Chapter Seventeen #4
“Oh, I know a lot. I know more than you’ll likely enjoy me knowing, Major. I know your missions, and I know your failures. I know because, again, Michael is like a son to me. I love him very much,” she admitted.
He didn’t know what that was like.
And told her.
“I don’t have anyone who loves me like a child anymore. When I came out to my parents, they disowned me. I live one town away from them, and I don’t ever see them. I mean, I have Tony, and that’s one thing, but…”
Her heart broke for him.
If any of her kids came to her and told her that they were gay, she’d buy them a rainbow flag, get a commemorative tattoo, and buy a coming out cake. Her job as a mother was to be a shield—not judge.
She had four amazing men in her life, and all of them loved openly.
“You have me now.”
He didn’t understand.
“I do?”
“Son, clean your ears out. I wasn’t kidding.
Again, for the third time, D’artangnan is mine.
All of my Marines are. I love them just like I love my children.
That particular baby bird married you. That makes you my son too.
You’re not alone. You have family now. We’re baggage, as you’ll see when we descend on the castle. ”
He felt his heart skip.
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Want my advice?” she asked.
He did.
“Yes, please.”
“Stay there. Don’t run because of your past. Run because a serial killer is trying to eat you.”
He blinked.
“What?”
She actually laughed.
“Sorry. I chase killers. It’s just some Elizabeth humor.
Stay there, and enjoy your lives. You have a lot to live for now, and who gives a shit if you gave yourself a reputation?
I have one. I’m shacked up with FOUR men.
One, I’m not even fucking, but the media doesn’t care about that.
People will talk. You gotta ignore it and move on.
You have to rise above it. He’s worth it.
I don’t want him to be my bodyguard. I want him safe. I’ll let him go for him to be happy.”
That astounded him.
That love…
“He loves you a lot.”
She was well aware.
“Like I said, he has a special place in my heart. He tells everyone I’m his mom, and I tell everyone he’s my son. We all do. I was clearly hella young when I had him. I’m only twenty-nine. Wait, he’s older than me.”
He laughed.
“The bottom line is, that castle needs you. Christopher and Callen trusted you with it, and if it were up to me, I’d tear it down and sell the land but…”
The lights blinked behind him.
“What was that?”
Oh, he knew.
So, he played it off.
“Rats?” he asked, knowing that was a better option for Chris and Callen to survive. “Or the construction guys are working on the wiring.”
She stared at him, her icy-blue eyes piercing him. That was definitely a mom stare.
“You wouldn’t be lying to me now, would you be?” she asked, knowing he wasn’t aware she knew what was going on there.
He laughed.
“Sorry, Elizabeth, but Callen signs my paycheck. You should ask him.”
Oh, she would.
She’d play along and never rat out Gryphen and Ian. As far as anyone else was concerned, she was in the dark.
And while in the dark, she was planning and plotting. At one point, before the wedding, she was going to show up unannounced.
Wouldn’t her husbands be amused?
“Anyway, be happy. Run that place, and stay there. It’s your home. You have a home and family, Graham. You have since the day Callen and Chris hired you.”
That made him feel good.
Other than D’Artangnan, very few things made him feel that way.
“Will he be happy here?”
She nodded.
“He’ll be happy with you. Can I make another suggestion, though?”
He nodded.
“Don’t call him D’Artangnan. While it’s his name, when he came back here alone, he recreated himself. He became Michael Graves for a reason. He had to in order to survive. When anyone uses that name, there’s a reminder of what happened.”
Oh, he was aware.
“I already switched over to Michael. You were using it, so I figured it was good.”
She smiled.
“It’s all good. He married you as D’Artangnan, so maybe he’s come to grips with it.”
He hoped so.
“So, was this painless?” she asked, amused.
He laughed.
“Yeah, it was, Mom. Thank you. Somehow, I went from no moms to two. I call Jaxon that also. She and Tony kinda claimed me first.”
Her warm smile reassured him.
“I’ll share. No worries.”
He was glad.
“Okay, go find my handsome son—my other one. Don’t forget to take some pictures together and send me a few while you’re ‘honeymooning’. I have a wall at home, and in my office for all of my children. You’ll be on the wall. You’re a Blackhawk now.”
He didn’t know how to deal with that.
He had tears in his eyes.
“Don’t be sad, pumpkin. I’ve got you now. You can call me anytime, any day, and I’ll get to you. I’ll come for both of you.”
He wiped his eyes as he was walking toward the library.
“I think I love you.”
She winked.
“I’m fucking irresistible. Look at the menagerie of men,” she joked.
That made him laugh.
As he reached the library, he found Michael sitting in there on the couch, with the big journal nearby.
“Our mom wants to talk to you.”
He heard the words, and wasn’t shocked at all. After all, he knew Elizabeth was a good person.
So, he patted the couch and took the phone, so they were both facing her.
“Hey, Cupcake.”
She called him that, or buttercup, when they worked out in the gym together. You hadn’t lived until a woman who was a third of your weight took you down, and then sat on you laughing.
The nickname stuck.
“Yes, Crazy Train?”
She winked at him.
“Do you like it there?” she asked.
He nodded, and held his husband’s hand. He’d just been sitting there thinking about the castle, and how it was spooky, but calm most of the time.
“It’s nice here with Graham. I’m calm, and it’s always awesome not to get shot at. I like a country with some gun restrictions, and some control. Who knew?”
She laughed.
“Ouch. That resembles me a hella lot, and NOT the US.”
Oh, he was aware.
Now, he knew what they’d talked about, and he wasn’t sure of the outcome. Graham seemed calm, but he had watery eyes.
He doubted Elizabeth made him cry.
“For the record, Crazy Train, for you, I’d get shot at. You know that,” he admitted, and he would. “I love you, Mom, and if I can help keep you alive, I’ll do my duty. You are, after all, the Deputy Director of the FBI, and the only woman I’ve loved like this.”
Yeah, except she wanted more for her kids—even the ones that were Marines and not of her body.
It was time to let another baby bird fly the nest. First, it was Koda, and ironically enough, he was back. Now, it would be Michael.
Uriel…he was possibly up after him.
It was a difficult thing to do, but she knew it was the right thing to do. To keep him with her was selfish when he had a whole new life and adventure waiting for him.
“I want you to do me a favor.”
He waited.
“I want you to stay there, and help Graham keep the castle safe. She needs two caretakers. Plus, if we have to come there, you know how to lock the place down for the family.”
Oh, immediately, he knew why she was doing it. She was giving him the safest chance in his life. What could happen to him in Scotland?
Once more, Mom was momming.
“Are you sure?” he asked, beyond grateful that she was doing this for him.
That was a complete mother move if he ever saw one, and he knew it was a sacrifice.
She nodded.
“Yeah, Baby. I’m sure. I’m happy for both you and Graham, and I’m glad this ended with a good shot from Cupid. It was touch and go last night.”
He relaxed, and linked his fingers with Graham’s. It appeared he was being discharged from duty. Had anyone told him that would be happening a week ago, he would have wept. Now, he wanted to thank her for giving him a chance at a bright, new life.
“If you need me, I’ll come. All you need to do is call me,” Michael admitted. “Once a Marine, always a Marine. I’ll come protect my family in a heartbeat.”
From where Graham sat, he couldn’t help but be moved by the relationship that Michael had with the woman he considered his mother.
So, Graham didn’t hold back.
“I’d come too. I’m not a Marine, but I’m Black Watch. I can hold my own. It would be my honor and pleasure to protect my mother-in-law.”
Elizabeth appreciated that.
He was the equivalent to the MRR, and she knew what Graham could do. After all, she’d researched him when she found out about Michael and his relationship.
“I’ll keep that in mind. I likely won’t because you’re going to be busy with that horrible, drafty, old mausoleum,” she said, testing her hypothesis.
And it happened.
When the lights blinked again, she gasped.
“Graham! You lied! That’s not construction workers! Rats my ass! That place is lousy with ghosts!” she admitted, trying not to laugh. “I swear to God, they flicker the lights on cue! My husbands are grounded! I’m taking all of their money away!”
Michael just laughed.
Honestly, he didn’t buy it. Elizabeth wasn’t bright red. This was a faux rant if he ever saw it. Someone had let the beans spill.
Definitely.
“Who gives someone a haunted castle?” she asked. “What kind of cuckoo is that?”
Because he could, Michael egged her on.
“Not a husband who wants to get laid,” Michael said, laughing. “You should tell them no more trips to that den of iniquity,” he offered.
She gasped.
“I mean, don’t go that far,” she stated. “Who am I punishing then? ME.”
Yeah, he’d been right.
“Me thinks you doth protest too much, Mom,” he admitted, making her laugh.
Oh, he got her there.
So, she changed the subject.
“Anyway, I want you to stay there. You’re safe, and someone has to be my eyes and ears. I bet Callen and Chris didn’t see that one coming,” she stated. “I’m going to put my spies in the middle of the mayhem!”
He laughed.
And laughed.
And laughed.
“Well, I am your favorite, so…I’ll report back. Call me, Mom, and I’ll give you all the details—pictures too.”
She winked at him, and the crinkles around her eyes when she smiled made his heart skip.
God.