Page 44 of Assassin

It was clear he was an attractive man, or had been before he ravaged his body with starvation.

“I’m Doctor Seville. Elizabeth got me here, so we can talk, and take a little trip. We’re going to head to a safe place, where we can begin your therapy.”

Gamble watched him.

He tracked him as he moved around the room, and into Gamble’s personal space.

He was wearing a blazer, a crisp button-down shirt underneath it, dress pants, and fancy loafers. His watch looked expensive, and he smelled like the woods.

His hair was short, neatly trimmed, and prim and proper. The man definitely looked like a doctor.

“We’re going to help you.”

Yeah, only, he didn’t want help.

All he wanted was to die.

Storm had stolen his world, his life, his heart, and his soul. There was no way to get it back. He’d never trust a woman again, and he’d never let one hold his heart in their hands.

They couldn’t be trusted, and the cost, for him, had been far too high.

She’d burned him.

Oh, she burned him good.

When he didn’t move, Poe pulled a chair up, and sat beside him. The man was in a pair of sweats, no shirt, and he had five o’clock shadow. Across his emaciated body, there were tattoos.

Lots of them.

Only, they weren’t the doctor’s focus, so much as the gauntness of his face.

Someone needed some food.

ASAP.

It was clear he was letting himself go so that he could die.

“We’re going to get you better.”

Gamble spoke for the first time and his words were filled with pain.

“Unless you plan on digging her up, bringing her back, and letting me ask why she’d destroy me like this, I won’t get better.”

He knew the basics.

“I’m sorry for what she did to you, Gamble. I’m sorry for what you lost. I can’t give you that back, but I can give you back to yourself.”

Then, he shocked Poe.

He began laughing.

And laughing.

And laughing.

It was broken, twisted, and guttural. It was filled with anger, hate, and rage. Poe had never heard anything quite like it, and he knew this was going to be the most difficult case he ever had.

This patient…

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