Written in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4)(59)

As soon as the bindings were fully off, he had her in his lap and his mouth on hers. “Dear God, Autumn, I almost lost you.” The words came out on a ragged breath, and he closed his eyes firmly, willing himself not to cry when he needed to be strong for her.

Her fingers dug into his back, and he sighed. She was okay.

She was going to be okay.

And damn it, he shouldn’t have let her go.

He’d be damned if he let her go again.





Chapter Seventeen


“Well, at least the bruise is healing,” Maya said from her place on the couch. The other woman had her legs crossed in front of her, and when she wasn’t pressing her lips together, she was biting them as if trying not to say what she was thinking.

Considering Maya always said what she was thinking—at least it seemed that way to Autumn—whatever she was holding in had to be big.

Or at least complicated.

And Autumn knew all about complicated.

Autumn pressed at the bruise as she looked into the mirror. What Maya had said was true. The mark on her temple from where Sanders had gotten too close—far too close for her liking—was healing. Considering it had only been a few days since the attack, she couldn’t ask for more.

Okay, so she could ask for a whole lot more, but she wouldn’t just yet.

She wasn’t sure how she could.

She was too embarrassed to do anything but hide.

Autumn closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. “Have I said thank you for letting me stay at your place?”

“Not in the last hour, so I suppose it was due,” Maya said dryly.

When the cops had come to take Sanders away, she’d almost broken then, in fact, she wasn’t sure she hadn’t. Griffin had held her on his lap and murmured sweet words—sweet words she wasn’t sure she hadn’t made up. It was all a mix of adrenaline, fear, and a stark relief she had never thought she’d feel.

Sanders would be in jail for a long time.

There would be no hiding behind friends and using his money to get what he wanted. The police here had actually done their jobs and found out what they needed to charge him with a whole slew of things. Attempted murder, attempted rape, kidnapping, assault and battery…and that was just the big things. The man had stalking and other threatening-related charges against him, as well.

He wasn’t getting away this time.

And she hadn’t even spoken to him in this last attempt.

She hadn’t been able to.

By the time she’d woken up from being knocked out, Griffin was there, beating the hell out of her old teacher. And as much as she’d wanted to have Sanders out of her life permanently—have the cloying, suffocating fear out of her life permanently—she couldn’t allow Griffin to have that mark on his soul.

That Montgomery deserved more than that. They all did.

After she’d been checked out by the EMTs, the Montgomerys had shown up in force. She’d never felt that kind of love, that kind of care before in her life. Her parents hadn’t been hateful or cruel when she’d been growing up, but their affection was nothing like the Montgomerys.

Marie and Harry Montgomery had immediately offered to keep her with them so they could pamper her. The other Montgomerys had offered, as well.

All of them except Griffin.

He’d kissed her brow and held her tightly, refusing to let her go. She honestly didn’t know if that meant he’d wanted her with him and he’d expected it a done deal, or if he was done with her in truth. And because the man refused to actually say anything, she’d stepped away and gone with the loudest of the bunch.

Maya.

She’d have gone on her own, packed up her car and headed out of Denver and out of the Montgomery’s lives, but she hadn’t been strong enough for that. She’d had to pretend she was strong for so long, she didn’t have the energy to keep it up anymore.

While she might have wanted to stay with Griffin, she knew she couldn’t. Not when she was so uncertain about them and her life in general.

Due to the circumstances of her name changes, she’d gotten away with the questionable legalities of her running with only a slap on the wrist. She didn’t know if it was luck or the Montgomery lawyer who had helped. The Montgomerys might own businesses, but they were still pretty blue-collar, so it surprised her the power they held. But from the way they adopted friends and family and their overall demeanor, she shouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest.

“You’re frowning,” Maya said, pulling Autumn from her thoughts. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about saying thank you. It’s just you don’t have to say it at all. I know you’re grateful. But honestly, you being here helps me keep my mind off things, so it’s a win-win.”

Autumn turned slowly, her head tilted. “What things?”

Maya pressed her lips together and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“Maya.”

“Nothing I want to talk about, okay? So let’s talk about you. What are your plans?”

Autumn sighed and moved toward the loveseat, sinking into the cushions as she tried to come up with what to say. She didn’t even know her own thoughts, how was she supposed to have this make sense to Maya?

“I don’t know my plans,” she said honestly. “I’ve been going from place to place, job to job for so long, I don’t even remember what I wanted to do before this all started.”