Chapter Eight #3
Graham was horrified, and he wasn’t afraid to tell them that either.
“What the hell, Lads? What is it with ya kink of checking out naked men?”
Finn snorted.
“Uh, Graham, I’m the only one in this room not checking out a dick. I’ve got a lass who is carrying my baby. I’m more amused WHO you were in bed with.”
Oh, he was aware.
That made Graham sigh.
There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to be getting lectured.
Or scolded.
The looming continued.
“We had sex. Okay?” he asked. “I still don’t know what it means. We just did it, and I don’t know if he’s staying, going, or what. We’re literally at the beginning of this as we try to navigate it.”
Gryphen was curious.
Someone had to protect Michael, and he would do that because he trusted Finn to have Graham. They were best friends, after all.
“Did you ask him what he wants? Because he’s definitely staying here for a while. He’s in hiding…,” he began, and then realized what he’d said.
Oh, boy.
“I mean.”
He stopped him.
Oh, Gryphen didn’t have to worry about that. They’d discussed that, and he’d be lying if he said the man wasn’t running through his mind.
Tormenting him.
“He told me about his fiancé. I’m well aware that D’Artangnan moved on.”
Oh, that didn’t sit well with Finn.
What the hell?
Was his best friend kidding him?
Now, Finn was horrified, pissed off, and beyond irate that D’Artangnan walked out, moved on, and then decided to have a tawdry one-night fling.
Hell.
No.
Immediately, Finn got up, and rolled up his sleeves. It appeared he was going to head into the bathroom.
To die.
Gryphen stared at him.
“What are you doing?” he asked. “I hope it’s not what I think you’re about to do.
That’s dumb. He’ll kick your ass and never stop showering to do it.
When I said he’s an Archangel, they don’t call them the HAND OF GOD for shits and giggles, cop.
He’ll hurt you in ways you never thought possible—then hide the body where it’s never found. ”
Finn clued him in.
Yeah, he didn’t care if he punched him. Someone had done his best friend dirty. Graham wasn’t some cheap lay. That needed to be pointed out.
Here.
And.
Now.
“He’s got a freaking fiancé, and he’s in bed with my best friend. Oh, he’s going to fucking break my face, but I have to do what I have to do for this nut,” he said, pointing at Graham. “That’s the rules when you have a best friend. Tell Gabby I love her.”
The Marine stopped him.
While he absolutely understood that code, as he’d do the same thing for Michael, it wasn’t necessary. Finn was missing the other half of this, so Gryphen would save his life.
He owed him one.
“They broke up weeks ago,” Gryphen said.
“He betrayed Michael and destroyed the chance to be with him. He’s hiding here because he’s a psycho who is stalking him.
Michael isn’t a cheater. He’s loyal, he’s got a high set of moral codes, as most Marines do, and he’d never hurt another person’s heart. ”
Oh, well, thank freaking God.
For that, he was damn grateful.
Now, he didn’t have to get his ass beat because there was no way he was kicking the shit out of that man.
He was a freaking wall.
Gryphen was big, but Michael was definitely going to take all he had to just make him feel a hit. Now, he didn’t have to say goodbye to his fiancée and his unborn child.
From where he lay in bed, Graham shrugged, and he was honest.
“I wouldn’t have slept with him if he had a man at home, Finn. I’m not an idiot. I only do things to hurt me—not others.”
Yeah, well, about that.
Someone need a good talking to.
Jesus was in the room, and it was time to come to him.
Apparently.
Since he brought it up…
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Gryphen asked, slapping the man upside the head. “Killing yourself? Are you an idiot?”
“HEY!” he said because Gryphen hadn’t pulled that slap.
Not.
At.
All.
Graham knew what he was thinking.
“You should have called me IMMEDIATELY!” Gryphen said. “You got lucky that Michael and the dead were on your side.”
He was aware.
Graham was honest.
“I couldn’t go on anymore. I’m fighting tooth-and-nail here, Gryphen. I had to watch everyone fall in love and know I never would because I made a promise to him,” he said, pointing to the bathroom. “I vowed to only love him, and I kept it.”
Gryphen sighed.
How could he be angry?
Honestly, he couldn’t.
It was hard to argue that, and he knew it.
“Are you okay now?”
He shrugged.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “I guess it depends on what happens next. I feel like I’m in a void. Yes, we had sex, and yes, he’s here for a while, but I need more. I just don’t know how to get back there. I hurt him.”
Yeah, they’d both done each other dirty, and that meant they both needed to be talked to.
So, it was time.
Instead of going deeper with this man, it was time to divide and conquer.
There were two men involved in this, and they needed to see if BOTH were doing okay. Maybe Gryphen could talk Michael down, and the two men could work this out.
Instead of focusing on Graham, he glanced over at the cop, and he put his trust in him.
While he didn’t know Finn well, he knew that the man cared about Graham.
That was the bottom line for him.
“You’re up with this one, Detective,” he said to Finn. “Talk some sense into him and get to the bottom of this. I’ll take the wet, showering one.”
Oh, well, Finn could do that.
Gratefully.
Someone was getting an earful.
Bet.
On.
It.
When the bathroom door closed again, Graham had tears in his eyes, and Finn picked up his hand and held it in his.
For support.
“Get it off your chest, Lad. I’m here.”
And he did.
“He’s the same as he used to be,” he admitted. “When he kissed me, I knew. I never stopped loving him, Finn. If he leaves again, I am dead. I can’t do this again. I don’t know what to do. I want to be cautious, but he’s my last chance to feel again.”
Well, he understood that.
When his ex walked out, leaving him behind, Finn had fought to feel like he was worthy of love again.
Finally, it found him when Gabby fell into his world.
To support him, Finn squeezed his hand reassuringly.
Oh, he knew the man was struggling. So, he’d do what he could to help him out.
Between them, someone had to have a solution for this.
Right?
He didn’t know this D’Artangnan, but he knew Gabby, and she swore up and down that he was a good, decent human being.
Time.
Would.
Tell.
Finn gave him the best advice he could.
Like he’d done for him.
“If you think this is what you want and need, and he’s the key to that, you fight to keep him here, Graham.
Remember how you told me to just say the words to Gabby, and tell her what I wanted?
You told me to be upfront and honest, and it was the best advice.
You’re going to have to take that advice yourself. ”
Oh, he was aware.
But he was afraid to lose him again.
He was afraid the man hated him, and this was just mercy sex.
Or worse, just falling back into bed because he wanted to punish him.
Finn saw the look.
“Do that, and let him know that then is not now. You both have to absolve each other of that moment in your pasts, and dig in. From what Gryphen just told us, his ex is insane, and he’s going to be here a while to be safe.”
Well, at least there was that.
Maybe he could make this work.
It was his last chance when it came to surviving, because Graham had absolutely NOTHING left.
And that wasn’t an exaggeration.
Thankfully, with him being here for an extended period of time, it gave him the opportunity to make amends for everything that went bad between them.
And pray.
For a miracle.
Now, all he had to do was make sure everything stayed on track because Graham wasn’t kidding.
He couldn’t live without D’Artangnan. It was time to soldier up and do the job.
Running didn’t work.
He’d tried that, and he’d failed.
Miserably.