Page 9 of The Valiant Knight (The Ravensmire Chronicles #2)

The Crypt

Same Time

Ravensmire Castle

F or Gabby, working with Tony was always an adventure. At that very moment, he was on his knees in the crypt, looking for bone fragments like his whole life depended on it.

Crazily enough, the man had the ability to find the smallest chip no matter where he went.

Walking on a beach?

He’d find one.

On a stone path?

He’d find ten.

It was like he had bone radar, and could just sniff the air and locate them.

Now, he was as giddy as a schoolgirl over something so small that he’d managed to locate. To Gabby, it was nothing more than a fragment of a bone sliver, but to Tony, it was a discovery that needed to be shared with the world.

Someone REALLY loved his job.

“Hand me the vial,” he said from inside the concrete crypt hole.

Gabby was infinitely grateful that he was the one in there, and not her.

That didn’t look like fun, and if she ever thought that crypt spelunking was a good time, someone should slap her stupid.

When she heard a rock skittering across the stone floor, she turned, thinking it was Graham.

Only, it was not.

As soon as she saw who it was, her dream came back to her, and recognition dawned.

Her valiant knight.

Stepping back, she felt that chill all around her, and she could have sworn she felt hands on her chest, shoving her backward.

In that moment, she lost her balance, and knew she was about to get hurt. She was falling backward into the other empty crypt, and going to likely hit her head on the edge.

Only, before she could go over, the mystery man was there, grabbing her arm, pulling her back to him, and locking Gabby to his body.

Oh, holy shit.

And what a body it was.

As he stared into her eyes, she felt the whole world shake around her as it flipped upside down, stealing her breath.

He was so handsome.

And strong.

His blue eyes were the kind of blue you wanted to fall into like when you were at the beach. In them, she found a peace that had eluded her for the last three years.

Here was her knight in shining armor.

She was sure of it.

This was a curious wrinkle in her trip here, and she hoped it only got more interesting.

The whole time he held her, neither of them moved. It was as if time stood still all around them.

It was as if they didn’t need words.

But something more.

That contact was speaking for itself.

“I’m sorry, Lass. Did I scare you?” he asked, his heart racing in his chest.

This was the lady!

This was the woman in his dreams, but now, she felt and smelled a million times better than he could ever imagine.

He

Was.

Captivated.

Gabby struggled to find words, and while she knew she should get free from the man, that was the LAST thing she wanted to do.

Seriously.

This man…

He.

Was.

Hot.

It felt like she was trapped in his eyes, and she couldn’t move away from him. In fact, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure she was breathing.

The room was silent until Tony popped up out of the hole in the ground.

“Good catch. She nearly toppled into the hole,” he said, jumping up to get out of the crypt.

As he did, Finn still held her. A part of him couldn’t let go, and he didn’t understand it. Something inside of him refused to let her out of his sight.

Maybe it was the ominous warning in his dream, where she told him she was in danger.

Or the fact that his body really felt like she was his. Where had she been all of his life?

Oh, yeah.

America.

When he finally blinked, he managed to break the gaze, and focus on the other man. He’d said something, but he wasn’t sure what.

All he knew was letting her go was going to be difficult.

Damn.

Difficult.

“I should let you go,” he said, setting her free and taking a full step backward to put space between them. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. His body had come alive, and he couldn’t remember ever feeling like this.

Finn felt overheated, and his body literally ached to close the distance between them.

When Finn released her, there was a blush to her skin, and he didn’t miss it.

Someone else felt the same way, and he was willing to bet on it.

Now, he had other questions.

What the hell was going on?

Why was he acting this way?

And how the hell did he know what she looked like before ever meeting her in his life?

The other man stepped closer, and he began the introductions. Honestly, he only wanted to meet the gorgeous woman.

Period.

“I’m Doctor Anthony Magnus, but you can call me Tony. You must be the Detective Inspector we’ve heard is going to watch us with the bones. You’re right on time. We haven’t started yet.”

Oh, he was watching the woman as Tony kept talking about something or other.

When he mentioned her name, he focused.

“This is Agent Gabby Lopez,” he said. “We’re trying to get this remains situation handled for our boss.”

He left it at that.

Holding out his hand, Finn did his own introduction.

“I’m Fineas McKnight, and yeah, I’m the Detective who is supposed make sure everything goes smoothly. Please. Call me Finn.”

When he finished shaking the man’s hand, he held it out to the gorgeous woman. He could still smell her perfume, and his libido turned on.

Jesus.

What was going on?

Why did he want a complete stranger like this?

How was that possible?

With a slight hesitation at first, she reached out and shook his hand. The whole time, she said absolutely nothing. It was clear that he wasn’t the only one caught off guard, but why was she?

That was the question.

Why was she watching him with shock?

Had they met before?

Other than in his dream?

“We promise to be respectful,” Tony said, continuing to talk about the remains, as he missed the chemistry exploding right in front of him. “Right, Gabs?” he asked.

She was staring at the man, reliving the dream from the night before and trying to get past the feeling that she’d been shoved backward.

Was she losing her mind?

Was this the same valiant knight from last night, and was she hallucinating?

On top of that, his last name was McKnight?

Really?

What the hell?

Because she was silent, Tony elbowed her, and she managed to pull her shit together.

Only, it wasn’t easy.

He smelled like a forest, and when he pulled her into him, it had been so natural. Anymore, she was fearful of men, and didn’t like to let them close, but this one…

She wanted to let him really close. It was official. She was definitely nuts.

“Yes, we’ll be very respectful,” she said, trying to not sound like an idiot.

When Finn smiled at her, Gabby’s whole body reacted, and she wasn’t alone.

Being this close to her, and hearing her voice, was making him insane.

That was the voice he’d heard in his dream. He was almost a million percent positive of it.

It appeared that he’d found the woman whose voice lured him to the cliffs in his dream.

What else would she lure him to do?

Honestly, he was willing to find out.

“Well, then, we should be good,” he said. “What are you doing for today?” he asked, much more willing to babysit now since he saw who he was going to be near.

Yeah, she was gorgeous, and his tolerance of babysitting was now so much better.

This changed everything.

In the back of his head, he knew that this was stupid, but he couldn’t help himself. Finn desperately craved getting to know her better.

Hell!

He wanted to know more about her like if she was single because, he was damn grateful he was.

While not a lady killer, he could hold his own. What he did know was that his last girlfriend was nothing like this woman—not that she was his girlfriend.

Yet.

He was working on that as soon as he got his bearings. From the dream, he knew the potential. She was going to be his wife.

He was calling that here and now.

Bet.

On.

It.

As for his ex…

She’d been a fiery redhead from Ireland who slept with him, crashed in his flat until he was no longer needed, and then went home, leaving him behind to pick up the pieces.

That was three years ago, and it broke something in him. What he wanted was a partner who wouldn’t run.

Which complicated things since she was an American who would be going home at some point.

Yeah, he’d stress that later.

Tony kept talking as he held out the bone fragment in his gloved hand.

“We’re going to check the crypts, and make sure that the bones that are interred here are that of Duncan Granndach. We won’t know the identity, for sure, but we will know if it was a man, or not.”

He kept talking.

“Then, we’re going to prepare for digging up Ceit Granndach.”

He blinked, and knew he needed to focus. If he didn’t, he’d look like a complete idiot.

He looked over.

“What are you digging up?” he asked, distracted by the scent of this woman.

Tony had to tell him again.

“Um, Ceit Granndach. You know, Duncan’s wife, who is oddly buried outside while he’s chilling in the crypt built for three?”

Finn was still staring at the other American, memorizing her face.

Tony was still having a conversation, but the man didn’t appear to be listening.

“We have to go to her grave, and then bring her back inside. The new owner wants her returned to this crypt,” he said, pointing at the second empty one. “Then, I want to figure out where the remains that were in this crypt went because there’s bone fragments. Someone was in there.”

That was fine with him.

Honestly, he had his own mystery to solve.

It was the mystery of learning everything about this particular woman.

He was solely focused on Gabby.

“And are you a doctor, like Doctor Magnus?” he asked, curiously in an attempt to learn everything about her.

She nodded.

“Yes, I have a doctorate in Computer Science and Computer Engineering,” she admitted. “I don’t go by doctor though. I’m just plain old Gabby.”

Oh, there was nothing plain about her.

That was for damn sure.

“I think that’s underselling yourself,” he said, his accent there. “I don’t think plain is a good word to use. I can think of a million other ones.”

Oh, shit.

Had he said that out loud?

Oh, he had it bad.