Page 120 of Adored

Laughter.

Only, it wasn’t close by.

It seemed to echo through the house, distorting the original location.

If that wasn’t bad enough, he also saw a shadow move from his peripheral across the big windows that overlooked the stables, and his heart started racing.

The temperature had dropped in the castle, and he felt a cool breeze.

And more laughter.

Yeah, someone was out there.

Thankfully, he was armed. Oh, illegally, but what the British police didn’t know wouldn’t get him thrown in jail for ten years.

Or more.

At the door, he turned off the security, and he moved toward the stables. Outside, Gamble looked around, and the sky above was filled with stars and the bright moon. While it was dark, he was able to see fairly well.

That’s when he saw it again.

Another shadow.

What the hell was this?

Immediately, he thought that someone had gotten into the castle, but that couldn’t possibly be. The alarm had been on until he left.

Tracking it, the shadow moved toward the stable, and once more, Diablo was going nuts.

Only, it wasn’t in a bad way, but instead, in an excited manner.

That was…odd.

That’s how Diablo sounded whenever he was around him or he came into the stable each day. Something was definitely odd here.

Moving toward the stable, he found Diablo looking over his gate, and when he saw him, he made that same exact sound.

What was this?

His horse wasn’t distressed.

He was happy.

Again, what the hell?

As he moved closer, he saw a figure standing outside the opposite side of the stable opening, and when he looked, for the first time, he was caught off guard.

It was…Poe.

What was he doing out of bed?

And how did he get past him to the stable?

Only, the more he studied the figure, the more it was crystal clear that this wasn’t Poe.

The man appeared to be translucent and in British military fatigues.

Oh, holy fuck.