Page 124 of Adored

“My brother is going to need you. Tell him I’m sorry that we all left him behind. Had I known that my actions would get my parents killed, and put him in danger, I wouldn’t have done it. I would have followed chain of command. Then again, he’s not going to believe we spoke. He doesn’t believe in an afterlife.”

He was aware.

“In his defense, he’s a doctor, so…”

Probably.

Only, Hemmingway had an idea.

“Tell him that Sparky met me when I passed. That might help him out.”

He had no clue who Sparky was, but he had something else he needed to know.

“Where is the crypto key, Hemmingway? I’d love to get it and get us both out of here. We can’t be safe here for much longer.”

Hemmingway sighed.

“I made such a mess, Gamble. Please know that I died for King and cross. That was the most valuable thing for me. I thought I was being safe, but I wasn’t, so I died doing something good.”

Yeah, and that didn’t tell him where the damn crypto code was.

Now did it?

“I want to get your brother out of here, and I need the crypto key. Where is it in the castle?” he asked again, almost desperately.

Gamble’s gut told him that they were screwed if they didn’t get the hell out of there.

Before he could answer, the air got very cold all-around Gamble. The man he’d been talking to turned his head, as if he was seeing something near him.

“Oh, no,” he said, talking to someone Gamble couldn’t see.

Then, Hemmingway leapt off of the tombstone without any warning, making Gamble actually jump.

“You have to go!” he said.

Gamble looked around.

“What? Why?” he asked.

“Poe’s about to be hurt. Wake up, Gamble. Wake up now!” he shouted. “There’s someone in the castle, and they’ll kill you and take Poe!”

Well, shit.

Everything changed around him, and that’s when it happened.

Gamble sat upright in bed, and he had been dreaming. When he looked around, he saw Rufus was awake, his ears perked up.

It was clear that he’d heard something downstairs. It appeared that he wasn’t too late.

Thank.

God.

Getting out of bed, it woke Poe.

“Are you okay?” he asked, sleepily as he missed the warmth of his man’s body near his.

It looked like rest time was over. Had he only had five more minutes of dreaming, he might have found the crypto key.