Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)(59)

“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.”