Chapter Three #4
She giggled and lowered her voice.
“I was hoping you were calling because there was a mystery.”
In the background, Graham heard his best friend gasp at what she said. Clearly, the inspector didn’t want to inspect outside of his day job.
“GAbrIELLA!”
She giggled even more at the exasperation in his voice.
“Shame on me. I’m bored. I just wrapped working with Elizabeth, and there’s nothing to do. I contemplated breaking into some top-secret files to see what I could find, but…”
Again, another gasp.
And her name.
“GABBY!”
Graham was amused for Gabby. Since Finn was his best friend, he knew the LAST thing he wanted was his woman doing ANYTHING ghost-related.
“What?” she asked. “Like I said, I’m bored.”
Finn…
Not so much.
Likely because his hacker wife may, or may not, be kidding about getting into trouble while she was bored. It was clear he didn’t know.
“Keep it up, Lass, and you’ll find ye self over my knee!” Finn warned.
Well, it seemed they all had the same plans for the evening, now didn’t they?
Different man.
Different knee.
“I called because we’re taking a trip into town tomorrow. Are you up for some breakfast and shopping?” he asked. “I know Finn likely has to work.”
Oh, hell, yeah!
Was she up for some company?
Absolutely.
Gabby really was bored out of her mind while Finn was at work all day.
“I’m in. I need a pretty dress for the wedding. I’m assuming Gryphen and Ian are still getting married in a few weeks.”
That they were.
Well, as far as he knew.
“I haven’t heard otherwise,” he stated. “We’ll have company,” Graham admitted.
Now, color her curious.
“Who?” she asked.
This was where it got delicate.
“If I tell you, you have to swear to God you won’t say a word.”
She was puzzled.
“What is this about, Laddie?” Finn asked, hearing that last part. “Is it one of my sisters up for some mischief?” he asked.
Not quite.
“Promise,” he said to Gabby.
And she did.
“I solemnly swear to uphold the…oh, wait. That’s the wrong swear. Of course, I’ll say nothing, Graham. What’s going on?”
He told her.
“Elizabeth is here.”
That sat there.
And Gabby knew it had to be bad.
“Alone?” she asked.
Yeah, very much alone.
“Her last case imploded in her personal life, and she needed a little break, so she’s hiding out here. NO ONE knows she’s here. We need to keep it that way. At some point, Gene is going to be reaching out to tell you, so…”
Gabby said nothing.
“You still there, Lass?” he asked.
She was honest.
“It was bad,” she said. “Like I said, I helped with the hacking, and this nut was brutal. I’m not shocked she’s there. This hit her hard. I just want my friend to be okay, so I won’t say a word if the misters call.”
Perfect.
Graham knew they could trust Gabby and Finn.
“So, if they try to get you to do your hackity hack shit, you can’t find her.”
She laughed.
“You can’t hack a person. I’m betting she’s got all her tech off for a reason. If she’s not wearing MATE, she’s off the grid. They won’t be able to find her. Elizabeth is good at hide-and-seek.”
They could see that, as of yet, no one had called trying to find her.
“She needs a little cheering up, and when I think of cheering, I think of you, Gabs. You in?”
Was she in?
Hell.
Yes.
“Of course,” she admitted. “What could possibly happen with me and Elizabeth running amuck in a small Scottish village unsupervised?”
Graham laughed.
“So, we’ll meet you at the café?” he asked.
Finn sighed and stopped that right there, and for a very good reason.
“Why do I feel like I need to police this? Already, my lass is planning felonious things. No one needs trouble, especially after the few months we’ve had with that castle.”
Well, about that.
He wanted to give them a heads-up, so they were all on the same page going forward.
“We do have an issue.”
That had their attention. It was more about the way he said it than anything. Issue was a very blanket term, but in their case, it tended to be castle-related.
“What?” Finn asked. “It’s been quiet. I was hoping it would stay that way.”
Yeah, well, it wasn’t.
“We had some things go wonky here at the castle. We’ll explain tomorrow. For now, let's just put that on the back burner. Elizabeth needs some cheering up.”
Well, if that’s what they wanted. It was weird that he wouldn’t just tell them.
Still, they got it.
“Off to shag the man?” Finn asked.
Graham snorted.
“I mean, that’s my daily goal, a few times a day. You should have the same one. If you don’t…”
Because she loved tormenting her husband, Gabby actually giggled.
“Yeah, he really should.”
Finn protested.
“Some of us have to work,” he said. “And I don’t mean spooking the goats is an actual job. One of the four of us has to clock in to our boss.”
Yeah, well, Graham knew that he had the cushiest job, but that wasn’t his fault now, was it?
He got lucky after living through seven years of actual Hell on Earth. The next fifty were his reward for surviving it. That’s what he told himself.
He worked for the best employers in the world, and he and his husband had a castle. When they had to host functions and work non-stop, Finn wouldn’t be saying shit, now would he be? Their days of work were coming.
“Keep that in mind when I’m asking your lass to help entertain here at the castle when it opens for business,” he stated, busting his ass.
Like that would bother him?
Seriously?
It wouldn’t.
In Finn’s world, if it kept his wife busy, that was for the best. He didn’t doubt that if she was left to her own devices and bored, she would hack something.
Or fall neck deep into trouble.
That was the last thing he needed as the Polis. As long as she stayed out of trouble, he didn’t need to know what she was doing.
Once she crossed a line...
He was a freaking investigator for the polis, after all, and his boss would NOT be amused.
“If you think I don’t want to host the Halloween murder mysteries at the castle, you’re out of your mind.”
Finn paused.
“Nope. I’m not asking questions. It’s best I play dumb,” he admitted, laughing.
Well, that said it all.
“See you in the morning at the café,” Graham said. “Remember, Elizabeth who?”
Oh, they got it.
Before anyone could say anything, he hung up so they could wrap up their calls.
He had another mission.
It was Operation Get Tied to the Bed.
Upstairs, he headed to their guest room, and he was curious. A part of him needed to check on their guest, just to make sure she was okay. After what Gabby said…
Yeah, he wanted nothing more than to help Elizabeth find not only herself, but peace.
Opening the door, slightly, he peeked into the Master’s Suite and found Elizabeth sleeping.
She was out cold.
Quietly, he closed the door and went to their room.
When his man came in, he was checking all the cameras, making sure they were all on.
“Security is on, and all the doors are locked. I put the lock on the crypt gate, and I DON’T LIKE how it feels down there. It’s too cold.”
Graham had been in this castle through it all, and he knew what he was talking about.
“Like the hauntings are about to kick up again?” he asked. “That kind of cold? Because it’s chilly out tonight, so maybe that is part of it.”
Unfortunately, Michael didn’t think it was the weather outside that was making it cold inside.
It felt…
Ominous.
“I don’t know what it was, but something started it back up. It’s been silent here. I thought we were in the clear,” Michael admitted. “I don’t think we actually are. You might get your wish on more mystery.”
Yeah, honestly, he didn’t think they were either. It felt heavy in the castle again, and that reminded him of the vibe there BEFORE Ian and Gryphen arrived.
Maybe this mystery still wasn’t done, but instead, it had been waiting for the next part of it.
If they were all feeling it, and shit was falling off walls again, that said it all.
They needed to brace for it.
“She’s not going to like that,” Graham admitted. “You said Elizabeth is particularly uncomfortable with the woo-woo. Your words. We might be taking another trip down Woo-woo Lane.”
Yeah, he was aware.
“Let’s just hope it stays to a minimum. She has a low tolerance for bullshit like this, and we don’t need her ghosting out herself.”
Well, fingers were crossed.
“Let me text Gene, and we’ll go back to our regularly scheduled humping,” Michael joked.
With him being the humper.
At his words, Graham grinned wickedly.
“I’m ready when you are, D’Artangnan,” he offered, getting giddy thinking about it. His man was sexy, and there would never be a time where he wasn’t in the mood to have sex with him.
He wasn’t batty.
As Michael texted the man, he hoped that Gene was the only one who was going to see the message.
It was afternoon in the States, and he had to assume that Gene would get this.
Hopefully.
‘She landed and is situated. We’re good.
I’ll update later. We had a situation with the ghosts.
For now, it’s under control. She’s heartbroken over what happened with Ethan more than anything.
The case bothered her, but whatever went down with him was far more damaging.
Tell him that she loves him. Other than that, she’s safe.
We’re going shopping in the morning. We’ll check in tomorrow evening, our time. ’
With that, he tucked his phone away, knowing that Gene would text when he could.
If he could.
Then, he grinned at his man.
Despite all of the crazy going on there, and the situation with Elizabeth, he couldn’t be a good boy all of the time. In fact, it was time to be very, very bad.
And he was taking Graham with him on that journey.
“Someone’s wearing too many things, Graham, change that for me,” he said bossily.
And Graham knew it was going to be a wild night.
Oh, if he only knew the half of it.
He had no idea.