“Thanks, Gryph. I hope Elizabeth can spare you. If she can’t…”
He reassured him.
“She already offered to send me. Just do me a favor. Tomorrow, at some point, call her. She feels horrible that you’re angry with her. She’s heartbroken that you think she’d do this to hurt you. For the record, in case it needs to be said, she wouldn’t, Michael. She loves all of us and would never do this to any of us. She was caught in the middle of this, and didn’t know what to do.”
He sighed.
And he was aware.
Oh, he felt bad for yelling at her.
For.
Sure.
He was honest.
“I’m not angry. I was blindsided and lashed out at her. Callen called me after and explained. She didn’t do this intentionally. I get that. I’ll speak to her tomorrow and make this right. I just need time to get my bearings. I showed up here to escape an ex, and found the one that would have been my husband had he just put his faith in me. I’m rattled, Gryph. I’m really rattled.”
The man understood.
He told him everything, sharing what happened weeks ago when he’d gotten that goodbye call from the Scotsman. Michael deserved to know.
“After nearly dying in the alley, Graham asked me to have Elizabeth find you, Michael. She didn’t do anything for four weeks. She sat on the information that she knew who D’Artangnan really was. It really was the Riley situation, and her needing to send you somewhere safe that was the cause of all of this. In fact, Ian was the one who pushed her to send you when she did, and he had no clue about any of this. It looks as if fate was intervening on all of our behalf.”
Oh, wow.
Now, he felt worse.
“So she really didn’t pull the trigger on this?” he asked, knowing Gryphen wouldn’t lie. They were Marines, and that meant something.
The big Marine was honest.
“At the moment, losing an Archangel was a bad plan. It was right before Wyler got grabbed trying to save his friend. She wasn’t going to send you until Ian updated her about the ex, Riley, and his shenanigans in DC. That’s when she decided. That wasDAYSago.”
Crap.
“She held the information, but the universe pointed everything in this direction. It just so happened that you and Graham had a past. If she was interfering, why would she wait so long?”
Yeah, he had a very valid point.
He believed that the universe was stirring the shit pot to do something.
He just didn’t know what.
It was at the back of his mind that there was the parallel nature of their lives with the two dead men.
It was creepy.
And he knew what he needed to do.
“I’ll call her. Just let me know when you’re coming. I can pick you up…”
He was to the point.
“Stay there and watch Graham. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I can get a cab there. Don’t stress it. Just watch your back until you have backup.”
He didn’t understand why everyone was so adamant that a combat Marine who was also a decorated soldier and Archangel couldn’t manage to keep himself safe.
