Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  He wanted both Maya and Jake in his life and his future, but he wasn’t sure that could happen. The Montgomerys and Gallaghers might be fine with the three of them being in a relationship, but not everyone would understand. What would they do when they had a kid? What would happen to that kid’s life? To the three of them, once there was another life added to the mix? How would things work out legally? Emotionally?

  Relationships were hard as fuck, and yet adding a third made it exponentially harder. He wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to be the one to back away when the time was right, but he also knew he would be the one who had to. The other two had roots here. The only person he had was Jake…and now Maya.

  He sighed and gripped the steering wheel harder at the thought of leaving them, of leaving everything they’d just begun to build. But maybe it would be the best for everyone? If he left, he’d be able to protect them better. Protect their bodies and their hearts.

  He could do that, he thought. If he worked hard at it, he could leave and never look back. Again.

  Only this time, there would be no letters, no phone calls with Jake. Because he wasn’t the kind of man who could find that strength a second time. If things got too tough, too much, he’d leave. Not for him, but for them. They deserved more than the angst and pain of whatever they had. They were his reason to live, his reason to fight, and that was why, if the time came and they couldn’t work it out between the three of them, he would make sure they were the ones to find their happiness. They deserved far more than him, and he was okay with that knowledge. He’d find a way to survive, find a way to live the life he’d always led; just without the danger lurking around every corner. He’d done it for years, and he’d do it again. For them.

  The vehicle lurched to the side of the road, glass shattering, metal twisting. The unholy sound of another car slamming into the driver’s side of his truck filled his ears. He kept his grip on the steering wheel, even as his body slammed against his seatbelt. He tried to steer into the momentum, but this was no skid, and he had no control. In what felt like hours, his truck skidded off the road, slamming into the embankment. Whatever had hit him backed up, and Border did his best to blink out the dizziness threatening to overcome him. He hadn’t hit his head, so he didn’t think it was a concussion, but getting slammed into by another car or truck wasn’t good for his body. Or his damn truck.

  He swallowed hard and took in the damage. His driver side window had shattered, and his door was bent in, but other than that, there wasn’t much wrong inside the cab. For all he knew, it was way worse on the outside, but for now, what he could see would have to be enough. He had a few cuts on his arms from flying glass, and wouldn’t be surprised if the same could be said of his face. He also knew he’d be bruised as all hell once he got out of the damn truck.

  He’d been alone on the back road since he’d opted not to take the highway back up to Denver, and apparently, that had been a terrible fucking idea. He couldn’t open the driver’s side door, but he could scoot over and get out on the other side. Only when he was about to, he had to duck from the spray of bullets hitting his fucking truck.

  Well, hell. It seemed this wasn’t an accident at all. He stayed down as low as he could, unbuckling his seatbelt so he could get even lower. He had his gun in the glove box since that was where he was allowed to have it in this state, but it was too damn far for him to reach. He’d just have to hope the other guy would get tired and leave.

  Border didn’t think that likely, however.

  He lay there in silence, cursing himself for not having a weapon close by. His truck was done for, and if these guys let him live, he’d have to pray the damn thing had enough in it to get him home.

  Or he could call Sanchez.

  Hell, he needed to call Sanchez anyway. Their position had been compromised yet again.

  Jesus Christ, the girl. He couldn’t let her get hurt, couldn’t let Jake and Maya get hurt. This couldn’t happen again, damn it. He couldn’t lose someone he was charged with protecting.

  He was just about to reach for the glove box, bullets be damned, when the sound of a revving engine echoed in his ears and whoever had hit him drove off. Border sighed and got his gun, doing his best not to hurt himself even more when he sat up.

  Armed and ready, he took stock of the situation and cursed yet again. He was out in the hill country, alone and in fucking bad shape. It could have been worse, he knew, but it would be a damn long walk for help.

  He quickly took out his phone and called Sanchez. “Get her out,” Border snapped as soon as the other man answered. “I just got hit.”

  “What the hell? Are you okay? Where are you?” Sanchez spoke faster and faster as he shot off questions, and Border sighed. He needed to get out of his damn truck because there was no way he’d be able to drive it anytime soon. Damn it. He liked this truck. And if he worried enough about that, maybe then he wouldn’t have to worry about the fact that the little girl’s life would have to be upended. Again. And that just his very presence put Jake and Maya in danger.

  He was some kind of special asshole for even letting himself get close to them. Yet he wasn’t sure he could walk away quite yet.

  “Just get her out,” Border growled.

  “On it, asshole,” Sanchez snapped. “Now, where the fuck are you? Are you hurt? Talk to me, man.”

  Border rested his head on the passenger headrest and gave Sanchez the mile marker before hanging up and closing his eyes. He needed to get out of the cab soon in case the assholes who’d run him off the road came back. All he knew was that his body ached, and he wanted to go home to the two people who mattered most—even if it was probably a bad idea.

  By the time he worked his way out of his truck, Sanchez had pulled up behind him. His body felt like a car had hit him—and one had.

  “Holy shit, Border,” Sanchez called out as he ran toward him. “I called the local authorities, who will deal with the wreck and not ask too many questions since I pulled some strings.” He ran a hand through his messy black hair. It seemed as if the other man had been doing that a lot from the looks of him. “Do we need to get you to the hospital?”

  Border shook his head and didn’t wince; he counted that as progress. “I didn’t hit my head, and I wasn’t going that fast when I went off the road. My body hurts, but I don’t think I have internal bleeding.”

  Sanchez narrowed his eyes. “You can’t tell that from looking, Border. Let’s get you checked out at least. You might not remember hitting your head.”

  Border sighed. “I just want to go home, Sanchez.” For as long as he had his home, that was.

  “Humor me,” Sanchez said dryly. “I don’t want whoever you have at home kicking my ass because I let you go down on my watch. Got me?”

  Border snarled.

  “Good. Now get in the car and I’ll take you to get checked out. You want me to call anyone for you?”

  Border could have taken Sanchez just then, even hurt as he was, but he knew he needed a little time before he saw Jake and Maya. There would be no hiding the bruises and cuts, and frankly, he wasn’t sure if he should at this point. They deserved to know what they were getting into, even if it meant he might have to leave them in order to keep them safe.

  Hell, maybe his head did hurt, after all.

  Without a word, he stomped over to Sanchez’s car and got in, cursing himself all the way. He’d been so in his head, thinking about Jake and Maya and whatever future they could possibly have, he hadn’t seen the damn truck that knocked him off the road coming. Hell, he didn’t even know if it was a truck. It could have been a fucking Prius for all he knew.

  By the time he got out of the hospital where they’d declared him sore but fine health-wise and ended up in front of Jake’s house, he was tired, cranky, and still not sure what he was going to tell Maya and Jake about what had happened. But with the fresh bruises and cleaned cuts on his body, he wasn’t going to be able to hide it.

  “You want me to walk
you in?” Sanchez asked from the driver’s side.

  Border shook his head. “I got it.” He sighed, pausing before speaking again. “I’m not going to tell you where we put her. Not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that…”

  “That you want to keep me safe. I got you, Sanchez.” Border sighed. “I’m done anyway. I can’t let them get hurt.” He nodded toward the house.

  “Them?” Sanchez asked, curiosity in his tone.

  “Bye, Sanchez.” He wasn’t about to let the other man in on his life. He wasn’t sure what the hell he was doing as it was. “Thanks for everything.” With that, he slammed the car door and slowly made his way to Jake’s front door.

  When it opened without him even having to knock, he knew he’d have some explaining to do.

  “What the fuck, Border?” Jake asked, his eyes wide. His lover moved quickly, taking Border by the waist and pulling him inside. “What the hell happened?”

  “Oh my God, Border,” Maya whispered. She closed the door behind them and ran her hands softly over his body. “Baby.”

  “I’m fine,” he grunted. It was only a little lie.

  “Fuck that,” Jake spat. “Do we need to take you to the doctor? Hell, look at these bruises, baby.”

  Jake pulled him to the couch, and the three of them sank down with Border in the middle, his lovers using their hands to roam his skin, as if checking to make sure he was really there.

  “I already went to the doctor,” he admitted and figured he’d made another mistake when both Jake and Maya narrowed their eyes at him.

  Maya tilted her head and studied his face. God, he loved her vivid blue eyes, even when she was mad as hell at him. “Excuse me? You went to the freaking hospital and didn’t call either one of us? Perhaps you hit your head, and that’s why you failed to call the two people in the world who care about you like we do?”

  She paused, and Jake stepped up.

  “Or maybe we don’t know you at all right now? Because you’re hurt, clearly fixed up thanks to a hospital visit, and we had no idea. Who dropped you off? Who took you in? Where the hell is your truck? Is this related to your job? Or was it just an accident?”

  Maya swallowed hard. “Or maybe we don’t need to know. Maybe we’re making this about us.” She stood on shaking legs. “I’m being passive aggressive, and I hate that. So how about I go get you an ice pack and leave you be.”

  She moved, and he reached out and gripped her wrist, ignoring the pain in his chest as he did. He’d moved too fast, and he might not have anything broken, but he was bruised to shit.

  “Sit down,” he ordered and sighed. “Please. I’ll explain everything right now. I promise.”

  “I should get you an ice pack anyway,” Maya said, her eyes glassy. His Maya wouldn’t cry, though, not until she was alone or at her wit’s end and couldn’t hold back. That just how she operated.

  “I’m okay. I promise.” He tugged again, and she sank next to him. She was careful not to put her weight on his side, but he could still feel her heat. Jake sat rod-straight on Border’s other side, but at least he was close.

  “What the hell happened?” Jake asked.

  Border sighed and told them everything. Told them about the little girl and the fact that he’d let her mother and sister die. The fact that her father had already died, setting forth the chain reaction that had led him there. He told them why—other than Jake—he’d moved to Denver again and what the next steps were. He explained every scar on his body, including the new ones, and did his best to keep calm as Maya and Jake started to curse under their breaths.

  “Seriously, Border?” Jake asked, his voice low. “You’ve done all of that, and yet you came back here? Came back to me?”

  He cleared his throat. “Yeah, yeah I did.”

  Maya leaned into him a little harder, but it didn’t hurt. In fact, her warmth seeped into his bones, and for the first time in a long while, he could breathe again.

  “Don’t scare us like that again,” she said after a moment. “You are so much stronger than I ever knew. And Border? You’re stronger than you think you are. I know that much. But I’m not going to lie and say I’m not happy that you’re leaving the life that led you down this path. I haven’t known you as long as Jake, but you’re mine. You get that, don’t you? You’re mine just as Jake is, and I take care of what’s mine. So, yeah, I’m damn glad you’re alive and here, even if a little bruised.” She cupped his face. “You protected those you could, and yet I know you carry the losses of those you couldn’t on your heart. That’s the kind of man you are, Border Gentry. You’re amazing, caring, strong, and ours.”

  When she brushed her lips against his, he knew he’d love her until the end of his days. He hadn’t meant to fall in love with Maya Montgomery, but he should have known the moment he met her, hell, the moment Jake had mentioned her, he’d have no control over his heart. He loved her as much as he loved Jake, and no matter what happened next, he wouldn’t lose that.

  Even if he had to leave to save them both.

  When she pulled back, he turned to Jake, who frowned at him. “What?” he asked, his voice cracking.

  “You’re going to do something stupid, aren’t you?” Jake asked, his voice a growl. “Because you think like me, and I’d do something idiotic right now.”

  Maya squeezed his arm, careful of his bruises. “What are you guys talking about?”

  Border closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I hate it that you know me as well as you do.”

  “Fuck off, man,” Jake said. “Don’t be an idiot.”

  “Tell me what the hell is going on,” Maya demanded. When Border opened his eyes, she looked between them and cursed. “No. No. You don’t get to leave to protect us.”

  Hell, he would never get over how well these two knew him. It scared the hell out of him.

  “I have to,” he whispered. “I need to protect you two. If they could find me on the road, they can find me here.” He remembered the feeling of being watched leaving Jake’s house before and dread filled his body. “They might have already. I don’t know what I’d do if you two got hurt because of me.”

  Maya growled and stalked away while Jake gripped Border’s good knee. “Fuck you, Gentry. We’re yours, and you can’t change that. You don’t get to run away to keep us safe. You ran before because of your own reasons, and while I didn’t get them at the time, I do now. But you don’t have that excuse now. We’re all adults, and we’re part of this together. You can’t leave us because you’re afraid for our safety.”

  He cupped Jake’s face, the other man’s beard rough against his palm. “I don’t know what I’d do if you or Maya got hurt because of me.”

  Maya moved toward him then and straddled his lap. Thankfully, it didn’t hurt, but right then, he didn’t think she cared. She cupped his face and frowned. “I’ll get up if I hurt you, but you better listen to me, Gentry. You’re ours. We said we’d do this as long we were sure we wouldn’t get hurt, that we wouldn’t break ourselves in the process, but you running away to protect us will hurt us more than you staying. Find a way to keep the house safe, to keep my apartment and the shop safe. That’s what you do, right? Keep us safe by staying. If you go, it’ll be worse. We won’t have you, and we won’t have protection. I’m not one to say I need it, but to keep you with us, to keep you safe, I’ll do anything. But you have to stay.”

  Border swallowed hard, his hands shaking. “I can’t lose you two,” he whispered, knowing he would lose them anyway if things got too bad. He’d walk to keep them safe, to keep their futures intact. But for now, he would stay because they needed him to. Once that changed, he would leave. It would break him, but he’d do it.

  “Border,” Jake growled.

  “I’ll stay,” he said finally. Both of them visibly relaxed, and Border knew that though they’d promised to keep at what they were trying to do with each other, it wasn’t the end of this discussion by far. Maya leaned on him, and he wrapped one arm ar
ound her to cup her butt while using his other to keep Jake close. His body hurt, but his heart hurt more. They held him close, kept him closer, and he knew that if the stars aligned…he might just be able to do this forever.

  He could try to keep them safe, to keep them in his life.

  He could try…or maybe…just maybe, it would be the last thing he did.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jake’s hands slid over the clay as the wheel turned, the vase in front of him slowly taking shape with each stroke, each turn. Clay skimmed his fingers, soft and yielding under his touch. He bit his lip, slowly sliding his thumb in and out of the top of the vase to create the exact shape he wanted. This was what he loved, working with clay, creating works of art with his own two hands and knowing that when he was finished, it would be something he had made, rather than something he had no part in.

  A groan sounded from his side, and he took his foot off the pedal and removed his hands from his latest piece. It was done at this point, and no amount of his handiwork would make it any better. At least not right now. It was exactly what he wanted, and hopefully, exactly what his client needed.

  He looked over his shoulder at a newly healed Border and a freshly scrubbed Maya standing in the doorway, their hands on each other yet their eyes on Jake. His cock thickened at the sight, and he swallowed hard. He licked his lips, his mouth suddenly very dry.

  “What are you two doing here?” he asked, his voice oddly rough. He cleared his throat, trying to get his head out of his art and on to the two people in front of him. Both ideas meshed, however, blending into the perfection that was their heat and his table.

  Maya licked her lips and reached down to grip Border through his jeans. Their lover groaned again, rocking his hips into her hold. “Watching you work with your hands like that?” She leaned back to fan herself with her free hand. “I’m having a Ghost moment.” She grinned like the cat that ate the cream. “You think we could do that? I’ve watched you work for years, you know. Even though I’ve known what your hands on my body felt like our entire relationship, I don’t think I’ve ever found you working with clay between your legs as sexy as I do right now.” She squeezed Border again while their lover reached up to cup her breast, his thumb casually swiping over her hardened nipple.