Page 170 of Adored

Poe was curious.

“So you can fight?” he asked, not having seen him do that yet. It was all sneaking up on people.

“I can when I need to. I’ve killed plenty, Poe. I’ll keep doing it to keep the US safe, andNew Orleansprotected. That’s my duty.”

And Poe was glad he was going to do it. His duty was so much more important than his.

“Bad people?” he asked.

Gamble nodded.

“Really bad people who don’t care who they hurt—women, children, and innocents. That’s why we’re so important.”

Now, he was curious.

“So why would you walk away from that?” he asked.

Gamble stared into his eyes.

“For only one reason would I turn my back on my family and country, Poe. For you, and the love I feel for you.”

This was overwhelming him.

For the first time in his life, someone chose him, and this man loved him.

“Will I fit in?” Poe asked. “I want to fit in so we can stay with them while we’re in hiding.”

He warned him.

“The only problem, Poe…”

He waited.

“Once you stay with them, you tend not to want to leave. I can’t really just walk away. They need me, and Elizabeth runs that shit show. We’re there to do a job, so if we come back here, I could have to leave if they call for me. I have to go because they would come for me if I reached out to them.”

Oh, he understood.

He touched his hand.

“Then we stay there, and we do what needs to be done. You said you have a place near my office. We don’t ever have to come back here, Gamble. I mean, we’ve peppered the place with bodies. What kind of psycho would come back to get caught?”

He laughed.

And then raised his hand.

That amused his husband.

“I want to help too. I want to be part of your world, since mine doesn’t make me happy anymore.”

“You promised that you’d help soldiers.”

He pointed out one thing.

“And didn’t you say that soldiers came there to rehab? Isn’t that exactly what I do? Wouldn’t it just be people Elizabeth said needed help? I would be able to assimilate based solely on my job, exclusively of our marriage. I just happen to be able to do both—personally and professionally.”

Well, shit.

Poe was right.