Page 285 of Assassin

“You gotta stop messing with him,” Rogue said. “He’s going to need therapy. Holograms can’t pat you on the ass, but little guys can.”

Oops.

They found him out.

If you couldn’t fuck with your family, who could you mess with?

And that’s what they were.

FAMILY.

To the end.

Epilogue

One P.M.

Poe Seville’s Home

Friday

Truthfully, it had been a tense couple of hours, but he was trusting in the fact that Gamble was not going to let him down. He was good at reading a situation, and he was betting the man would fight.

And he’d been right.

When he’d heard Diablo return to the shed, he peeked out the window and saw he wasn’t alone. There was a broken soldier on his back, riding him home.

That told him one thing.

That meant the man wanted to live.

In preparation for his return, Poe had made lunch, and he’d set the table in the kitchen for two. They were having burgers, and homemade fries.

When he heard the door open, he turned.

“Hey,” Gamble said.

Poe pretended nothing happened. If that was what Gamble wanted, so be it.

Only, the man caught him off guard.

“I want to get better,” he said. “I want to feel again, and find my way. I want to be able to see what you see in me.”

Poe pointed at the table.

“Then, let’s have some lunch.”

Only, before he could sit down, or move toward the table, Gamble was on him.

Oh, and not in a sexual way.

He hugged him and clung to the man like his life depended on it.

Because it did.

“It’s okay, Gamble,” he said.

The man put his lips by his ear like he’d done to him out in the field.

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