Page 215 of The Valiant Knight
Tony grabbed the phone, and hugged the man to his body.
“Gryph?” he asked.
He heard him.
“Just get him back to the castle, put him in bed, and let him sober up. Check on him. He’s on suicide watch. If you can’t talk some sense into him, I can get there as quickly as I can. I can beg Elizabeth to send me back.”
Tony got it.
“Did you call the boss?” he asked.
Gryphen looked over, and Ian was currently relaying what had happened, and what Graham wanted.
“Yes.”
Well, then, Tony was up to bat. He liked Gryphen, and Ian was a friend. If they needed his help, and Graham was slipping, he’d step in.
God knew he’d been there before.
“Okay, Gryph. I got this. I’ll text you later and let you know what’s going on,” he said, hanging up the phone.
Then, he wiped Graham’s tears, and made him stare into his face.
“Are you hurt physically anywhere?” he asked.
Graham nodded.
“My heart hurts,” he whispered.
Yeah, well, whose didn’t at some point?
Running his hands over the man’s arms and legs, he could tell that he wasn’t jumped, and he hadn’t been beaten.
That was a good start.
Pulling Graham up, he put his arm over his shoulder, he helped him out of the alley.
“Why did you come?” Graham asked.
Tony was honest.
“Two people asked me to, and they are my friends. When you love someone, you show up,” he stated. They also asked if he got there and Graham had hurt himself, if he would take care of him by making sure he was decent.
Since he was accustomed to death, he would have too.
Graham said nothing.
Somehow, Tony got him to the small car, and then inside of it. When he was buckled in, Tony got behind the wheel, and started the engine.
“I’m sorry you had to do this.”
Tony patted him on the leg.
“You matter to Gryphen and Ian. You work for Callen, and that makes you their family. I’m part of that family too, Graham. I don’t mind helping you. Let’s get you home and into the shower. You need to sleep this off.”
That was an understatement.
“I fucked up,” he whispered. “I had the love of my life and my stubbornness cost me everything.”
