Page 78 of Adored
“I’m in here,” he said softly. “They began moving toward me, and I was scared. I came in here to hide out until you found me.”
His poor man.
Gamble heard the door open. The lock was undone, and he opened it slowly.
“I can’t believe I’m hiding from the paparazzi in a bathroom. Can this day get any worse?” he asked.
Gamble hugged him.
Oh, it would if they had to face down the media. At least they weren’t trying to film in there.
For now.
“We’re getting out of here.”
Poe didn’t want to face the reporters.
“I can’t go out that way,” he said, his flesh pale, and his palms sweaty. “They’ll be all over me. They were asking questions about my parents’ deaths, and if I came back only because of that.”
He made him breathe.
Someone looked way too clammy for his own good.
If he didn’t get him some fresh air and distance between the media and himself, there was no doubt that Poe was going to pass out.
That was the last thing they needed.
“I have you,” he said, holding him as he focused on his breathing.
Poe had never had panic attacks before, but now, he was most definitely having one.
In the bathroom, Gamble looked around as he tried to come up with some plan.
That’s when he realized how they were getting away, and it might just work.
“I have a plan. Do you trust me?” he asked.
Poe nodded.
What choice did he have?
“I need you to go open the door, so they see you, and then close it fast. Lock it behind you.”
Poe was confused.
“Uh, okay. Why?”
Well, that was part of the plan, and now, Gamble was to the point.
“I need them to see that you’re still in here so we can slip away.”
Poe didn’t understand what he meant. How could they slip away in a locked room?
“Should I ask how?” Poe inquired.
Gamble pointed at the very small window up high and near the ceiling.
“We’ll get out of here, and they won’t know it for a while. That will buy us time.”
