Chapter Thirteen
The Woods
Heading To Poe’s
Wednesday
Early Evening
T he silence of the woods was unnerving, and Gamble was on full alert, making sure he listened to every single sound around him. His bottom line was making it back to Poe, so he didn’t leave him alone.
He couldn’t do that.
He had to survive, or Gamble wouldn’t be okay ever again.
For now, though, the hike back to the house had been a slow one. Granted, Gamble had covered a great deal of ground as he moved quickly and quietly.
He wasn’t sure where the mercenaries would be hiding, and that meant choosing each step carefully.
One mistake, and he’d be in some serious shit, which would mean he couldn’t get back to Poe.
His Poe.
Undeniably, Gamble was crazy about him, and needed to ensure they kept down this path, wherever it was going.
Gamble owed Poe everything. The man had fixed him, and beyond that, the man who gave him his life back was counting on him to get back to that cave.
And he would.
He could bet on it.
The first stop on his trek back was to see if the horses were safe in the orchard. He’d sent Diablo there after taking him into the woods, and that horse meant a lot to him.
If those assholes hurt the horses, or Rufus, Gamble was going to do some shit to pay them back.
An eye for an eye was his motto, and if one hair on those two gifts from Poe were injured…
It.
Was.
On.
Now, he only hoped that they were in the orchard, living their best horse lives.
If they were in there, he was going to make sure the gate was closed.
There were worst places they could be.
They could snack on apples a day or two, and they’d be fine until he and Poe could get some help.
Again, silently, he swore to everything that was holy and unholy in this world, if these assholes hurt the horses…
They were dead.
Gamble protected what was his, and the animals were his and Poe’s. There wasn’t much he was protective about in his life, but those three were the top of his list.
As he finally reached the orchard, he lay in wait to make sure everything was good.
He could see Honey, Diablo, and King. Snow wasn’t there, and he would make sure he set her free once he got to the barn.
She was probably lonely without the other three.
The good news was that the three there were safe. That lifted a lot off of his shoulders. Poe loved these horses, and so did he. They saved him when he was broken, and now, he’d make sure they were safe too.
Animals were loyal, and he’d repay them for that.
Scanning the orchard, the coast seemed clear. As far as he could tell, there wasn’t anyone there with them. The three horses were stealing apples from the one tree like pigs in shit.
Oh, they were living their best lives.
No one was starving here, that was for damn sure. Before he left here, he’d grab the saddle bag off of Honey. She was still in her gear.
It looked like they were having fish and apples for dinner.
As for the three horses, they should live it up while they could.
Poe never let them in here for long because they were greedy when it came to snacks. Diablo was an apple whore, and they all knew it.
When this was over, they’d need plenty of exercise to burn off the apples they were munching.
Finally, he could breathe a sigh of relief.
Only, that was a big mistake.
Gamble had been a little too loud with the sigh. As he was crouched there in the weeds, hiding, that’s when he knew he’d been made.
Diablo lifted his head, and looked around, sniffing the air for him.
Then, he stared right at where he was tucked away in the dense brush behind the fence.
Uh-oh.
Shit.
Knowing he was there, his horse, the one Poe gave him, headed his way. When he shoved his head into the weeds, Gamble stroked his ears.
“Hey, buddy,” he whispered, keeping his voice down. “I missed you too,” he said, as his horse nudged him. “Are you guys good?” he asked.
The other two horses meandered his way, and they greeted him the same way.
He kissed all of them on the foreheads and scratched them behind their ears.
“Don’t worry about us,” he reassured the beautiful creatures. “We’re good,” he whispered. “I just have to figure out what’s going on. Where’s rufus?” he asked, like they could actually answer.
Spoiler.
They couldn’t.
Truth be told, Gamble had hoped that the dog would find his way to the horses, since he loved annoying them so much.
But he was nowhere to be found.
That worried him, and made him feel uneasy. Where the fuck was his dog?
Before he could say anything else, Gamble heard a gunshot, and he stayed low.
“Go on, guys. Go eat some apples,” he said, and the horses headed back toward the trees, listening to him. Diablo herded them away from him, as if he knew what he was trying to do.
HIDE.
Like the trained Marine he was, it was time for a game of hide-and-seek.
Only, it wouldn’t end the way the mercenaries hoped.
Sitting back, Gamble disappeared in the weeds, and he watched the orchard and his horses.
Oh, someone was definitely heading this way.
No.
Freaking.
Doubt.
As he was tucked away, one of the mercenaries headed that way, and he was locked and loaded with a gun.
And on the phone.
This might be Gamble’s time to get some intel if he could stay hidden.
So, he listened.
“No, I’m checking on them. Tell Von that the horses are still here. They must have dropped the trail, and booked it out of here. I’m well aware that we have to find him.”
He listened.
“No, if I see the Doctor, I won’t kill him. The other guy is useless to us.”
Gamble was confused.
What was this?
He was useless but Poe wasn’t?
If mercenaries were here, why was he useless? Wasn’t this about him?”
Oh, fuck.
Had he assumed wrong, and now, he’d left Poe alone in the cave unguarded?
This.
Was.
Bad.
He prayed the man kept talking so he could get more information out of him.
“Don’t worry. Tell him that when we get him, we’ll kill the other guy, and I’ll bring the doctor to the house. He’s going to have to make that code appear, or he’s dead too. His brother had to have given it to him. Trent and Willy checked in ninety minutes ago, on their way to Tommy Lewiston’s house. They said they weren’t finding it there, and they re-searched the place.”
Gamble was hella curious.
The code?
What the hell kind of code could Poe have that they’d want?
That was befuddling.
For three months, the man had been with him, nonstop. He’d not gotten any weird calls, just one call from his father, and nothing more. He’d not seen him even on any of his tech. He was a paper and pen kind of a guy with actual files.
Now, Gamble wanted to know more.
Only, the worst thing happened.
The man moved close to where he was hidden, and Diablo moved toward Gamble to protect him. Only, he was going to out him.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
When the man was standing right there, Diablo moved close to him.
This idiot didn’t know how much danger he was in, not only from Diablo, but him.
“Hey, horsey,” he said, after hanging up. “You’re pretty. Luckily, you’re innocent in this, or I’d have to shoot you in the head.”
Diablo didn’t like him.
That was clear.
Oh, and when Diablo didn’t like something, he made that perfectly evident.
And not in a good way.
He moved closer, and placed himself in front of Gamble in the weeds to offer him some protection.
The man must not have liked it.
When the asshole slapped Gamble’s horse on the hind quarter, Diablo kicked back, taking the man down.
OOF.
When he got up, holding his stomach, he pulled that gun and pointed it at him.
“You’re fucked,” he said, ready to shoot him.
Yeah, only that wasn’t happening.
That’s when Gamble moved, protecting his animal. He reached out, grabbed the gun, and disarmed the surprised man.
The look on his face was priceless.
Oh, he went hard.
He kicked the shit out of him, and used the gun to hit him in the face.
He.
Went.
Out.
Patting him down, he pulled out his license, and grabbed his phone.
There was reception here, but most of the acres didn’t have it, so if he was going to dial a Hunter, he had to do it here.
Shit.
Now, he just had to remember a phone number.
There was only one, the easiest one to remember, so he did his thing.
He might have a fighting chance to get help. Not wanting to talk, and make any more noise, he pulled up the text messages.
And composed one as quickly as possible.
‘Zayn, it’s Gamble. We’ve been invaded at Doctor Poe Seville’s home. Mercenaries are looking for a code. It has something to do with Poe and his brother Hemmingway. We’re tucked into a rock formation on your ancestor’s Native land. I have Poe with me, and we’re safe. Send help. Poe’s house has a shit ton of mercenaries all over it. We’re fucked.’
He hit send, and it went on its merry way. Hopefully, he’d get it because Gamble was beginning to get that feeling that they were going to have one hell of a problem.
Staring at the phone, he was worried.
Why?
Unfortunately, it didn’t say delivered, and that meant he wasn’t one hundred percent sure that Zayn would get it.
Oh, he would.
IF his phone was on, and he knew Mr. Paranoid didn’t walk around with it on in his pocket. He didn’t like the government trying to fry his testicles with the gamma rays, or some nonsense like that.
Only, now, Gamble had to get moving. If he couldn’t rely on The Hunters to save him and Poe, he had to do it himself.
So that no one could see the text he’d sent, Gamble smashed the phone, not willing to be tracked with it.
Yeah, he wasn’t taking any chances.
Call him paranoid, but that was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.
Then, he shoved it back into the man’s pocket, and dragged him away. Not far past the trees in Poe’s orchard, there was flowing water. It moved toward the Native land, and by the time this piece of shit surfaced, they’d hopefully be long gone.
OR it would get the police to the land, and either way, that worked for him.
Rolling his body down the embankment, he watched as he rolled into the water and began floating away.
Well, that was one asshole down.
Heading over to Honey, he took her pack, and grabbed a good deal of apples, kissing the horses as he stood among them.
Never let it be said that animals weren’t smart. They were blocking him intentionally.
God.
He loved them so much.
“I’m good, guys,” he reassured. “Poe and I will be back. Just stay safe, okay?” he asked. “And Diablo, don’t get yourself shot!”
With a few more scratches, and some apples he fed them, it was time to move.
Gamble needed to find Rufus, and learn more about what was going on here. Supplies were nice, but intel was better. Then, he’d know what he was up against.
Correction.
What Poe was up against.
Moving toward the barn, he knew there was some provisions in there.
Blankets.
Rope.
Warmer jackets.
It was getting cooler out at night, and Poe had to be chilly. What he wanted was to get what he could, so his man would be as comfortable as possible. They might have to hike out in the middle of the night when these assholes were asleep.
He found another knife.
Some candles.
And a tin of tea.
Clearly, Poe had tea out here, so he shoved it into his sack. That’s when he heard something.
It was disturbing too.
It was Rufus.
His dog was crying and whimpering.
Putting down the bag, he crept to the opening of the barn and peeked out to see what was going on.
The mercenaries had his dog tied to the fence, and they were throwing big rocks at him, stoning him.
What the fuck?
Were they hurting his dog?
That rage came over him.
Rufus had tangled himself up to the post, and he could barely move as they tortured him.
Oh.
Fuck.
No.
They weren’t hurting his dog and thinking that would go unanswered.
What pissed him off more was that it looked like they’d successfully broken his one back leg too.
Now, Gamble tasted that rage.
“I’m bored,” the British guy said. “Let’s just dump some gasoline on it, and let it burn,” he said, flicking a cigarette at Rufus, who was fighting for his life.
He had to be so scared and hurt.
The other man shrugged.
“Von said we sit here until we find the doctor. The dude won’t be out there long. He looks gay as fuck, and won’t survive a night in the woods. As for the dog, let it suffer. I like listening to it scream when we hurt it.”
The other man laughed.
“Faggot.”
Gamble was getting more and more angry. He wasn’t putting up with that.
Poe was his.
Rufus was his.
Period.
The one man kept taking.
“Well, gay or not, Von is bringing in backup to help us tonight. We just have to hold on. If he has that crypto code that his brother stole from Von, he’s going to give it up.”
Gamble watched as they threw another rock at Rufus, and he yelped in pain as they kept hitting his broken leg.
The last thing he wanted to see was his dog lit on fire and burned alive.
That shit wasn’t happening.
These assholes?
They.
Were.
Dead.
You didn’t steal a man’s wife, you didn’t touch a dude’s truck, and you didn’t hurt his dog.
That was a code here, and these pieces of shit were about to die for it.
On top of that, they’d talked shit about his Poe. No one was calling him vile names and degrading him. That wasn’t happening anytime soon.
Yeah, he was done fucking around.
Backing into the stable, he set Snow free, and whispered in her ear.
“Go get some apples,” he said, slapping her on the ass so she charged out of there like a bat out of hell.
Oh, and she did.
Snow did exactly what he wanted, heading right for the men torturing his dog. As soon as they saw her heading their way, they did the first smart thing in their lives.
They scattered, and when they did, Gamble hid in the shadows with a shovel in his hand.
He knew they’d head his way.
Well, welcome to the jungle, boys. He had some fun and games planned.
It was time to pay them back for what they said, and what they did to his dog.
“What the fuck?” the one said, nearly being run over by the horse.
They stared at the barn.
“How did that horse get out?” he asked, moving toward it. “It was locked in the stall. I checked on it before.”
The other man brushed himself off.
Personally, he didn’t care. They were just going to shoot it in the head later out of boredom.
“Maybe it kicked open the gate,” the other said. “Go check.”
The three men looked at each other, and from where Gamble was tucked, he could see them through a crack in the barn wall.
This might be the first time these pieces of shit did anything logical, and Gamble knew it.
“I’m not going in there, Mate, you go,” the one said. “That horse doesn’t have thumbs. It didn’t open the gate on its own.”
Oh, Gamble wanted him to come in there in the worst way for suggesting they burn his dog alive and for what they called Poe.
“Go,” the bigger dude said, shoving the smaller guy. “You have a fucking gun. Handle it. What could be in there? A ghost?”
Yes, actually.
A Marine Mercenary ghost.
It was time to end some lives.
Because they were busting his ass, the man pulled his gun, and he headed into the barn.
It was clear common sense wasn’t big with these dudes.
When he flicked the light switch, that would normally illuminate the place, he was shocked to see that it didn’t go on.
Yeah, Gamble hit the breaker already. They were doing this in the dark. That’s how good Marines liked to work.
Lights.
Out.
The skinny mercenary looked worried, and it was when he was moving into the dark stall, that he didn’t see Gamble not far away. With a swing, he landed that shovel right against his neck, using it to decapitate the man.
It was a good shot if Gamble said so himself.
His head was severed from his body, and he grabbed his handgun to tuck it into his pocket.
Then, he dragged the dead body into the shadows, sat him against the wall, and put his head in his lap.
That was one.
Going back to the crack in the barn wall, Gamble kept listening. He knew the house was full of trouble, and he didn’t need them out there with him.
So, he was going to be very quiet taking care of the last two assholes.
Outside of the barn, the men weren’t talking now, so he moved to a different location, and climbed up into the rafters, not even making a single sound.
Thank God that he was feeling back to his normal self, or he and Poe would have been screwed. With this many mercenaries, he wouldn’t have had a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting away.
As he laid in the rafters, above the barn walkway, he saw the next one coming in to see what happened to the last one.
“What do you see, Anderson?” the British guy outside called out to the new dude.
Yeah, what did you see, Anderson?
Gamble was betting it wasn’t him. To be honest, Gamble had a high body count in his time as a Marine, and just as high of one as a mercenary.
Someone was checking out.
Soon.
Because now, this was about to be the last thing he saw for hurting his dog.
Bet.
On.
It.
Now, it was about keeping this absolutely silent so the men in the house didn’t come running.
Then again, he needed to get them some food other than apples for when they headed out tonight in the middle of the night.
“Nothing, Dan,” the other Mercenary admitted. “Maybe it’s the ghost of that Duke and Dutchess you killed for Von,” he said. “Maybe we’re being haunted for killing them?”
Oh, Jesus.
The second Gamble heard that, his heart skipped a beat in his chest.
Poe’s parents were dead back in England?
That asshole out there killed them?
FUCK.
Well, then, Dan had to die, and this Von guy would be second on the list. For Poe, he’d get them justice—one way or another.
“Listen, I didn’t want to do it. I liked Hemmingway. I feel all kinds of bad we had to kill him. He just wasn’t a team player. He should have known not to go up with us after stealing that code from Von Donore.”
Uh-oh.
It was getting worse.
Gamble was hearing it all. The man outside had killed Poe’s brother too. The crash wasn’t a crash. It was to cover a bunch of dirty soldiers working for…who the fuck was Von Donore?
That name…it sounded familiar.
What he knew now was that these assholes weren’t fucking around, and that this wasn’t about him. This was going to be all about Poe, and that meant he was going to have to tell him if what they said was true.
He’d have to interrogate the last one to make sure before telling Poe anything.
It looked like Dan was going to be having a ‘come to Jesus talk’ with him.
Also, that meant he likely wasn’t getting into the house. He’d have to get the people inside to come out, and he couldn’t save Rufus then.
If he could only choose one, his dog wasn’t dying by torture.
He and Poe would have to survive on fish that he caught and the apples from the orchard.
Rufus was his because Poe gave him two things, and both were precious to him. Gamble only wished that he could sneak Diablo out of there.
“I don’t like this, Dan. I have a bad feeling about this,” he stated.
Oh, well, Anderson was spot on. He was about to have no feelings in about ten seconds.
It was time.
When the man was right under him, he dropped down, using his arms to support himself from the beams, and wrapped his legs around the man’s neck. When he was in a leg lock, his thighs around his head, Gamble pulled himself up, strangling him.
Oh, and it wasn’t easy.
He was just getting better, but he had to keep hanging on so the man would pass out.
Just as he was about to fall himself, the man’s gun fell out of his hand, and he was going out.
Out wasn’t good enough.
These assholes killed his man’s family, and they’d tortured his dog.
Using what strength he had left, with a jerk of his hips, turning them sideways, he snapped the man’s neck.
That was the ONLY sound in the barn, other than Gamble’s breathing.
The asshole went limp.
Dropping him, Gamble lowered himself down to the floor, and he grabbed that man’s gun too.
Now, he had three.
Because he wasn’t sure ‘Dan’ would stay outside, or come into the barn, he dragged the newly dead asshole into the same stall where he’d left the first piece of shit animal abuser.
And killed.
It wasn’t long before the man outside got worried.
“Anderson?” the man called. “Come on, Mate, this isn’t funny,” he said. “I don’t believe in ghosts, and you’re fucking with me.”
Oh, well, he should believe in ghosts.
Marine ones.
Every Marine had their specialty. Like Maura was a math strategist, Jagger was good at hand-to-hand in close quarters, Zayn was the gun guy, and the Snakes were the Snakes, he was invisible.
This was his thing.
Oh, the asshole outside who wanted to watch his dog burn was about to encounter the scariest ghost of them all.
Poe’s protector.
When he heard the man coming his way, he was opening all the stalls and peeking into them, trying to find his friends.
That meant Gamble had one shot at this.
Tucking himself into the corner, he saw the gate open, and he knew exactly when the man saw his two friends.
He gasped.
Gamble moved, grabbed his gun, and elbowed him in the face. He placed his gun against his temple to keep him silent.
“You’re abusing my dog,” he whispered. “I hate people who hurt animals.”
The man whimpered.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I’m your worst nightmare, Dan,” he said. “I’m a fucking Marine, and you pieces of shit tried to hurt my boyfriend. I take umbrage to shit mercenaries calling him ‘faggot’ . For that alone, I’d kill you, but fuck with my goddamn dog too, and now, you’ve made me angry.”
The man didn’t move, but Gamble wanted to make sure the guy knew he wasn’t kidding.
With a simple movement, he broke his arm, and slapped his hand over the man’s mouth to muffle his cries of pain.
When he stopped wailing, he whispered in his ear.
“Did you kill the Duke and Dutchess of Gordon?” he asked, whispering as he put his finger on the trigger of the gun.
Oh, he wouldn’t fire it so as not to bring backup to help this piece of shit, but Dan didn’t know that.
He nodded.
“Did you work with Hemmingway?” he asked.
The man nodded again, his arm screaming in pain.
“Who were you to him?”
He slowly moved his hand, just enough to hear him.
“I was his co-pilot.”
Well, fuck.
Poe was going to be crushed when he heard all of this, and Gamble was going to have to be the one to tell him.
“Why?”
The man answered.
“Von told us to find the crypto code. Hemmingway stole it from him so he couldn’t use the money to fund Taliban militia that was attacking American Marine bases. Hemmingway wanted to be a fucking hero, and he stopped Von from getting it. Now, he wants his money. We’ve been searching for it for three years. Von made us kill Hemmingway, and made it look like insurgent fire. Then, he made us go to the Duke’s estate. We killed everyone there, and left them in the house. No one knows.”
Oh, this was bad.
Gamble kept asking questions.
“Who is Von?”
The man laughed.
“Your worst nightmare. He runs The BlackStone Group . He’s going to find you and take you apart. Your best bet is to turn over the doctor to him, and maybe you’ll live.”
Fuck.
No.
He was never betraying Poe. He’d die for him. The man saved him, and now, he’d save Poe right back.
No.
Matter.
What.
“So Hemmingway didn’t steal the money for himself?” he asked, wanting to make sure.
The guy shook his head.
“Hemmingway was annoyingly decent. It’s hard to bribe a rich guy who has more money than he knows what to do with. He wouldn’t break the rules, and he was always trying to be a fucking hero. He just fucked over the worst bad guy there is.”
Gamble needed more.
Why?
He was going to make sure Von Donore paid for what he’d done to his Poe.
“Tell me about the money.”
As he was being held against his will, the man was buying time. He had to check in in a few minutes, and when he didn’t, backup would come out.
This Marine was fucked.
So he didn’t mind talking.
It wasn’t like he was getting away.
“The US funded it to keep the area stabilized. Only, BlackStone needed it unstable to make money as privatized soldiers. The war ending wasn’t profitable. The government was paying out big money to back up soldiers.”
Oh, that asshole.
Marines died in the Sandbox, and here, a business that was supposed to offer backup, was stirring the pot to get rich.
Gamble was horrified, more so since he knew plenty about that business.
The BlackStone Group was a military contractor who hired criminals and used them to police the war-torn regions. Most of the time, they did it for nefarious reasons.
These men were black op mercenaries, and they were fucking bad at it too. No wonder soldiers died in Afghanistan.
“Where is he?” he asked.
The man spilled what he could.
Again, he wasn’t leaving.
“He has a building in New Orleans . No one knows it’s there,” he said. “His home base is here. That’s why we’re here,” he stated. “And to get that code.”
He needed to know.
“How many people have you pieces of shit killed?” he asked.
“Five so far. We killed Hemmingway in a crash. We set it up to make it look like we were taking fire from insurgents, and he went down in it to save all of us. He was dead before we jumped.”
Holy shit.
“ BlackStone called out the hit on him?”
He nodded.
“Von Donore made the call when his code went missing. Hemmingway told us to fuck off, and he was the only one who wasn’t working for Von, so we had no choice. We threatened to kill him to get it back for Von, and he still wouldn’t play ball. We broke his neck, so it looked like he snapped it going down. We thought maybe he gave it to someone in the group, or he lied. We’ve been trying to find it for years. Finally, we found out about his brother, the doctor.”
Oh, this was bad.
They had a mercenary on their ass.
A company of them.
In that moment, Gamble knew one thing. He had to get out of here and back to Poe. He was the one in danger. They were definitely going to have to haul ass to civilization in the middle of the night.
There was no choice.
“Thank you for the intel. Oh, and fuck you,” he said, snapping his neck, and dropping him into the stall with his friends. Then, he grabbed his pack, and went outside. It was going to be a long hike back with Rufus. He only hoped the dog would stay quiet.
The second Rufus saw him heading his way, his tail started going, thumping on the ground. He had to be in pain, but he still had hope.
That was the story of Gamble’s life when Poe found and fixed him.
He checked out his leg, and he whimpered.
“Come on, boy,” he said, untying him.
The poor dog was a mess. He had a broken leg from heavy rocks being dropped on him, and cigarette burns all over him. Oh, he wanted to beat those fuckers into puddles of mush for doing this to his dog.
And he would.
You didn’t fuck with a man’s dog.
“I’ll carry you, Rufus,” he said, keeping his voice low. “But I need you to stay quiet for me,” he whispered, picking up the dog carefully.
That’s when the worst thing happened.
He heard a radio not far away come to life.
“Dan, this is Franklin. Time to check in. Is everything good out there?” he asked.
Oh, shit.
They had scheduled check-ins.
That meant one thing.
He had to go.
Carrying Rufus, he managed to get into the field, and stayed along the shadows along the fence. The grass was taller there, and he hoped there were no snakes hanging out.
He didn’t need to get bit.
Then, he’d never make it back to Poe, and what he knew…it would die with him.
When he heard multiple shouts from back near the barn, Gamble kept moving, slipping back into the trees where he’d have a chance.
They’d be okay if Rufus remained silent.
Gamble knew he needed to make this trek faster than the last time, and he hoped he didn’t miss a tree with a marking on it.
If he did, he was lost in the dark.
Shortly, they’d be coming for him. Gamble knew they’d assume he came out of the trees, and they’d recanvas the area.
This was a hot mess.
Well, at least he got his dog safe, and he knew what they were up against.
It wasn’t good by any means, but knowing was half the problem, and if he’d learned anything as a Marine, it was that never count out someone who was desperate to survive.
Like.
Him.
Only, now, he had a whole other problem that had to be handled before he could focus on the rest.
He had to tell Poe that his brother was murdered, his parents were dead, and The BlackStone Group was the ones after him.
Oh, and that they were worst bunch of killer assholes.
Later tonight, they were going to have to move out, find a car, and get back to NOLA and The Hunters. That would be the ONLY place Poe would be safe with Von Donore hunting him.
Gamble had to pray that his text went through.
Because he wasn’t going to be able to fight for long alone.
Or if at all.