Page 1 of The Valiant Knight (The Ravensmire Chronicles #2)

Hours Later

Their Arrival

The Next Guests

L ordy, but Gabriella Lopez was so excited to be in Scotland that she could just piss herself. Yeah, that was how happy she was to get this adventure. She’d always wanted to come here, and now, here she was.

Granted, the jet lag would suck, but still…

This was awesome.

To say that this trip to Scotland was going to be the highlight of her life was an understatement. After the last few shit years she’d had—being married to an abusive asshole—this was a nice change of pace.

She was spreading her wings, and taking off. It was about time too.

Truth be told, Gabby couldn’t believe her boss was giving her an opportunity like this. She had always wanted to come to Scotland and see the country. It always sounded like an amazing place.

Now, she was living the dream.

As for work, it would just mainly be easygoing for the days that they were here.

Granted, her particular FBI skills here weren’t needed on this job.

Oh, but she’d be assisting Tony by uploading all his findings, and helping him do his job for the Blackhawks, but a hacker wasn’t needed this time around.

But hey!

She’d never look the gift, boss horse in the mouth. This was going to make her giddy the whole time here. Truth be told, her life lacked that happiness and joy.

After her divorce, she gratefully moved back to the East Coast from FBI West.

She hadn’t hesitated.

Don’t get her wrong, it was a nice building, and the people there were awesome, but home was DC. It always had been.

She’d been born there.

Oh, and she’d die there.

There was no doubt about that.

Living in DC was just safer for her heart, and her well-being. She knew the city, and had friends there so she wasn’t alone.

That loneliness had been part of her ex-husband’s plan the entire time. He isolated her, and made her rely on him for any companionship.

It was him or nothing.

She wasn’t allowed to have friends.

She wasn’t allowed to go anywhere.

She.

Was.

Trapped.

And that was the truth.

This was going to be a good time, and a few days that she would never forget.

Bet.

On.

It.

Now that she was free, maybe she’d make some new friends, and have an excuse to return another time for a longer holiday.

Know who else was excited?

Doctor Anthony Magnus.

The whole trip, Tony Magnus had been talking about Scotland, and how he was Scottish. Emphasis on the last part. It was all he talked about like she was oblivious.

Well, with a last name of Magnus, how could he not be? Then again, her last name was Lopez, and she wasn’t Hispanic.

So, maybe he had a point.

Anyway, his excitement made it even more fun. He was stoked, and she was happy for both of them.

How many times did you get to stay in a castle in your life?

NONE.

The answer was none.

Yeah, there was no doubt in her mind that this whole trip was going to be fun.

Beside her, in a pet carrier, was her faithful and loyal companion.

When Elizabeth asked her to go with Tony, she’d asked about her dog, and thankfully, her boss was pet-friendly with no qualms about him running around her castle.

And that was a good thing because she couldn’t leave him behind.

When she showed Elizabeth a picture of her dog, Bark Twain, the woman laughed so hard and cleared the dog to go with her.

The way to get Elizabeth on your side was humor, and that name said it all.

Getting into the country with her dog was easier, especially on a jet and with some paperwork.

For Gabby, the bottom line was that she couldn’t leave her dog behind.

They were a family, and besides, Bark was an interesting dog.

He had one hobby.

TO.

BARK.

Thus the name.

Now, she was just hoping he didn’t do anything stupid like destroy a castle that she could never repair. They’d had a few talks about it, but he was shifty when he was up to bad behavior.

When Tony touched her arm, she looked over.

“We’re about to touch down,” he said. “I’m finally home.”

She laughed.

He was insane.

Clearly.

“You realize that you have to get back on the jet when this is over, right? We were sent here to move Ceit Granndach, analyze the other bones, and then go home.”

Oh, he was aware.

Gabby warned him.

“I’ve been authorized to knock your ass out, and have Graham toss you onto the jet for takeoff if you even try to abort that mission.”

He gasped.

And was horrified.

Of course, he was heading home. His wife and two children were there.

Had they been here with him…

Well, that was anyone’s guess.

“Let me guess. Elizabeth was the one who told you to do that, huh?”

She snorted.

“Ding, ding, ding. Keep it in mind. Oh, and we went over the rules. No digging up random graves. No raising hell in a bar, and no marrying anyone. I don’t know what that’s about, but both Chris and Elizabeth put that on the list. Don’t do any of that shit, Tony.”

He laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

You married one Fijian Firewalker’s daughter in a kava root ceremony, and no one let you forget it.

EVER.

He warned her.

“Just don’t bring that last part up to my wife,” he said. “Please. She’ll kick my ass, or call her brother to come handle me.”

That was amusing.

Tony tended to get himself in all kinds of trouble. All he had to do was breathe.

Literally.

As the jet touched down, the captain came over the speakers to talk to them.

Again.

The crew had been quiet for the whole flight.

“We’ve landed, Gabby and Tony. Your boss had a message for you. Get the bodies handled in her castle, and don’t get arrested. If either of you gets arrested, forget that you’re in the FBI—or know her name. You’re on your own in the clink.”

They both laughed.

Apparently, Mom was watching.

And warning anyone they came in contact with that one of them—Tony—was a menace.

It wasn’t like she was wrong.

The captain wasn’t done.

“Oh, and Doctor Magnus, Elizabeth said specifically that we were to tell you that if you marry ANYONE , she’s leaving you to clean up the mess. Stay away from roots and the ladies or Jaxon will hear about it.”

Gabby giggled.

Tony rolled his eyes.

Mostly, she was amused because she knew how big of a wild card the man could be.

Tony protested.

“I’m a happily married man. My wife is my world. I won’t be touching any roots, or jumping over them. That doesn’t need to be told to me constantly.”

Apparently, it did.

“She also said stop sulking or you’re going home.”

Immediately, he stopped, and Gabby was even more amused because he had, indeed, been sulking.

Well, well, well…

Someone knew him.

As the two of them got off of the jet, the stewardesses were unloading their gear for them.

Oh, and there was a lot. It wasn’t like they were staying long, a few days max, but they had equipment that Tony needed to scan the bones.

They were going to need to catalog them for the Scottish government.

As they saw a big truck approaching on the tarmac, it came to a stop near them.

When it did, a good-sized man headed their way. He had to be a little over six feet, and he was smiling at the two of them.

This had to be their escort.

“Doctor Magnus and Agent Gabriella Lopez?” he asked.

Together, they both nodded.

“I’m Graham Lainey, and I’m the keeper of the castle,” he offered.

Then, he shook their hands.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m to bring you and your gear to the castle where you’ll be staying and working. There’s certainly a lot of it.”

Tony shrugged.

Honestly, when they mobilized a team, there was so much more. He’d only brought the essentials.

“I packed light,” he admitted.

Then, he went there.

“Since we won’t start working until tomorrow, is there anyway we can go into the local village and see the sights? I’d love to hit up a pub and see my people.”

That amused Graham.

Why?

Because he’d been warned.

As for packing light, if this was light, he’d hate to see what heavy looked like.

That was for damn sure.

“Absolutely. I can take you into the village, and have some drinks with you to welcome you to Scotland.”

That made Tony incredibly happy.

All work and no play made Tony a dull boy.

“ BUT —I’ve been told to micromanage your activities, since your boss thinks you get into trouble at the drop of a hat.”

Gabby laughed.

Yeah, that sounded about right.

Tony let it go, since he was going to get time in town to buy a kilt, and dance on a bar top.

Sue him.

He wanted to make memories.

When Graham saw the small dog carrier, he pointed at it to get their attention.

“Who is your friend?” he asked.

Gabby turned it to face him.

“This is Bark Twain. I mostly call him ‘for the love of God, stop barking because you’re driving me insane’ .”

Immediately, he laughed.

Graham liked both of them. You could learn a lot about a person when you first met them. The dark-haired man had a few strands of gray, but he had really gorgeous aqua eyes.

As for the woman, she had springy curls, and so many freckles on her nose and cheeks.

They both looked friendly, and after Gryphen and Ian, he wanted to make more acquaintances that might just become friends.

As if he knew they were talking to him, the dog started barking on cue.

Apparently, he knew his name.

“I hope he won’t annoy you,” she said, already apologizing for her furry menace. “He’s disruptive, annoying, and my only family. I couldn’t kennel him. I didn’t know how long I’d be here. it could be a few days, or a few weeks.”

Graham didn’t mind.

Really.

He loved animals. Thus, why the castle had so many of them. The Blackhawks didn’t need horses, sheep, or goats.

He.

Did.

They were the company he chose to keep, unless he was finding a man to bed down with for a one-night stand.

“Well, he’s very welcome to join us. He’ll have to ride on your lap though,” he said. “I couldn’t bring the limo to pick you up. You have a lot of boxes. The truck was the best way to get you to the castle.”

They didn’t mind.

Really.

They could easily fit three of them across the front seat. They were getting an amazing trip out of this, so they could be inconvenienced for a little bit.