Page 125 of Assassin

Poe heard the pain.

“Did you just run around willy nilly killing people for fun?” he asked. “If you say, yes, I’m going to be really twitchy tonight when I go to bed.”

He laughed.

“No, I was a soldier. I did what I was told to do, and nothing more.”

Poe understood.

“Then, no. It wasn’t your karma. Had you been a shit human, and terrible, I still wouldn’t think it was your karma. We make our own, yes, but the universe has plans, and we’re helpless to stop what’s already in motion.”

“You’re not going to tell me that everything happens for a reason, are you?”

“I’d planned on it. Bad idea?” he asked.

Gamble nodded.

“Pretty much.”

Poe could tell that Gamble Holloway wasn’t a horrible human being by the way he was reacting to Rufus, but he knew this was a touchy subject, and he needed to help the man.

“If we quiet down, do you want to go back up and rest?” he asked, changing the subject.

He was honest.

“No. When I close my eyes, I see it. I didn’t feel like torturing myself anymore. It wasn’t so much the noise, but my brain.”

He understood.

“And thanks for the pizza. It was good.”

This was the most he’d said to him since being there. It appeared that someone was chilling out.

That gave Poe hope.

He needed to keep this going.

“Want to meet the horses?” he asked.

That was all he had to say.

He nodded and nudged the dog out of his lap.

When Poe got up, and reached to help Gamble up, Rufus growled at him.

“Oh, I don’t think so, Rufus. When you wandered onto my porch, you were flea ridden, starving, and alone. I took care of you. You don’t get to bite me or get bitchy. We’re in this mess together. Don’t forget it.”

Gamble let Poe help him. When he was up, both men brushed themselves off.

Gamble’s head was right next to the horse behind him, and she was trying to eat his hair.

“Uh, did you feed the horses today? My hair is not straw.”

He laughed.

“That’s Honey. Why do you ask? Because she’s the color of honey. I wasn’t really creative with names. She was injured, and they were going to put her down because the cost was too high.”

“And you saved her?”

---