Chapter Eight
The Castle
Monday
Nine A.M.
After arriving at the airport, both Gryphen and Ian had a ride waiting for them. It was a rental that Callen had picked out for them, and made sure was fully gassed up. The last thing they needed to do was make Graham play chauffer when he was struggling.
They also didn’t have to rely on Gabby to pick them up. They could do that instead.
But they needed to move fast.
There was no doubt that they were all on Graham watch.
The man was on the edge, and they were the last defense before he tried to do something stupid again.
After talking to Michael last night, Gryphen knew that this was a rescue mission for at LEAST one person.
Graham.
Only, he was acutely aware that at any point, it might turn into one for Michael too.
He knew that the Archangel’s heart had been kicked around just as much, and he would need a friend to listen to him too.
As Gryphen drove, Ian rallied the troops.
That was to be expected, since that was exactly the kind of man he was. Ian liked to make sure all of his bases were covered, and they were approaching this like it was the utmost mission.
Before they’d landed, he’d been texting Gabby, getting an update on the situation, and from her account, how it was left last night, it was grim.
There was no doubt that they were going to be fixing one hell of a mess, and that was because love was never easy—until you found the right person.
Picking up Gabby and Finn at their place, they opted to handle this as a unified front. The castle mystery was important, but rallying around their friends was equally as vital.
They had to save Graham.
There was no way they could let the man go down on their watch. Finn was going to protect his best friend, and a man who helped him get the girl.
Gryphen was going to have Graham’s back, since he knew the darkness that chased him.
And Gabby and Ian…they were there to babysit and make sure no one wrecked the place in the process. It was, after all, Elizabeth’s gift, and it needed to be respected.
The castle was her home away from home—whether she liked it or not.
And in this case, it was a definite NOT.
Now, as they were all packed into the rental, they headed up the road toward the castle.
Know who was jazzed?
Ian.
The man was borderline bouncing in his seat. Yes, they were mostly there to help Graham and Michael, but they all knew that Ian was thinking about one thing.
The.
Dead.
He was all about this mystery, and he’d regretted having to go back to the US last time. Granted, leaving had gotten Gryphen shot, and he’d nearly died, but the man didn’t like to leave things unfinished.
And this mystery was just that.
Unfinished.
Business.
Honestly, he’d believed that the next time he was here would be in December for the wedding, but it appeared that was not the case.
They were getting a busman’s holiday—if it was their actual job to chase ghosts—and it absolutely wasn’t.
Only, sometimes, you had to call in backup, or return to the literal scene of the crime.
Oh, and the wanna be sleuths were all about jumping back in for this leg of the mystery.
Gabby was giddy.
Ian was hopped up on adrenaline.
Finn was not amused by a round two at the haunted castle, and Gryphen…
He was worried about his two friends.
PERIOD.
He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t. He knew in the grand scheme of things, this had the possibility of going nuclear.
Michael was hurting, and so was Graham.
This could take some talking, some therapy, and some arguing to work itself out.
IF it worked itself out.
When two people broke up, it wasn’t always easy to make it right, IF it could be made right. Just from knowing both men, Michael was definitely pissed off, and going to be the difficult one to manage.
Call it a hunch.
The only thing working for Graham is that Michael and Riley had imploded.
Spectacularly.
That might work in his favor when it came down to Michael being willing to sit down and talk it out. Honestly, he was assuming they’d have to hold the Marine at gunpoint—not that they had a gun to do just that.
It was going to be a challenge at best.
“We’ll get our things dropped off, and we’ll start,” Gryphen said. “I’m going to have a ‘come to Jesus talk’ with Graham first. I swear to God, I want to slap some sense into him.”
On that, Finn agreed.
He wasn’t the only one who wanted to do just that. He was seriously ready to lose his mind over what the man had pulled last night.
They’d warned him that booze and emotions were a very bad mix for him. Someone was dangerous when he was drunk.
There was also so much guilt that they could have lost him and that would have been on them.
Truthfully.
“I’ll help you with that. Someone needs my boot in his arse,” he stated. “I’m going to kick his ass for trying to take his life. I swear to God, that he’s going to get the help he needs, or I’m going to make him do it. I’m not burying my best friend.”
That said it all.
It appeared that they had their work cut out for them today.
From where he sat in the passenger seat, Ian grinned at Gabby. Since the men were going to have a ‘come to Jesus talk’ with Graham, and Michael was more than stable, they had their own agenda.
Solving.
A.
Mystery.
There was no way he wasn’t jumping back in. Both he and Gabby had been working on the mystery in their downtime, in hopes of figuring this out before Elizabeth made landfall.
Gabby had found the thread that told them Catherine, Ceit’s sister, had lived with them and raised Callum. Now, it was about finding out more.
If they were lucky, they’d hit pay dirt, and the painting would also be back from the restoration services.
He was dying to know who was underneath the painting of Callum Granndach.
“Well, Girlfriend, that leaves us to the sleuthing. Want to help me, and what I mean by helping me, is that I’ll be watching the workmen take down that wall.”
At that, he had someone’s attention.
Gryphen glanced over.
IMMEDIATELY.
“Ian, is there a reason that statement makes me twitchy?” he asked. “Do I want you WATCHING workmen work?”
The man laughed.
Oh, he knew why he said that.
Only, honestly, Graham had absolutely nothing to worry about.
He was the sexiest man in the world, and he didn’t give a rat’s ass about any other man but him. How could he want second best when he had Lord Gryphen Carter?
The man made him want to melt into the floor with just a steamy look.
Ian was NEVER getting off that ride.
Ever.
“My Lord, you can relax. I was more intrigued in the process, and getting into the wall to see what is back there. When Gabby told me about it, I got the chills. I know it’s got to be tied to this. I’m dying to know if we’ll get the next piece of the puzzle.”
Gryphen just kept glancing over at him as he drove.
And Ian was to the point.
“You’re the only man I like watching work. God, but I hope the castle is chilly. We might need some wood cut.”
That amused Gryphen.
If anything, Ian was predictable, and if he wanted to watch him chop wood, then he was down with that. It made for the hottest, wildest sex.
One mention of a kilt, and Ian went into Mr. Patterson mode.
Thank.
Freaking.
God.
As he drove, he quickly winked at him, and it was crystal clear they were both thinking about the same thing.
Each other.
Yeah, and Gryphen was grateful for that, too. Never let it be said he didn’t like a horny, lecherous fiancé.
Because he did.
How could he not?
“We’ll work on the mystery as long as Michael is okay,” Gabby admitted. “I’m worried about him.”
Oh, they all were.
He was an Archangel, but underneath that title, he had a life of difficulty too. Gabby, Ian, and Gryphen all knew the burdens he’d bore and the pain he’d suffered.
On top of that, he was still recovering from his injuries of being shot.
Seeing Graham and being blindsided hadn’t been easy on him—and the proof was how he tore into Elizabeth. That told them all they needed to know.
The man was rattled.
“If he’s okay, we’ll progress,” Ian said.
And that was the bottom line.
As they got to the castle, Gryphen held out his smart watch by the keypad at the gate, and it activated the passcode to access the place.
Slowly, the gates swung open, and he drove through so they could get started.
“Michael said he was going diving today,” Finn admitted. “Chris and Callen sent him here to pull up the bones. I warned him not to go alone, so we’ll have to babysit him doing that too.”
Who could forget about the bones in the lake? The whole thing made everyone edgy, and with good reason.
Something evil was there.
Gabby shuddered.
“I hope he listened and didn’t go in there alone. It’s bad under that water. Something lurks there,” she admitted, recalling her fall into the chilly water.
It had been terrifying, and something she’d never forget.
It tried to get her.
Granted, it gave her an amazing relationship with Finn, her rescuer, but that didn’t mean she wanted to press her luck with it.
Finn reassured her.
“Like I said. I warned him about that already. Hopefully, we can back him up when it’s time to do that. I hope he’s good at diving, and he isn’t freaked out by some murky water. I remember trying to find you, Gabs. It wasn’t easy.”
No, it wasn’t, and they’d gotten damn lucky that he had found her.
At that, Gryphen reassured him.
“Michael is an Archangel. He’s good at everything. He can sneak up on you before you know he’s there, and he’s good with bombs and water.”
Uh, well, if he said so.
Finn had a million questions, but unfortunately for him, there was no time. They were at the castle, and it was about time for them to clean up on aisle relationship.
And it was one hell of a mess too.
When Graham blew it up, he did it spectacularly. In the back of Finn’s mind, he was willing to take the man into custody and get him the help he needed at an institution. He’d do anything to save his life.
PERIOD.
As they parked the vehicle, they all got out, and Ian handed his bag to his man.