Chapter Nine #2
“Riley was a placeholder. The universe put me here, and then, the universe put him in my path again. I’m not fucking around and finding out. I’m marrying him. I’ll make that happen as soon as I tell Elizabeth and Ivan goodbye.”
Well, then, the man was on the same page. He knew Graham had never let that love go.
“It’s a good plan,” Gryphen admitted. “I’m behind you on this. The universe put this together, and now, you are being given a second chance. How you handle it will mean the difference in both of your lives.”
He was aware.
For Michael, it was time to pick up where he’d left off and not restart. He knew the man Graham was, and that would never change.
He’d once been his best friend.
Now, he’d work hard to make him his husband. Even if it took Graham years to trust him again.
“He left me the box.”
Gryphen lifted a brow.
Oh, he knew that had to be big. He also knew about it, and he was curious.
“What was in it?” he asked, “if you don’t mind sharing.”
He didn’t.
Michael told him.
“He wrote me letters. Then, at the bottom, there were two rings. He engraved mine, and he wore his for God only knew how long. It was clear that he planned on loving me forever. He had hope when I was gone, and he hired private investigators to find me, Gryph. He never stopped. In seven and a half years, he kept going.”
Oh, he was aware.
“That seems like the love of a lifetime,” Gryphen admitted. “If Ian left me tomorrow, I’d keep looking for him until the day I died. Like when I was in that coma, he didn’t leave my side.”
Michael was aware.
He’d sat beside Ian, waiting and hoping his friend pulled through not only for all of them, but for Ian. The man had been devastated.
Michael shared what else happened.
“This morning, I went into the lake.”
He lifted a brow.
Uh-oh.
“Alone?”
He nodded.
“And it nearly killed me. Something grabbed me by the ankles, and I couldn’t get free. You know me, Gryph. I lifeguard the Blackhawk kids because I can hold my breath a long-ass time, and I’m the only other person who can swim like a fish like Elizabeth. Still, I nearly died in the water.”
That worried him.
When he and Ian were here, it wasn’t nearly that dangerous.
Not.
Even.
Close.
Something had changed—and for the worse. It was targeting everyone now.
Something was stirred up.
“All I’ve wanted was someone to protect me too,” he stated.
“I may look like this,” he offered, “but I need a little protection once in a while. He dove in, Gryph. He saved me. He got me out, and he breathed life back into me. I’m not waiting.
I could drag this out, but why? I lost seven years with him.
Seven amazing years that we could have had a home, and children.
Seven years where I could have woken up with him, and went to bed with him. He’s meant to be mine.”
Gryphen got it.
That was how he felt about Ian.
“He thinks he’s damaged and not worthy, but he’s always been mine. I see that now. I met him in battle, and I’m going to fight to get him back.”
“Like I said, that’s a good plan. You have my support on this one.”
Thank God.
He might need backup.
Or an accomplice to kidnap him so he could buy himself time to make this right.
“My clock is ticking,” he admitted. “I can leave my job, but I can’t leave him again. He’s the ONE thing that was always there for me. My dumbass didn’t come looking for him. He wanted me all this time, Gryph. I don’t deserve that, and I know when I’m getting the far better deal.”
Yes, yes, he did deserve it.
They all deserved love. They were each learning that one bodyguard at a time.
“Please help me. This is the first time that I’ve felt like this was the right thing to do. All I want is him. I’ll do the deed and call Elizabeth. I’ll call Ivan. Hell! I’ll call the president. I’m not going home. If he won’t come with me, we’re staying here.”
It was clear his mind was made up, and he was good with that.
He loved his friend, and he’d be his wingman on this mission to get the guy.
Michael took care of Ian while he was unconscious in that coma. It was the least he could do.
“You have my blessing. I’m going to miss you, Michael. I’m going to miss seeing that ugly mug of yours every day.”
The man grinned.
“I’m going to hug you, and you’re going to be touching my dick. I’d say I care, but hugging you matters more to me right now.”
He snorted and hugged him.
Luckily for him, he liked dick, and he also loved Ian, so there were no worries about that. He was proud of his friend for cutting through the emotional turmoil and reaching out to get what he wanted.
That was important.
That was the goal in life.
“I can’t believe he was waiting for me, and I almost missed him. I was so goddamn close to losing him. I have to lock this down. Now.”
He patted him on the back.
“Well, you got him, so make it count. Oh, and stay the fuck out of the lake! Why the hell would you go in there? Are you out of your goddamn mind?”
He laughed.
“Oh, sue me. I didn’t think this woo-woo shit was real. Then, I had a box move, and a mug do a little dance. I saw dead people, and I don’t like that—especially when I’m not the one who made them dead.”
Gryphen stared at him.
“I don’t want to know.”
He snorted.
“Yeah, you’re better off not knowing. This place is haunted AF and Elizabeth is going to kill her husbands when she finds out how bad it is. Clearly, a lot has happened when you and Ian left—or you and Ian opened Pandora’s Box of badness.”
Oh, no doubt there.
This was why he didn’t want to investigate and play ghost hunter in the haunted castle.
Call him crazy, but this outcome proved he’d been right.
When they heard a big boom, they looked around, not sure where that came from.
“Why did that sound like a wall came crashing down?” he asked.
Because with their luck, it absolutely did.
And on someone.
In this castle, one never knew what was going to happen next.
Unfortunately.
* * * The Ravensmire Castle * * *
At the Airport
Same Time
Oh, well, it was crystal clear that everyone thought that he was an idiot.
Well, he wasn’t.
All Riley had to do was listen to the chatter, and keep his nose to the pavement to get all the information he needed.
And he had.
All it took was listening to the countrywide news, specifically the rag tabloids.
What did he find?
The answers.
The one bodyguard that Michael was closest to was leaving from an airport out West to a location outside of the country.
Where to?
Scotland.
Ironically enough, he recalled Michael telling him that the Blackhawks had a stronghold there where they could lay low when need be.
Riley was betting it all on that one piece of information that Michael had given him in passing during dinner one night.
Like any good reporter, he squirreled away intel for later use, and this time, it would come in handy.
No.
Doubt.
Yes, he was tracking Blackhawks, and anyone else that he could use to figure out where Michael was.
Digging deeper, he found more.
Luckily for him, he knew a once-affiliate who had a news story on the Blackhawks. They were out West in Damascus—exactly where the bodyguard had left in a hurry.
While he’d been planning to head there, what piqued his interest was that Michael’s best friend, Gryphen, had hopped a plane.
A jet.
And it was heading out of the US to SCOTLAND.
Ding.
Ding.
Ding.
Putting two and two together, he figured out something important.
They were trying to keep Michael just out of his reach, so moving him outside the US was a good plan.
To make sure, he dug a little deeper. As he did, he found out the jet manifesto was for a specific private airport landing strip in Scotland.
They’d kept it on the DL, but they didn’t think to bribe anyone to hide the location. Likely because they didn’t think he’d find them in Damascus.
Only, he was smart.
There were two main FBI hubs, and Elizabeth Blackhawk was now at one.
Where she was, security was.
He now knew where the players were.
So, it was about choosing the game.
So, he was taking a chance and following security, but his gut was screaming that this was the way to go.
One way or another, he’d find Michael, and when he did, he’d have a talk with him.
They were NOT breaking up.
They were NOT going their own way.
What happened just proved that he was better off without the Blackhawks.
No one dumped him.
No.
One.
Riley might have used the information he’d ‘borrowed’, but they were engaged, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.
Michael could forget that.
Bet.
On.
It.
They were going to pick up right where they left off if he had anything to say about it.
He couldn’t do any better than him.
Riley was a catch, and Michael needed to remember that. No matter how hard he tried, he’d never find anyone better suited for him.
He didn’t have to be a Blackhawk bodyguard.
He could be Riley’s husband.
Riley was well aware of the money that Michael had in his account, and that would set them up nicely. This fish was NOT getting off the hook.
He’d had his chance to sulk, but honestly, he could convince him that no one would want him like he would.
It would just take time.
All he needed was to find him so they could talk.
Then, they would have their happily ever after.
If he’d just give him a chance to prove he was right, and that they were meant to be together.
And they would be.
Michael Graves was going to give him the life he deserved.
Because he’d cost him his job, and he’d earned it.