Page 3 of Orlando (Council Assassins #20)

ORLANDO WANTED ANSWERS, and he was going to get them. He didn’t care who he had to talk to or threaten. A council assassin had almost killed his mate, and he would find out why.

He couldn’t believe that he’d almost lost his mate before even meeting him. He couldn’t think about that. What would have happened if he hadn’t been at the community garden this morning? If he hadn’t come on Saturday after finding the flyer? He would’ve lost Liam, and he never would’ve known that his mate was dead.

He wasn’t angry at Cynthia. She was doing her job, and she’d always been good at it. It was a small miracle that she’d agreed to take a step back and give Orlando time to dig into what was happening. He hadn’t expected that from her, but he was grateful. Still, he didn’t have a lot of time, and he wasn’t part of the assassins’ program anymore. That meant he didn’t have access to the facility.

But he did have access to people who still worked there.

Normally, he would never have contacted Kennedy, and he especially wouldn’t have knocked on the man’s door early in the morning. Kennedy was a trainer, so Orlando knew his habits and what time he got to the facility. He should still be at home.

The home he shared with Lewis, his mate.

Orlando was never going to live down the fact that he’d had a crush on Kennedy, but right now, he didn’t care about anything but finding out why his mate was being hunted by a council assassin. After making sure that Liam was headed straight home, Orlando ran out of the garden’s parking lot.

Luckily, the town where they lived wasn’t big because he didn’t have a car. He ran all the way to Kennedy and Lewis’s place, hoping that Liam was safe. Orlando trusted Cynthia as much as the other trainees he’d worked with, and he didn’t think she would do anything to Liam until Orlando had the opportunity to look into it. She had to know that if she did, Orlando would hunt her down—her and whoever had given the order to kill his mate.

He was panting slightly by the time he reached the front door. He pounded on it, eager to get inside. He didn’t have time to waste. Five minutes could make or break Liam’s life.

The door swung open, revealing a grumpy-looking Lewis. His blond hair was messy, and his lips were red. Orlando didn’t have to ask to know what he’d interrupted. The fact that Lewis had his t-shirt on the wrong way around didn’t leave doubts.

Lewis frowned. “Orlando?”

“I’m really sorry to bother you, but I need to talk to Kennedy.”

Lewis stepped aside instantly.

“Of course. Has something happened?”

“Seymour’s fine,”

Orlando reassured Lewis. He was Seymour’s twin, and Orlando was Seymour’s friend, so of course Lewis thought this had something to do with his brother. Orlando almost wished it did. At least Seymour would know how to protect himself. Liam might be a big guy, but something told Orlando that he wouldn’t hurt a fly.

“Kitchen is this way,”

Lewis said, leading the way.

Orlando had to work hard not to run ahead. Not only would it be rude, but he didn’t know where the kitchen was. He’d never been inside Lewis’s place.

Orlando wasn’t surprised to see that Kennedy was bare-chested, leaning against the counter, sipping a cup of coffee. He might’ve been embarrassed before, but right now, he didn’t give a shit. Kennedy could’ve been naked, spread out on the table waiting for Lewis, and Orlando would have thrown him his underwear and told him they needed to talk.

“Orlando?”

Kennedy asked, frowning.

“I’m really sorry to bother you, but one of the council assassins has been sent to kill my mate, and I need to know what’s going on. Why is the council trying to kill him? He hasn’t done anything to warrant that.”

Kennedy looked confused.

“I think you should sit down.”

“I don’t want to sit down. I told Liam to go home, but I don’t know if I can trust the council not to send someone else after him, even if Cynthia doesn’t inform them of what happened. She said she would give me a few days, and I think she’ll keep that promise, but what about the others?”

Orlando hadn’t been close to all the trainees. Hell, he hadn’t been close to Cynthia, but they’d been nice to each other—friendly.

Lewis put a hand on Orlando’s shoulder and gently guided him toward one of the chairs. Orlando realized he wouldn’t have a choice, so he flopped into it and continued staring at Kennedy, needing him to open his mouth and give him answers.

“Okay, first thing, you met your mate?”

Kennedy asked as he sat in front of Orlando.

“I did. His name is Liam, and I only met him this morning. Well, I saw him in the community garden on Saturday, but I never got close enough to him to smell him, which is why I didn’t realize he was my mate. I did today when Cynthia pushed me into his arms.”

“They sent Cynthia?”

Kennedy asked.

“Does that have any significance?”

After Orlando had left the program, he hadn’t been informed of anything that happened inside the facility. He didn’t know how the people who’d signed on to be assassins worked. He knew what they’d been trained to do, but he was sure there were things that only they’d been told. It wouldn’t make sense to fully train everyone when the council knew that not all the trainees would take the job.

“She’s one of the best,”

Kennedy said as he drummed his fingertips onto the table.

“If not the best. If they sent her after your mate, it means he’s a big target.”

“There’s no way he can be. He works in construction and loves plants. He’s as confused as I am, and he’s freaking out. I had to tell him and Cynthia that he was my mate at the same time, and we haven’t had the opportunity to talk about it yet.”

Orlando hoped that Liam wouldn’t hate him for all of this. He had to be confused, but they would have to talk eventually, and Orlando would have to tell him that he’d once trained to be like Cynthia.

What would Liam think of that? Something told Orlando he wouldn’t be happy, but would he reject his mate? Would it be enough for him not to want anything to do with Orlando?

Orlando couldn’t catastrophize. Whatever happened, he needed to deal with this first. Even if Liam ended up rejecting him, at least Orlando would know that he was safe. That was his main priority.

“You think that Cynthia made a mistake?”

Lewis asked.

Orlando hesitated. He wanted to say yes, but would that be the truth.

“I don’t think she did, especially because she gave us the right name. She was told to kill Liam Portman.”

“And that’s your mate’s name?”

Kennedy asked.

“It is, but Portman is a common name.”

Kennedy nodded.

“You’re thinking mistaken identity.”

“I don’t see any other explanation. I don’t know Liam, obviously, but he wouldn’t be my mate if he was the kind of person the council sends their assassins after. Please, Kennedy. I need to find out what’s going on and keep him safe.”

“As you know, I’m a trainer, which means I’m not told about the assassins’ targets. I’ll need to make a few phone calls.”

Orlando nodded and leaned back in his chair. He watched Kennedy as he got up and picked up his phone from the kitchen counter. Kennedy didn’t leave the room, but he was quiet enough as he made his calls that Orlando couldn’t hear him well. Besides, Lewis distracted him by placing a cup of coffee in front of him on the table.

“Kennedy will find out what’s happening,”

he promised.

“I know. It’s why I came to him.”

There was a twinkle in Lewis’s eyes when he answered.

“Really? It’s not because you have a crush on Kennedy?”

Orlando groaned.

“I do not have a crush on your mate, I promise.”

“I know. I was just teasing.”

Orlando was grateful because it had distracted him, but unfortunately, it didn’t last long. He started bouncing his knee as he stared at Kennedy hard enough to set him on fire with his gaze. Kennedy didn’t seem to notice, which was a good thing because it meant he was focused on the phone call he was making.

Kennedy didn’t have to say anything when he hung up. His expression made it obvious.

“There’s a hit on my mate,”

Orlando said.

“That’s all I was able to confirm at the moment, but yes. The council wants Liam Portman dead.”

Orlando had already known that, but hearing it made him want to scream.

“What do we do?”

LIAM HAD BEEN PACING the living room since he’d walked through the door. It was weird to be home at this time of day on a Monday, and Parsley was confused. He was staring at Liam from the couch, clearly wondering what the fuck Liam was doing at home.

Liam wished he was there for a nice reason, like the one he’d given Michael. He had a mate. He had someone who was supposed to like him for who he was. He had someone who he didn’t have to date because he knew he would be with him forever.

He also had someone trying to kill him, unfortunately.

He slipped his phone out of his pocket and checked the screen, but Orlando hadn’t answered his text. He’d sent it almost as soon as he’d walked in through the door, eager to find out that all of this had been a mistake and that Cynthia wouldn’t be coming back.

Orlando hadn’t answered yet. It made Liam nervous because it was a sign that something was wrong, which he didn’t want to believe. There was no way he’d ended up in this kind of situation. His life wasn’t a movie, for fuck’s sake. He was a construction worker. He worked with plants on his time off. Who would think he was dangerous? Who would want him dead?

There had to be a mistake, but knowing that didn’t help much. Telling Cynthia that hadn’t stopped her. She’d given Orlando some time to clear things up, but would it be enough? And how was Orlando supposed to clear things up?

There was only one logical explanation for Orlando’s involvement, but Liam didn’t want to consider it. Cynthia was an assassin. She worked for the council. Orlando clearly had known all of that, and he hadn’t appeared horrified. The way he’d fought with her pointed at him being as well-trained as she was.

Was Liam’s mate an assassin, too?

Liam didn’t know what to think about that. He didn’t want Orlando to be an assassin. He didn’t want anyone to be an assassin. He didn’t like the thought of the council deciding who should live and who should die. They might have their reasons, but did that make it right? Mistakes could be made, like the one that had been made this time.

Liam’s phone vibrated in his hand. He yelped and dropped it, then scrambled to pick it up. He was both relieved and anxious when he saw Orlando’s name on the screen. Orlando wasn’t texting back. He was calling.

“Hello?”

“Liam. You’re okay?”

“Cynthia hasn’t found me yet, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It is what I was asking. No one else?”

“Do I have to worry about someone else coming after me?”

Just how many assassins had been sent after him? Did Orlando know all of them?

“I don’t think so, not for a few days at least. Besides, Cynthia won’t want anyone else to take this job. She won’t want to disappoint the council and put her job in jeopardy.”

Liam’s stomach churned. Killing people was Cynthia’s job.

“Do you know anything?”

he asked because he didn’t want to dwell on that.

“I just have confirmation that the council wants a man named Liam Portman dead,”

Orlando explained.

“I need to talk to you. Would you be comfortable enough to tell me where you live?”

“I don’t see what it would change if I was uncomfortable, would it? There’s still an assassin coming after me.”

And Liam doubted that Cynthia would ask him for his address. She probably already knew where he lived, and the only reason she wasn’t here trying to stab him was that she’d promised Orlando that she wouldn’t.

“I’m sorry.”

Liam didn’t know Orlando. He just knew that they were mates and that Orlando was doing what he could to keep him safe. Liam needed to back off, at least a bit. It wouldn’t do anyone any good to stress Orlando out when he was protecting Liam.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s really not, but I need to talk to you.”

“You can come.”

Liam told Orlando where he lived, and they hung up. He glanced at Parsley, who was now washing one of his paws. He wished he was a cat right now.

Maybe he needed to make arrangements in case anything happened to him. He didn’t want to think about that, but with an assassin after him, he needed to be realistic. He needed to know that Parsley would be safe.

Maybe he should call his mother to ask her to take Parsley, but how could he? She would freak out, and that wasn’t what Liam wanted. She’d know something was up if he asked her to look after Parsley, which meant he couldn’t do it. Would Cynthia kill Liam’s cat, too?

Liam sucked in a breath. He needed to stop doing this. Cynthia wouldn’t kill his pet. Parsley was just a cat.

Liam resumed pacing since it was one of the few things that was keeping him sane. If he stopped, he’d start thinking about dying and what would happen to the people he left behind, and that wasn’t something he wanted to consider at the moment. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long until there was a knock on his door. He tripped on the carpet in his rush to get there, narrowly avoiding slamming against the wall. He steadied himself with a hand and threw the door open, then realized he should probably have checked who it was before opening it.

Luckily for him, it was Orlando.

“Can I come in?”

Orlando asked.

Liam stepped aside to allow his mate into his apartment. He should probably be freaking out more over the fact that he’d met his mate, but his entire focus was on surviving. Hopefully, he’d have enough time to get to know Orlando.

Orlando looked around and smiled. There wasn’t much to smile about in their situation, but Liam couldn’t help but smile back.

“I see you have a lot of plants,”

Orlando said.

“Well, I do love them.”

“Me, too. You have some very nice ones.”

One of Liam’s exes had said that he lived in a jungle, and maybe the asshole hadn’t been wrong. Liam could admit he had a problem and that he had way too many plants in his apartment, but he didn’t care. This was how he liked things and, apparently, how Orlando liked them, too.

The smile slipped from Orlando’s lips.

“So far, the only thing I’ve been able to confirm is that the council has hit on a man named Liam Portman,”

he explained.

“It can’t be me,”

Liam said as he rubbed his palms over his thighs. His skin felt like it was crawling, and he didn’t know how to make it stop.

“I agree. Like you said, your name is pretty common, so it’s probably a case of mistaken identity, but we have to get the council to realize that, and there’s no way I can do it on my own.”

“So I’m dead.”

Orlando shook his head.

“I can’t do it on my own, but I know people who know people. They’ll be able to contact a council member or whoever made the decision, but it’s going to take some time.”

“Do I have time?”

The way Orlando hesitated was answer enough, but Liam still wanted to hear it. “Please.”

“We’ll make time,”

Orlando promised.

“Cynthia probably knows where you live, so you’ll have to leave your apartment for a while. You can’t go to work, either. You need to go into hiding.”

“Where?”

Liam didn’t exactly have the means to go on the run, especially from someone who’d been professionally trained to kill people.

“My apartment.”

“What?”

“You can stay with me. Cynthia doesn’t know where I live, and I can be with you twenty-four seven. I’ll keep you safe.”

Liam wasn’t sure that moving in with his mate the day he met him was a good idea, but what other option did he have? None. He couldn’t say no because if he did, he’d have to defend himself alone, and he couldn’t. He was an easy target for Cynthia.

He didn’t have any kind of choice. The council had taken all of them from him.

ORLANDO COULD TELL that Liam was freaking out, but he needed to get his mate out of the apartment as soon as possible. He didn’t want to risk Cynthia changing her mind or someone from the council contacting her to ask if she’d found her target. She might have told Orlando that she would back off for a few days, but if the council asked questions, she wouldn’t hesitate to obey. Her job was more important to her than Orlando, which Orlando understood, even though he didn’t like it.

“Is there any other option?”

Liam asked.

For a moment, Orlando was hurt that his mate didn’t want to stay with him. He told himself not to be an idiot because they didn’t know each other, and Liam was being forced to leave his apartment because someone wanted to kill him. He was also staring at a cat sitting on the couch, no doubt worrying about what would happen to it.

“You can bring him with you,”

Orlando offered.

Liam looked relieved.

“Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t force you to leave your pet behind. Cynthia wouldn’t do anything to it, but you’d be unhappy.”

Liam nodded and picked up the cat. The thing cuddled into Liam, pressing its head under Liam’s jaw. Orlando could hear it purr from where he was.

“This is Parsley,”

Liam said.

Orlando didn’t move. He didn’t dislike cats, but Parsley was busy.

“Boy or girl?”

“Boy.”

“Cute name.”

Liam’s cheeks flushed, and he looked away.

“My ex made fun of it.”

“Your ex was clearly an asshole.”

Liam laughed.

“You’re not wrong about that, which is why we only lasted about two weeks.”

“And you call him an ex? It doesn’t seem like enough time to be called a relationship.”

“It’s easier to call him that than to explain that I have terrible luck when it comes to dating.”

“Luckily for you, you’ll never have to worry about that again.”

Liam squeezed Parsley harder against his chest. The cat didn’t protest.

“This is all very confusing and scary. I know you said I was your mate, but I thought that maybe you’d said it because you wanted Cynthia to stop trying to kill me. It would be fine if that was what happened, I’d just like to know.”

“I wouldn’t do that. I said that you’re my mate because you are. I realized it when I slammed against you, and you kept me on my feet. I smelled you then.”

Liam nodded. Maybe he’d just needed a bit of reassurance.

“It doesn’t matter,”

Orlando continued.

“I would’ve helped you even if you hadn’t been my mate.”

“I know. You started protecting me before you found out about it. I doubt you’d invite anyone else to stay with you through all of this, though.”

Orlando shrugged.

“I wouldn’t, but you’re not anyone else. You know what a mate means to a shifter.”

Orlando took a chance and reached his fingers out for Parsley to sniff. It was always touch-and-go with cats. Some of them freaked out because Orlando was a jaguar shifter, while others loved him for the same reason. Luckily, it seemed like Parsley was part of that second group because, after delicately sniffing Orlando’s fingers for a moment, he rubbed his cheek against them.

Liam looked delighted.

“He likes you.”

“I’m sure I’ll like him, too. We have to go, though. You should go pack so we can head out. Take only the essentials for now. I can always come back here to pick up whatever you missed.”

Liam’s smile vanished. Orlando wanted to put it back on his lips, but how could he? There wasn’t much for his mate to smile about right now. Yes, they’d met, but the council was trying to kill Liam, and it would be complicated to get them to stop. Orlando couldn’t just call one of the council members and ask them to reconsider. It would be like calling the president or something. He had faith that Kennedy and the rest of their friends would eventually clear things up, but how long would it take? What would Liam do in the meantime?

“I have a few questions before I pack,”

Liam said as he gently put down the cat.

Orlando had expected the questions. He wasn’t looking forward to them, but he wasn’t going to lie to his mate. Whatever Liam wanted to know, Orlando would tell him.

“I’m listening.”

“You’ve mentioned the council assassins several times. Are they what I think they are? I mean, I know you’ve already explained it, but I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that.”

“I understand, but I’m not lying to you. The council assassins are people who were specifically trained to kill for the council. Sometimes, the council doesn’t have any other way to deal with people. The bad guys are often smart enough to avoid paying for what they do.”

Liam nodded.

“That goes for humans, too. It doesn’t mean the government kills them.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Liam blinked.

“They don’t, do they?”

“I don’t know, Liam. I can only tell you that shifters who go down the wrong road are even worse. They can turn into animals and kill and hurt people. We’re not only talking about shifters, either. Some humans have made it their life goal to profit off shifters and hurt them. The council has been dealing with kidnappings, murders, auctions, and everything else you can imagine. I remember a few years ago, they saved a group of children who were being sold and bought by humans who wanted exotic pets. There was nothing the council could do to stop the people responsible because they were too smart and didn’t leave proof anywhere, and the human authorities didn’t care because the victims were shifters and the perpetrators human.”

“So the council killed the guy.”

Orlando nodded.

“They did, and our children have been safer since then. Unfortunately, there are many more monsters out there. I’m not saying that killing them is the perfect solution, but in some cases, it’s the only one that makes sense.”

Liam wrapped his arms around himself. It made him look smaller, which wasn’t something Orlando had thought possible. Liam was bigger than him, but he looked vulnerable.

“I don’t know what to think of this,”

Liam said.

“I’m not one of those people. I’ve never hurt anyone.”

“I know, and I’m sure this will end up being a mistake. The hit has nothing to do with you.”

“Why am I the one being hunted, then?”

Orlando wished there was more he could do, but apart from protecting his mate, he could only wait.

“I’m sorry this is happening to you, and I promise I’m doing everything I can to fix it.”

“It shouldn’t be your job.”

“It is my job. You’re my mate.”

Liam shook his head.

“What I mean is that if the council is going to order people killed, they shouldn’t make mistakes. What would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there this morning? Cynthia would have killed me, and the council would’ve been satisfied until they realized she’d killed the wrong guy. She would have been sent to kill the right one, but I would’ve still been dead. My mother would have lost her only son. Mistakes can’t be made in this kind of situation.”

Orlando felt powerless.

“I agree. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not a council member. I’m not even close to any of them, which is why I had to contact other people to look into it. I’m doing everything I can.”

“I wasn’t blaming you.”

Liam hesitated.

“But you’re one of them, aren’t you? You’re a council assassin.”

Orlando swallowed. He wanted to deny all of it and promise that he wasn’t, and it wouldn’t even be a lie. He wasn’t a council assassin. He didn’t even work for the council.

But he had before, and he couldn’t lie to his mate. He didn’t know what would happen between them, considering the circumstances, but Liam deserved to know everything.

“I’m not an assassin,”

Orlando explained.

“But I trained as one. My goal was to become one.”

Liam slowly nodded.

“But you’re not.”

“I couldn’t go through with it. Once I was done with the training, I decided it wasn’t for me. I know how Cynthia was trained, though. I know how she works, and I can guess what she’s going to do.”

“It could have been you, though.”

It could have been. If Orlando had stayed with the council, he might have been sent to kill his own mate.

LIAM DIDN’T KNOW WHAT to 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. There definitely had 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.

“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. He didn’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.