Chapter One #3
“So you can be angry with us, and you can be pissy that we sent you there, but you can’t blame us for all of this. You have unfinished business, and it’s clear that the universe wants you to handle it.”
Michael was adamant about it.
He was so goddamn scared by the man in the castle. He was the ONLY person on this planet that could blow him up and damage him.
Losing Riley hurt, but only because he betrayed him, and it nearly cost Michael his family. He wasn’t nearly as hurt by the loss of his fiancé.
Not.
Even.
Close.
Michael was to the point.
“I’m not getting back on that train. That is a one-way trip to a broken heart again. He broke me, Callen. He didn’t trust me enough to follow me. He gave me an ultimatum and…”
Callen stopped him.
It was clear he was missing the most important part in all of this.
“And he’s paid dearly for it,” Callen admitted. “He’s suffered every day wondering if you were happily married, with children, and if you ever thought about what you had. You’re the ghost that haunts him and has for a long time. You moved on, Michael. He never did.”
He wanted to believe all of this.
Desperately.
Only, he didn’t believe it. Graham was gorgeous, and he was a catch. How could he never move on?
HOW?
Callen kept going. It was clear that he’d calmed him down enough that he was thinking rationally again.
“He never got over you. I know you’re angry, Michael, and we’re not saying you don’t have the right to be, but no one did any of this to hurt you. We sent you there to protect you. Riley Cunningham is insane, and he’s looking for you. He’s batshit loopy, and you’re not safe here.”
He was aware.
The man had come undone the second he’d told him it was over. He’d told him that he never wanted to see him again, and Riley was doing everything in his power to make sure that didn’t happen.
He had a stalker.
“I can’t go back to that moment in my life where he broke my heart.”
Callen was to the point.
“Then don’t. That’s your choice. If you don’t want to see the man you say you loved…”
He stopped him.
That pissed him off.
“I loved him more than anything. I tattooed his initial on my goddamn thigh! Every single time I get undressed, I see it. I’m reminded that he was mine and I thought he loved me.”
Callen was to the point.
“He made a mistake. We all do it, Michael. Like you calling Elizabeth and screaming at her. That was a mistake. You accused her, and she wasn’t behind this.
The universe was. It just put everything into play.
What makes us human is our ability to make mistakes and learn from them.
Graham isn’t just learning, he’s paying with his soul each and every day away from you. ”
He said nothing.
At first.
“I need to think about this,” he said. “I’m going to find a place to stay in the village.”
Callen understood.
At least they had one person talked down. Callen was going to try to call Graham next, and talk him down from the ledge. There was no doubt he was on it.
The question was how close was he to the edge?
“Sometimes, Michael, we’re given a second chance, and we have to decide if we’re going to take it.
We can’t force you to do anything, nor would we.
You have to decide what the next step is, but keep in mind that he asked Gryphen to find you so that he could know you were okay.
That was his last wish—to know that life had been kind to you when he hadn’t been, says a lot about the man. ”
Tears filled Michael’s eyes.
It did.
He was still struggling with the part that he’d never moved on. Graham had been thinking about him. Had he tried to find him after he’d left?
Did he try to get to him?
Callen was to the point.
“We’re losing Graham. Gryphen is fighting for his life, trying to keep him here until his wedding.
Tony has given him a family in hopes of saving a soldier that is on the cusp.
He doesn’t want to live anymore, Michael.
Finding out that you were okay was the last thing he needed before he could say goodbye. ”
A tear dripped down his cheek.
The idea of finding out that Graham had died…
That hurt too.
“What happens from here on out is on you. We didn’t mean to hurt you. If you think we did, then, you’re right—you shouldn’t work for us. If after the years we’ve been together seem like a lie to you, we should end our connection. If that’s the case, I’ll accept your resignation for Ivan.”
Michael said nothing.
Why?
That hurt too.
Now that the rage had abated, the idea of losing his family was an ache he knew he’d never overcome. They were the only reason he had the life he had.
Michael had money, family, and friends.
He wasn’t alone anymore.
“We love you so much,” Callen admitted to the man. “We would die for you,” he added. “You are part of us, but if being part of us hurts, we understand. That wasn’t the intention, and it never would be.”
Michael was silent, and Callen knew the wheels were turning. Michael was smart, and he was thinking this all through.
Callen might have just talked him off of the ledge.
“Elizabeth saw you struggling, and she wanted to just point you in the right direction. Your lives are running parallel. You both work for us. You both are connected to us. The universe did that, Michael—not us trying to hurt you. Losing you in this would hurt us so much. Our children love you, and you’re ours, Son. You have always been ours.”
He wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his flannel shirt as those words healed and hurt him.
Yeah, he’d made an error.
Now, though, he needed time to work through all of this.
“I need to go. I need to think.”
Callen had to do what he had to do. If Michael needed space, they’d give it to him.
So, he did the hardest thing.
He let him go.
“Okay, Michael. Let me know what you want to do. Call us when you’ve figured out how this is going to end. Either way, you’re free to stay there, or get on the jet. I’ll have it wait for you in case you want to leave.”
Michael only said one more thing.
“Thank you.”
Callen knew this was balanced on the razor’s edge, and it could go either way. He hoped and prayed that Michael worked through this for his and Graham’s sake.
Graham was holding on by a thread, and they all knew his last wish, the one thing holding him there, was to know Michael was okay.
“We’ll talk later. Be safe, Son,” Callen said. “I love you.”
And with that, the call ended.
When he tucked the phone back into his pocket, Michael sat on the bench trying to work through all of this.
What was he supposed to do?
Hearing that Graham was about to give up on life made his heart hurt.
Oh, he knew how he felt.
He’d done stupid shit in order to suffer and make himself pay for all of the sins he’d committed.
Been there.
Done that.
Only, thinking about the man giving up and dying…that horrified him.
Closing his eyes, Michael put it out in the universe. While he wasn’t a religious guy, he did believe in God. Now, he needed help.
He said a prayer that Elizabeth had taught him on her rosary, and hoped for some divine intervention.
“If this is meant to be, show me the proof. Show me that I’ve made the mistake by not fighting harder for what I had. Give me a sign.”
When he opened his eyes, he said one thing.
“Amen.”
Now, he needed a drink, and to calm down. He’d ask someone for the name of a good place to lodge for the night until he was ready to face this.
That’s when he got his first sign.
When he heard his name, he glanced up, and there was a pretty woman heading his way.
Immediately, he recognized her.
Yeah, he hadn’t been expecting her to appear before him.
“Gabby,” he said, standing up.
Immediately, she hugged him and ran her hands up and down his back.
He was grateful for the hug.
He needed it.
Gabby set him free and stared into his eyes. In them, she saw trouble, and she was glad that Elizabeth had called her.
Someone needed a lifeline.
Two someones, to be exact.
“Hey, Michael! Fancy meeting you on this side of the pond,” she said. “Welcome to Scotland.”
He laughed.
“Well, we seem to be filling this side with Blackhawk employees.”
Wasn’t that the truth?
Only, she knew that having him here gave her a piece of the United States. While she loved Scotland, she missed having friends around her.
“I’m glad to see you,” she said.
Then, she did the introductions. Pointing at her fiancé, she shared.
“This is Detective Inspector Fineas McKnight, or as I like to call him, my sexy Scottish fiancé. You can look, but you can’t have.”
He actually laughed.
Yeah, he loved being around Gabby. When they’d be at the office, waiting for Elizabeth to head out on a case, Gabby was always around, entertaining them. She was a firecracker who always kept them amused.
Oh, and she was a good person. They all knew what she did for Willa when her picture was found on that scumbag’s computer.
Michael shook the man’s hand.
“It’s a pleasure. I hope you’re taking care of Gabby. She’s a gem, and we really miss her at work.”
Oh, he was aware of her value. There was no brighter treasure in his world. In the short time they were together, she’d charmed everyone.
Finn was pretty sure his own mother loved her more than him, and his sisters…they called her—not him—anymore.
“Don’t be worrying that, Lad. My Lass is well taken care of,” he admitted. “You look like you need a drink. How about we go to the pub, and we get you something to warm you up? You look a might chilly.”
He was.
Michael was cold inside, and not because of the weather. His heart was aching and his whole body had chills from this experience.
A drink was the minimum of what he needed. There were so many questions that he needed answering.
All of them about Graham.