Page 212 of The Valiant Knight
That’s when he started crying.
The man on the phone was scared stupid, and he knew that he had to do something. He could hear him slurring his words, and he wasn’t sure if he was drunk, or a whole bottle into some pills.
“Tell me where you are,” he ordered. “Tell me, Graham, or I’ll have to get on a flight to come find you. Tell me!”
He didn’t know why he did it, but he told him the name of the bar.
“I’m in an alley behind it. I just…”
Gryphen had his phone on speaker, and Ian was right behind him. Scribbling on a notepad, he showed it to his man so he could help him as he distracted Graham long enough to get him help.
Ian was worried, and he read the message his fiancé scribbled down.
‘Tony is there. Give him the information and tell him to go get him. ASAP. Tell him it’s life or death. I’ll distract Graham until he can get there.’
Ian had his mission, and immediately, he started calling the other man.
This was dire, and he knew it.
Graham had hit rock bottom, and it was a matter of keeping him alive.
“Talk to me, Graham. Keep talking to me. Tell me what’s going on. I can get you on a plane and get you here. I can come there. Just tell me how to save you.”
His words were painful. They beat at him as he was doing battle with that one demon.
PTSD.
It had him by the balls, and ironically, it wasn’t the war that did this to him. It was letting D’Artangnan leave.
“I’m empty,” he whispered. “I can’t hold on any longer. I don’t want to live.”
Well, shit.
This was bad.
As for what he was saying, Gryphen knew that feeling, so he tried to do battle for his friend.
“It’s going to get better. I promise you, Graham, it’s going to get better. Listen to me!”
Graham didn’t believe that. There was no way this pain would ever stop. It was way too much for him to carry, and now, it was drowning him.
“I need a favor,” Graham admitted.
Gryphen would play along. After all, he was trying to keep him on the phone for as long as he could, and it wasn’t easy.
“What is it?” he asked.
He wiped his eyes.
“In my room, there’s a box. When I’m gone, get the box, and I need you to find someone.”
He didn’t like this.
Not.
At.
All.
