Page 124 of Affair
There was no way he was a murderer.
Gamble was a good, sweet, and kind person. He loved horses, and he enjoyed a prank.
“I think that perception is misleading,” he stated. “I’ve gotten to know you, and I can tell you’re not a murderer. I’ve never felt safer with anyone, and I’ve lived in the minds of the damaged, Gamble.”
He said nothing.
“Who did you kill?” he asked.
He laughed.
Who didn’t he kill?
“You don’t have to tell me. It was just conversation,” Poe said. “If it’s private, it’s private. I am, after all, your doctor. You have doctor-patient confidentiality.”
And Gamble didn’t like that.
He didn’t want the man to hide behind that. What he wanted was for the man to be able to see the real him so that maybe, just maybe, they’d have a chance.
That he’d have a chance at life again after Storm.
“The Hunters are a group of mercenaries who work for the United States government. That’s basically Elizabeth Blackhawk. We were created to keep the port safe. You’d be surprised what has tried to cause shit here.”
He listened.
“I’ve helped them keep it safe, and that’s how I met Storm. For a while, I hated them,” he admitted. “Because they put her and I together. After being with you, I’ve realized that fate is in control—not them. I’ve also learned that I have to be accountable, and not blame them for that path I took.”
Poe let him keep talking.
They had trust between them, and that took weeks to build. He wouldn’t judge him.
He’d let him be himself.
“Elizabeth would show up, give us a job, and we’d handle it. So yes, I’ve killed people. Were any of them innocent? No. Not in the US government’s eyes.”
He stared down at the fish, and wouldn’t look at Poe.
With gentle fingers, he lifted his chin, so he had to look at him.
“You’re a hero, Gamble.”
He laughed.
“I’m not, Doctor. I’m really not,” he admitted. If the man could get a look into his head, he’d realize that wasn’t the case. What he was craving with Poe was anything but heroic.
It was raw.
It was desperation.
It was unquenched need.
The man managed to heal him, and turn his libido back on. That made him a miracle worker. It also made him the fixation of that need.
“That’s what we do. Please, keep that to yourself. We don’t tell anyone about who or what we are.”
That he’d told him, Poe knew there was a reason.
“You can trust me, Gamble.”
