredibly confused, and just a bit aroused. He’d found Orlando attractive on Saturday when he’d seen him talk to Martha, but it was nothing next to how hot he found him now. For one, he was closer, which meant he could see his dark eyes and the dimple in his chin. Orlando was also incredibly competent, which Liam had always found attractive.

But no matter how competent Orlando was, he was still fighting with someone holding a knife. What could Liam do? What should he do?

He looked down. The hose he’d been using to water his plants was on the ground, getting everything wet. If Liam used it, Orlando would get wet, too, but did it matter? As long as Liam managed to get the woman to stop, Orlando would be fine, right?

Liam picked up the hose. He waited until Orlando and the woman moved so that the woman’s back was to him, and Orlando was half-hidden in front of her. Liam raised the hose, hitting the woman’s back. She yelled and jerked away, but Liam was mostly in time to lower the hose. He didn’t think Orlando was drenched, but the woman certainly was.

Orlando looked Liam in the eyes. “Run,”

he ordered.

Getting wet had only slightly slowed the woman. She turned toward Liam, and for a moment, Liam thought she was about to kill him. She might have if Orlando hadn’t distracted her again by grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back.

“I’m not going to let you do that, Cynthia,” he said.

He knew her? It didn’t make sense, but then, nothing in Liam’s life did right now. He’d walked into the garden the way he always did, and his life had been normal.

It was anything but right now.

Cynthia tried to punch Orlando again, but he caught her fist and pushed her away. She kicked him in the stomach, causing him to double over. He’d told Liam to run, but instead, Liam took a step forward. He didn’t know how he was planning on helping Orlando, but he couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.

Liam had no idea how Orlando was still standing, but he was. He straightened his back, glared at Liam, and punched Cynthia in the face. Her head jerked back, the movement hard enough to get her to stumble and step back.

That still didn’t stop her.

“I told you to run,”

Orlando yelled at Liam as he caught Cynthia around the waist and twirled them away.

He pushed her, causing her to fall on the wooden fence that surrounded Liam’s plot. She used the fence to keep herself upright, turned, and launched herself at Orlando again.

“I’m not leaving you,”

Liam yelled back.

“She’s here to kill you!”

Liam didn’t understand. Why was this woman he’d never seen before here to kill him? What had he done? Or was she trying to rob him or something? That made even less sense because he didn’t have anything on him that would push someone to kill him just to get it. She didn’t seem to be in an altered state of mind, either.

She grabbed Orlando by the back of the neck and pushed him sideways. Orlando stumbled, and he might have fallen on his face if Liam hadn’t been there. It wasn’t much, but Liam rushed forward and caught Orlando. Orlando crashed against Liam’s chest, and for a few seconds, Liam wrapped his arms around him, hoping he was giving him stability. He’d need it if he wanted to continue fighting Cynthia.

Orlando looked up. His eyes were wide, his lips were parted, and he was panting slightly. He was as beautiful from up close as he had been from a distance, and for some reason, Liam found himself resisting the urge to lean down and kiss him. He might have given in if Cynthia hadn’t tried stabbing him.

He caught the glint of the knife from the corner of his eye seconds before Orlando moved. He jerked an arm up, blocking Cynthia’s arm and pushing it away. She didn’t react beyond trying to stab Liam again.

He let go of Orlando, who pushed away from him and was right back fighting Cynthia in seconds. Liam was getting dizzy with the quickness of their movements. He wasn’t sure he could continue keeping track, but he was glad he tried when he noticed Cynthia dive for the knife. The hose was still on the ground next to him where he’d dropped it to hug Orlando, and he quickly picked it up and aimed it at Cynthia. She got a face full of water and spluttered as she jerked back, giving Orlando enough time to pick up the gun and throw it toward the center of the garden.

“Will you fucking stop and talk to me?”

Orlando asked.

Liam didn’t expect Cynthia to answer. He was curious about the relationship between the two, but now wasn’t the moment to ask. He’d rather not have someone aim a knife at his heart every time he opened his mouth.

“I can’t stop,”

she said, shocking the hell out of Liam.

She wasn’t supposed to have such a sweet voice. She was trying to kill him, for fuck’s sake.

“Of course you can.”

“I have my orders.”

For some reason, that caused Orlando to stumble. Cynthia took advantage of it and rushed forward, and Liam aimed the hose at her again.

She stopped and glared at him.

“Can you stop?”

What the fuck was happening.

“Uh, no? You’re trying to kill me.”

“You shouldn’t have pissed off the council.”

Liam had no idea what she was talking about.

“I pissed off the council?”

“Just stop,”

Orlando said, stepping in between Liam and Cynthia.

“He can’t have done anything bad enough to do that.”

“I wouldn’t have been sent to kill him if he hadn’t.”

Liam dropped the hose and took a step back. He didn’t have to ask to know what council she was talking about. He might be human, but everyone knew about the paranormal council. What had Liam done to offend them, though? Especially something that would warrant killing him?

“Well, whatever he did, you can’t kill him,”

Orlando declared.

Cynthia was dripping water and looked angry. It was more emotion than she’d shown as she’d been trying to kill Liam.

“I have my orders, and you know how that works.”

“You can’t,”

Orlando repeated as Cynthia moved toward Liam.

Maybe he shouldn’t have dropped the hose.

“I’ll have to kill you, too, if you continue trying to stop me,”

Cynthia said without looking at Orlando.

Liam should’ve run. He should have listened to Orlando, even though he didn’t know the guy. Hell, he should have listened to him because he didn’t know him. Why had he cared so much about not leaving him behind?

Orlando shook his head.

“I can’t stop protecting him. He’s my mate.”

ORLANDO WISHED HE COULD’VE done that in other circumstances, but Cynthia wouldn’t stop trying to kill Liam until he was honest with her. She was right—she had her orders, and she needed to obey them.

Orlando hoped that knowing that Liam was his mate would at least give her pause, and he was right. She frowned and turned toward him, and while she didn’t ask questions, he knew she was waiting for an explanation.

He hated doing this the way he was. He’d been shocked when he’d slammed into Liam and had realized they were mates. He wished he could tell Liam as they were sitting on one of the benches, surrounded by plants, but instead, he had to deal with a drenched and pissed-off council assassin who wouldn’t think twice about killing both of them if he wasn’t careful.

What a great way to start the day.

“Your mate?”

Liam asked.

He was staring at Orlando. Orlando wanted to give Liam his full attention, but how could he? He was afraid that if he looked away from Cynthia, she’d strike again, and it wasn’t something he could allow.

“Cynthia, please,”

Orlando said.

“He didn’t know. I didn’t, either. Can you give us a second?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. Even dripping wet, she looked fierce, but then, she’d been one of the best in their program. Orlando hadn’t been surprised when she’d passed the final tests with flying colors and had immediately agreed to sign the contract to become an assassin. If there was one person who could do the job well, it was her.

Which was a problem considering she’d been trying to kill Orlando’s mate.

She stared at Orlando for a second. Orlando had no idea what was going through her head. He hoped that having spent so much time together would soften her toward him, but he couldn’t be sure.

Eventually, she relaxed her shoulders and nodded.

“Fine. I won’t kill him until I’ve heard an explanation.”

She hesitated, then glanced at Liam, who stood there, feet wet, eyes wide, staring at Orlando.

“You should probably take care of him.”

Orlando wanted to ask why he should bother since she was still planning on killing Liam, but he didn’t. He had to trust that she would keep her distance until he was done.

He rushed over to turn off the water, then moved more cautiously toward Liam. They couldn’t have this entire conversation here and now, but Orlando should still reassure his mate that everything would be all right.

Hopefully.

“Liam?”

Liam blinked.

“I have to be dreaming. There’s no way any of this is real. First, that woman tries to kill me, and then, you tell me I’m your mate. This can’t be right.”

Orlando quickly checked Liam’s head in case he’d hit it during the fight with Cynthia, but he couldn’t find anything. It was probably just the shock, which meant Liam would be okay. Orlando wanted to take care of him, but he couldn’t yet.

He turned to Cynthia.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You know I’ll have to do this eventually.”

“There has to be a mistake.”

“I don’t know, Orlando. The only thing I know for sure is that I was given an order, and I have to obey it. It doesn’t matter that he’s your mate.”

“But Liam has nothing to do with the council. He’s a gardener. There’s no way the council wants you to kill him.”

“His name is Liam Portman?”

Cynthia asked.

They both turned toward Liam, who slowly nodded.

“That’s me,”

he confirmed.

“Then, unfortunately, my orders are to kill you.”

“Why?”

Orlando asked.

“I don’t know. You should know better, Orlando. We weren’t trained to ask questions. We were trained to take the names we’re handed and kill whomever it belongs to.”

She was right, but that didn’t mean Orlando would allow her to do it in this case. Someone had to have made a mistake somewhere.

Orlando wouldn’t be able to get Cynthia to back off permanently, but maybe he could beg her for a little more time.

“Look, Portman isn’t an uncommon name. I’m sure there has to be a mistake somewhere, but I need a little time to look into it. Can you give me that?”

Cynthia didn’t look happy, but she didn’t say no outright. That gave Orlando some hope. He continued staring at her, silently begging her.

“You’re sure he’s your mate?”

she eventually asked.

“I smelled him when I slammed against him. I can do it again if you want to be sure, but I’m not lying to you. What reason would I have to lie?”

“You’re trying to protect him. You knew that telling me he’s your mate would give me pause.”

“But I also know that eventually, you’ll have to finish the job. Besides, why would I want to protect someone I don’t know?”

“Are you sure you don’t know him?”

“I’d never spoken to him until this morning.”

She didn’t have to know that Orlando had seen Liam from afar on Saturday. He understood better why he’d been instantly attracted to the man now. He should have realized it, but what were the odds that he’d meet his mate in a community garden?

Apparently, the odds were quite high.

“I just need a few days to look into this,”

Orlando said when Cynthia didn’t answer.

“If there was a mistake, you don’t want to kill an innocent man, do you? Especially not a man who’s the mate of one of your friends.”

Cynthia’s lips quirked.

“We’re friends now?”

“I wouldn’t say we’ve ever been best friends, but what we shared matters. Please. Just a few days.”

“How are you going to look into it? You don’t work for the council anymore.”

“You know the same people I know. I’m sure I can get someone to poke around. I just need to know that you’re not going to try to kill Liam while they do so.”

Orlando was afraid to look at Liam. His mate still hadn’t said anything. He seemed to be in shock, but Orlando didn’t know if it was because of everything with Cynthia or because he’d just found out he was Orlando’s mate. He wasn’t sure which one would be better.

Cynthia sighed.

“Fine. I’ll give you a few days, and I’ll try looking into it, too, but I can’t make any promises beyond that. You know how this works, Orlando. You know what I can and can’t do. If there was no mistake, I’ll have to kill him.”

Orlando nodded. He was convinced that a mistake was the only explanation for this. Portman was a common name, even paired with Liam’s first name. Orlando just had to get someone from the council to realize they’d made a mistake and that they’d sent an assassin to kill the wrong Liam Portman.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We don’t know how this is going to end.”

They didn’t, but at least it gave Orlando a chance. He couldn’t lose his mate before really talking to him. Even if Liam hadn’t been his mate, though, it wouldn’t be right to allow Cynthia to kill him. There was no way Liam was involved in anything that would push the council into wanting him dead.

There was a reason the assassins were trained extensively and that only a few of them passed the final tests. It wasn’t like the council ordered people killed left and right. They only did so when traditional methods of stopping criminals didn’t work. They sent their assassins after people who trafficked shifters and humans and after murderers and other horrible people. There was no way Liam was any of those things.

He didn’t seem like the type, but, more importantly, he wouldn’t be Orlando’s mate if that was the kind of person he was.

Cynthia turned without adding anything. Orlando couldn’t relax until he was sure she was gone, so he watched her walk away. He wasn’t surprised when she moved to the center of the garden and leaned down to pick up her gun. Orlando tensed for a moment, half expecting her to try and shoot Liam, but instead, she tucked the gun away and continued moving.

Orlando waited five more minutes before he finally turned to Liam. Liam was still staring at him, and now that the danger was over, Orlando wasn’t sure what to say.

“Hi.”

HI. That was the best that the man standing in front of Liam, the man who’d saved his life and who claimed they were mates, could come up with. Hi.

A giggle bubbled out of Liam’s lips. He slammed a hand against his mouth, knowing that if he didn’t, he’d sound hysterical. He didn’t want to send Orlando running, especially since he wasn’t entirely convinced that Cynthia had changed her mind about killing him. He swallowed and tried to think of something intelligent to say, but he wasn’t sure he could come up with anything.

“Are you okay?”

Orlando asked.

Liam didn’t know how to answer that. Physically, he was fine, but emotionally.

“Someone just tried to kill me, and I have no idea why. The man who saved my life turned out to be my mate. It’s Monday morning, and the week has just started, and I’m about to be late for work.”

Orlando cocked his head.

“I’m not sure that answers my question.”

This time, the giggle did escape Liam’s lips.

“I’m sorry,”

he hurried to say.

“It’s just a lot. I am late for work, though, so I should go.”

He wanted to stay with Orlando and ask him about a hundred questions, but he also needed space, and he definitely needed to keep his job.

Orlando caught Liam’s wrist before he could leave. Liam froze, wondering what was about to happen. He didn’t think Orlando wanted to hurt him, but it was clear he knew Cynthia better than anyone should know a professional killer. She’d even mentioned Orlando knowing what she had to do, which was suspicious, to say the least.

Did it mean that Orlando was a professional killer, too? Who the fuck were these people?

“I don’t think you can go to work,”

Orlando said in a gentle voice, as if he was afraid that Liam would break.

He wasn’t wrong. Liam did feel like he was about to break.

“What do you mean?”

“Cynthia backed off for now, but she’s right. She was given an order, and it’s her job to follow it. It’s too dangerous for you to be on your own.”

“I won’t be on my own. I’ll be at work.”

“It’s not enough. You need to be protected, and I can’t let someone who doesn’t know anything about the situation do that. It has to be me.”

Liam wanted to think that made sense, but did it? He wasn’t sure anything made sense anymore.

“What do you expect me to do? I need to keep my job. I won’t be able to pay rent or buy food if I don’t.”

“Is there any way you can take time off work?”

Liam snorted.

“You’ve never worked construction, have you?”

“I can’t say that I have. There has to be a way, though. I don’t want you to lose your job, but losing your life would be worse.”

Liam needed to sit down. He stumbled away from Orlando, ignoring him when he called for him to stop. He reached the closest bench and dropped onto it, relieved because his knees felt like jelly.

His day had been normal when he’d gotten up this morning. He’d fed Parsley, had eaten breakfast, and had left the apartment early so he could water his plants. When had all of it gone to shit?

“I understand you’re in shock,”

Orlando said gently when he reached Liam.

“But this is important. Your life is in danger.”

Orlando was right. If this was a choice between losing his job and losing his life, Liam didn’t actually have a choice, did he.

“I’ll call my boss.”

Orlando slowly nodded.

“Are they a shifter by any chance?”

Liam frowned.

“He is. You’re not going to tell him about Cynthia, are you?”

“I don’t think you should tell anyone about Cynthia, but if your boss is a shifter, he’ll understand why you need time off. Just tell him you met your mate.”

Liam blinked. He hadn’t thought of that, but he doubted anyone would blame him, considering the situation.

“You think that’ll be enough?”

“I hope so.”

It wasn’t like Liam had any other option. He took out his phone and dialed his boss’ number. Thankfully, he was on friendly terms with Michael. He wasn’t sure Michael would be happy about Liam taking time off, but he’d understand. He’d been bonded to his mate for several decades, and they were still very much in love.

“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.