Page 132 of Adored
What he needed was reassurance, and Gamble understood that.
“He is.”
Poe sat down, and there was such a weight off his shoulders.
“I worried after I heard he was murdered. It’s one thing to die in the military, but murder…”
He understood.
“Honestly, Baby, he didn’t say he suffered, and he wasn’t angry. He was worried about you. That was his main concern. He said your parents were around.”
Poe began laughing outrageously.
“What?” Gamble asked. “What’s funny?”
He told him.
“I was thinking about how my parents got quite the view of us in the bath,” he said, grinning. “It was spectacular.”
Oh, that it was.
Gamble could see some of the shadows gone from Poe’s eyes, and that made him happy.
Only, now, he had to get this under control before someone got hurt—mainly Poe. Von Donore would be gunning for him since he escaped.
“I need a favor,” Gamble said.
That made him pause.
“What?” he asked.
Truthfully, Gamble wasn’t one hundred percent sure how this was going to come across. He hoped not bossy.
“I need you to stick with me for the rest of today and without any exceptions. I’d handcuff you to my side if people wouldn’t talk.”
Poe laughed.
“I mean, I can get into handcuffs if you’re talking about some fun,” he joked.
Gamble lifted his chin and stared into his eyes.
“Don’t get me started. I’ll absolutely go there with you. Think about yesterday.”
Oh, he was.
Gamble reiterated.
“I mean like by my side in case someone here is helping Von Donore. Since they seem to be making their moves after dark, we should be safe at the party. You know all the people that are coming here, right?” he asked again, just to make sure their bases were covered.
He nodded.
They were family friends.
“They are other nobility, and family friends who my mother and father cherished. No one will be getting in the gate without being on a list,” he said. “I have security for the gate for later today. I was worried about the media.”
That helped.
A.
