Page 7 of The Valiant Knight (The Ravensmire Chronicles #2)

“Tony deals with the dead all day long. This isn’t my thing, but I’ll make sure he’s reminded. We promise not to annoy the ghosts.”

While Tony was setting up cameras, and getting ready to start his job, Graham and Gabby waited.

And he was curious.

“You’ve mentioned that bones aren’t your thing. What do you do at the FBI then?” he asked, as he had Bark in his bag.

She was to the point.

“I’m a hacker. Need a million dollars deposited into your account?” she asked, joking.

He laughed.

Wait a minute.

“Is that a possibility?”

She winked at him.

Oh, it was, and she could get away with it, but she wasn’t that kind of a hacker. She was an ethical one who worked for the US government.

Then again, what government was ethical?

“So what do you hack then?” he asked.

She was honest.

“I find things that people want to keep hidden, like suspects, killers, and victims. If Elizabeth has a case, and she has a locked laptop, after we get a warrant, I get in and look around.”

Oh, that sounded less ominous.

“Do you like your job?”

She shrugged.

“There are good days and bad. Recently, I had to find child porn, and that was a bad day. It’s why I got a vacation. Elizabeth wanted me to recover from that.”

Oh, he bet.

“And to babysit me,” Tony said, proving he was working but able to listen at the same time.

“Thank you for doing your job,” he said.

Gabby appreciated that.

“Thank you for serving as a soldier. I can tell you were one by the way you carry yourself.”

He laughed.

“Old habits die hard,” he admitted.

Yes, yes, they did.

When his phone chimed, Graham pulled it from his pocket. As soon as he saw who it was, he had to go meet the next guest in this adventure.

He honestly hoped they didn’t mind the man being around, because he knew Finn.

He.

Was.

Tenacious.

“The Detective Inspector is here to make sure that everything goes as per the council’s request,” he said.

Gabby and Tony didn’t mind if they had spectators. They’d still do their jobs the same way.

“That’s fine, Graham,” she offered.

He was grateful they were calm.

“I’ll send him down and tell him to be on his best behavior. Meanwhile, if you need anything, let me know. Bark and I are going to go let the horses out into the field, and feed the goats.”

She kissed her dog on its head.

“Be good, and don’t pee anywhere but outside!” she warned.

The dog just barked.

To reassure her, so she wasn’t stressed about that too, Graham took a chance and patted her on the back.

“I’ll keep an eye on him. Do you mind if I run into town with him?” he asked. “I can get him a thick steak at the butcher’s.”

She shook her head.

Oh, well, Bark was going to toss her over for an ex-soldier who fed him steaks.

Bet on it.

“Someone is spoiled,” she said, smiling. “I don’t mind if you take him with you. His leash is in my room. He doesn’t bite, which is his only redeeming quality.”

Well, he wasn’t shocked.

This dog was a good boy.

He could tell by how he acted. He was a little ball of fluff with a sweet side.

“I’ll take good care of him,” he promised.

As he walked away, Tony was pulling on gloves. He saw something in the one crypt when he pointed his flashlight at it.

Now, he needed to inspect it.

Sue him, but he couldn’t help himself.

Not.

At.

All.

“Did you hear what he said?” she asked Tony. “Because one of us gets out of hand, and one of us, me, doesn’t.”

He laughed.

“Yeah, I heard. Ghosts…blah blah blah. Don’t do crazy things, Tony. Don’t have fun, Tony,” he said, making her laugh.

The man was sitting on the edge of the crypt furthest into the room.

“Cover me. I’m about to drop into the crypt and see what’s down here,” he admitted.

She lifted a brow.

“How are you getting out?” she asked.

He was honest.

“This isn’t my first crypt I’ve had to spider monkey out of, little lady,” he said with a Western drawl.

Okay.

He was insane.

As he dropped in, the room got even colder, and now, they both could see their breaths.

The room got this weight to it, like it was oppressive and heavy.

It felt…sad.

Angry.

And off.

“Do you feel that?” she asked, whispering to her partner in this.

Tony nodded, and looked around.

“What if we just pissed off a ghost?” Gabby asked, thinking about what Graham had told them.

Oh, boy.

Tony went with logic.

“There’s no such things as ghosts,” he declared, adamantly.

Before she could say anything, they both heard laughter. It was masculine, and coming from…somewhere. It sent goosebumps up and down her arms, and his. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

Tony stared at her.

“What the hell was that?” he asked.

She had no damn clue. Only, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was standing right behind her.

“Tony, is there anything behind me?” she asked, as there was chills on her neck, like someone was breathing on her.

He looked.

“Just don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “It’s just an indoor crypt, and nothing else. There are no ghosts.”

Uh-huh.

Tell that to whatever was behind her. Because she wasn’t imagining it, and she wasn’t turning around to look at it.

No.

Freaking.

Way.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be standing in someone’s Crypt, Tony. Maybe that’s a very bad idea.”

He was already focused on the bone shards on the bottom of the crypt.

“Someone was in here,” he said. “I found some old bones. There definitely were remains in here,” he admitted.

In a crypt?

Who knew?

Gabby’s fight or flight was kicking in, and she had the very overwhelming urge to get the hell out of there.

Like she was suddenly in danger.

There was more laughter, but this time, only she heard it, or Tony was lost in his work.

It appeared she had a new job there.

It was to be a ghostbuster.

And frankly, she didn’t sign up for that.

Not in the least.

* * *The Ravensmire Castle* * *

The Kitchen

Same Time

Wednesday

Mid-Morning

When Graham arrived to the kitchen, he found Finn sitting at the island having a cup of coffee.

He was in a blazer, jeans, and he was wearing his badge.

When he got up to greet him, he saw the peek of a handle beneath his blazer, proving that he was carrying.

It appeared Finn was one of the cops who had been authorized to be armed.

He wasn’t sure why he needed it here. Who was he going to arrest and shoot?

Tony?

Then again, someone had been dancing on a bar last night in a kilt, sans his underwear underneath.

“Hey,” Graham said.

Finn was focused on the dog.

“Uh, who is this fellow?” Finn asked as he scratched the scruffy dog behind the ears. “And why are you carrying him like he’s your child? Did you finally give birth?”

Graham snorted.

Oh, someone was funny.

He explained.

“He’s one of the FBI agent’s guard dogs,” he joked. “This is Bark Twain.”

That caught him off guard.

It also made him laugh.

Someone had a sense of humor, now didn’t they?

“That’s quite the name,” he admitted. “I’m going to take a wild stab at it, and say that someone likes to bark?”

Yes, yes, he did.

“Are you going to give him back, Momma?” Finn joked.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “Do you think the Fed will let me have him?”

Ehhh, probably not.

Truth be told, Graham was kind of attached to the little guy already. It was nice having company as he did his chores and had someone to talk to.

Not that he talked back.

“Where are the Feds?” Finn asked, sipping his coffee as he prepared to deal with them.

Graham jerked his head down the corridor and toward the unfinished part of the castle.

“The crypt.”

“Fun,” he said.

Uh-oh.

Someone was cranky.

“Rough night with the ladies, Finn?” he asked, amused. “You’re not normally surly, but now, you’re a wee bit cranky. You might want to put that away. They didn’t do anything to provoke you.”

That was the truth.

He did have a rough night.

“I kept having this bizarre dream last night. No matter how much I woke up, and then went back to sleep, it was the same goddamn dream.”

Um…

Graham was curious.

“What was the dream about?” he asked. “If you don’t mind telling me. Was it about finally finding a lady and not being a hermit?”

He laughed.

Oh, there was a lady in it, all right.

A pretty one.

“You’re going to think I’m insane,” he admitted. “But I’m not.”

That would be for him to decide.

Oh, and besides, weren’t they all a little cuckoo anyway?

“Tell me,” he said, putting Bark on the floor so he could stretch out his legs.

Finn told him, and the whole time, he didn’t think it was crazy.

The brain did interesting things when a person went to sleep.

That was for sure.

Finn kept talking.

“Since when do I start dreaming about a wife when she’s in danger? I’m not even dating anyone. I haven’t had a woman’s company in three years. Not since Rosie took off and left.”

Graham considered it.

“Maybe it’s sexual frustration,” he offered.

Well, that could be.

It was time to ask questions, and Graham had a few for his friend.

“Have you seen her before?” he asked.

He laughed.

“No. She’s not anyone I have met. I’d remember. She was absolutely gorgeous, and American. Shouldn’t my dreams have the ladies speaking with an accent like my own?”

He wasn’t sure.

He didn’t dream about the ladies. He did dream about a specific American Marine all of the time.

His dreams haunted him.

D’Artangnan haunted him.

Well, color him intrigued. Now, Graham was curious.

“What did she look like?”

Finn described her because she plagued his dreams. His dreams, when he was awake…

She was running through his mind, and he couldn’t stop fixating on her.

Not.

At.

All.

“She was tall, curvy, and had these wild curls. They were cocoa brown, and her freckles…they were so damn adorable.”

Graham stared at him.

Uh…

Why did that sound like Gabby?

What the hell?

Now, he needed to know even more.

“What color eyes did she have?” he asked trying to figure out if his friend just described Gabby, or this was a complete coincidence.

It was kind of freaky that he was talking about a real woman—a woman he’d yet to meet.

He considered it.