Page 68 of Love Gamble

Damon

I wake up the next morning alone in bed and feeling like absolute shit. Corey didn’t want to stay the night with me, which is understandable. I didn’t get any sleep, and just stayed up the whole night questioning my life choices.

When my phone rings around six AM, I know something must be up. “Yeah?”

“Look out front.”

I jump out of bed and open my blinds. “Fuck. I’ll be out in a second.”

Outside our closed gates is Gio.

On foot, which is weird as hell.

After getting ready quickly, I head outside. Romeo is standing there with Jag and Jeremiah. We all stand back while Romeo walks up to talk to him.

Jag is looking at his phone, where he can check the security footage of our whole property. He’s making sure that no one else is around, and that this isn’t some kind of planned attack.

“Nothing?” I ask.

“Nope, looks like it’s just him. He parked his bike down the road and walked up.”

Gio and our Romeo have a quick chat, and then our president returns to us.

“What did he say?” I ask, looking over his shoulder to watch Gio retreat.

“He wants Tatum back, unharmed. He knew we had him,” he says, a smirk playing on his lips. “He said they’re just here because Tatum wanted to get revenge on the man who murdered his father.”

He seems pretty confident that River killed Robert. And although River has never spoken about it, I kind of agree with him. But Bella told me there is no evidence to tie River to anything, and if there was, he’d already be behind bars.

You have to kind of feel bad for the guy. He knows River did it but can’t prove anything. And maybe because his father abandoned him, he feels even more like he has to prove himself. Another example of how much of a hold parents have on their children, even when they are grown adults.

“What did you tell him?” Jeremiah asks, while Jag still has his eyes on his phone.

“I told him they can leave first, and then we will let Tatum go,” Romeo explains, but his smug expression makes me think his plan goes a little further than that. “He said they’d be out by tomorrow. But if Tatum isn’t healthy and alive, he’s going to come back and start a war.”

I guess the perk about them accusing River of killing Robert is that they know he’s not one to mess around with.

And they should be scared.

River is unpredictable and has no qualms hurting people. And he’s clearly good at hiding the evidence. I was wondering if he’d be unable to treat Tatum like he would any other enemy, because of his family ties to Corey, but I suppose River is protecting her by handling him. And like she says, Tatum isn’t her family. He is nothing to them, and his actions here have proved that.

“What’s going to stop them coming back as soon as they have him?” I ask.

“River is working on it,” he replies, and I’m guessing he’s trying to get some information we can use against them, something that will make them never want to return. “I’ll let you all know when we do.”

“They wanted him unharmed?”

Romeo laughs. “Yeah, I told Gio that Tatum would be alive, but I don’t know about unharmed. He looked very upset about that fact.”

Which is a little odd.

Everyone knows you should use your poker face in these situations, but I guess Tatum must be a very close friend to him. Or are they family? That might be something to look into.

Romeo keeps everyone in lockdown, so I head back to my bedroom and check my phone, hoping to see a text from Corey. Instead, there’s one from someone I’d like to never see again.

Melinda: I’ve made an appointment for next month.

Damon: Okay, send me the details and I’ll be there.

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