Chapter One
The Castle Kitchen
Sunday Evening
Present Time
It was rare that a Marine was caught off guard, but this was definitely the one time in Michael’s life that he could say that he never, ever saw this little impromptu meeting coming.
In fact, it blindsided him.
Big-time.
Somehow, he didn’t think that this was a coincidence. First, he didn’t believe in them, and second, this had the fingerprints of Elizabeth all over it.
Oh, he knew when Cupid was playing games, and he was willing to bet that this was one of her little arrangements. There was no way they didn’t know what he was going to be walking into.
This was a setup.
And he was pissed.
It was rare that any of the Marines who protected Elizabeth were angry with her—with the exception of Ivan when she slipped away from protection duty—but now, he was angry.
Pissed.
Wanting to rage.
This was the last thing he needed, and the last thing he expected from his family.
Or so called family.
“What are you doing here?” Michael asked, not sure what else to say to the man. Seeing this ghost from his past was the last thing he had expected.
In fact, his heart was pounding in his ears, and he had that fight or flight instinct kicking in.
The panic was overtaking him, and now, Michael wanted to run for it.
Like.
A.
Coward.
The whole time he was standing in front of him, Graham stared like he’d seen a ghost, which was ironic because this place was haunted.
He’d just never expected this ghost. Yes, he wanted to know what happened to D’Artangnan, but he never thought he’d actually find out.
Or have him show up.
Holy.
Shit.
Somehow, he managed to find the words and get them out.
“I work here. I’m the caretaker.”
Jesus.
H.
Christ.
That confirmed what he’d been thinking. His ass had been set up by his FAMILY.
“What are you doing there?” Graham asked the exact same question.
Yeah, Michael was asking himself that at that very moment, and he wasn’t liking the answers he was coming up with.
He knew he needed to make a choice, and there was only one in his mind.
“Don’t worry. I’m not staying,” he said, finally making his mind up.
There was no fucking way he could do this. His soul was in tatters, and the second he saw Graham, he knew if he stayed, he’d rage.
This man broke him in ways he couldn’t even articulate. He’d been in pieces when his other half gave him that ultimatum, shoving him out of his life.
It all came back to him with one cold, hard truth.
Their three years together had meant nothing, and he wasn’t doing this again. In his fragile state, the last thing he was going to do was face down the one person he’d given his whole heart to all of those years ago.
He couldn’t handle it.
Without a word, Graham just watched the man he still loved go bright red.
And leave.
AGAIN.
In that moment, he wanted to be ill. It was like history was repeating itself, and he was trapped in its vicious cycle. He came, he saw, he left.
Over and over again.
And the same outcome happened.
Turning without saying another word, Michael whipped open the door, and headed out. He left that kitchen, trying to escape what he’d just experienced. So, he began, walking back around the castle to where he left the motorcycle.
It didn’t even matter that he’d left the backpack on the kitchen floor.
He just had to escape.
And fast.
Jumping the bike to life, he tore out of there, blowing down the driveway and toward the only exit. When he reached it, he used his watch to unlock it, and then hauled ass through the gates.
Michael left his past behind.
AGAIN.
As he made his escape, his heart was pounding in his chest, and he was ready to have the mother of all panic attacks.
Oh, and it was coming.
No.
Doubt.
There.
What was going on here?
What had he stumbled upon?
Who did this to him?
All he knew was that he was angry with the whole situation. He couldn’t catch his breath, and he felt like he’d seen…
A ghost.
Oh, this castle was definitely haunted—with his ex. He needed to put space between them.
Why did it have to be the one ghost that happened to mean everything in his life all of those years ago?
WHY?
The man he’d just seen still looked the same, and he shouldn’t be anywhere near him. He knew he’d fall into his green eyes and be a hot mess.
Graham Lainey had betrayed his heart and soul, and now, he was stuck in Scotland to deal with this too.
Why did it have to be him?
WHY?
As he rode down the winding road, he could see the village up ahead, and he needed a place to stay.
To hide.
To escape.
To regroup.
There was no fucking way he was going back to that castle and the man he’d loved with his whole being.
There was no way he was facing down his past in Scotland as his heart was barely holding on.
He’d shatter apart.
Was this his fate?
There was NO way he was swallowing this, and not raging against the machine.
The machine being Elizabeth.
The woman he’d called Mom and family. It was crystal clear that she betrayed him and let him walk into this blindly.
When he finally reached the village, he parked his bike, grabbed his phone, and headed to a bench.
Oh, it was time for a ‘come to Jesus talk’, and he was pretty sure it might be her first.
Michael was about to burn it to the ground, and he knew it. Only, he couldn’t stop it from happening. Nothing fazed him.
NOTHING.
She’d managed to find his one weak spot, and poke it so hard it made him crumble.
This.
Was.
Cruel.
No.
This was calculated.
Was this payback for being an idiot and letting Riley get close so he could leak their home plans?
Was this punishment for something he wasn’t aware of?
It felt like it.
Now, as he held the phone, his pulse was thready, and honestly, he was pretty sure he was having a panic attack.
That could be the only explanation. Nothing else made sense to him.
Immediately, he began making up possible reasons why this was happening.
Maybe he was asleep on the jet.
Maybe this wasn’t real.
Maybe the universe, and Blackhawks, hated him.
God.
He hoped that this was as simple as him being passed out on a jet.
If there was a God above, one that didn’t hate him, this would be some stupid nightmare, and he was about to wake up from it.
A guy had to hope.
Michael had to figure this out, and there was only one place to get the answer. He was going to the source.
Dialing her number, when she came on the screen, he raged like a lunatic.
So much for control.
“HOW DARE YOU!” he raged, letting it all out on the one person who had to be behind this.
She didn’t flinch.
Why?
Elizabeth knew this was coming.
The bottom line was that she knew Michael was going to be upset and caught off guard.
So, she was prepared for the anger. Sometimes, when you loved someone, you had to take the rage they tossed at you, even though you knew it was being done for all the right reasons.
Like this.
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, Michael. Maybe you can give me a little more than that?” she asked.
Oh, he’d give her more.
Instead, he tore into her.
“You set this up. You set me up! You know that part of my life is sacred. You know I protect it fiercely, and you’ve made a mockery of it!”
Was that what he really believed?
That she’d do this intentionally?
He kept going.
“I walked in and HE was there! How could you do this to me? I’m broken enough, and I’m damaged beyond repair, and you think this is funny? A joke? You drop me into this situation and let me get hurt? AGAIN?”
Her heart ached for him.
Why?
There were tears in his eyes.
Hurting him was the last thing she ever would do, and she knew he was big angry to forget that. Elizabeth loved few things in her life.
Her husbands.
Her children.
Her Marines.
Her job.
He was two out of four.
“Michael,” she began.
Only, he cut her off.
There was no way he was listening to her make an excuse for this. To him, this was inexcusable.
PERIOD.
“NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! My life is not a game to be played behind my back!”
She let him vent.
“Instead, it’s a pathetic nightmare to begin with, but to throw HIM! HIM! At me! That was cruel, and I’ll never forgive you for breaking me!” he said, knowing people were staring at him as he lost his shit in that town’s square.
Only, he didn’t care.
Not.
At.
All.
This was all kinds of terrible, and he’d been betrayed by two people, and now, a THIRD.
And this one hurt as much.
“I trusted you with those secrets, and you hunted him down to play this game? To throw him at me? To make me bleed? He was the ONLY person I ever loved like that, and now, you’ve hurt me in ways you’ll never know!”
She could see the anger.
Yeah, this was no shock.
Only, for one of the Marines she called hers, she’d take the wrath if it meant one day, Michael would have peace. It was the least she could do.
He might not see it yet, but at some point, he’d fall back into love with Graham, and they’d work it out. The universe put them back on each other’s path, and that was significant.
He wasn’t done.
“I won’t forgive you for this. Ever! I quit. I’m done. Thanks for the fun, Elizabeth, but I’m never working for you or coming near you again. You betrayed me, and that’s the worst part of this. I loved you. I called you Mom because I felt safe, and now, I’m not!”
With that, he ended the call, and sat there in the aftermath.
Now, his whole chest hurt.
His whole being ached.
This sucker-punch was so brutal it took him to his knees, and he wouldn’t be okay from this.
Never.
AGAIN.
Graham was here, and he couldn’t be. There was no way they could be in the same place and not have it go bad. He told him if he left, to never come back, and that was the plan.
Michael would NEVER face him again.
Honestly, he couldn’t believe any of this. How many hours of the day did he wonder and think about Graham Lainey?
How many dreams did he have of them still together when his life had been damn perfect?