Inked Persuasion: A Montgomery Ink: Fort Collins Novel

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “Annabelle,” I whispered and tried to get up off the couch.

  My dad cursed and came to my side.

  “I will help you stand up, but you’re only allowed up for five minutes. Then, you need to sit down again.” My dad helped me so I wouldn’t hurt myself, even though I thought I could have done it on my own. I just moved too quickly for Dad’s liking.

  Dad looked over his shoulder at Annabelle. “I’m putting this on you, young lady. Because we both know that he’ll never listen to me.”

  “I’ll make sure he sits down before the five minutes are up.”

  “Narc,” I said on a laugh, and then just stared at her.

  “It’s good to see you,” she whispered.

  “It’s good to see you…”

  “Well, I can see we’re not needed,” Mom said on a laugh.

  Annabelle blushed. “I’m sorry, it’s good to see you two again, as well.”

  “And we’ll see you soon for dinner,” Mom said as Dad wheeled her out.

  “Did she mean tonight? Or on Sunday?” Annabelle asked, staring at me.

  “Why not both?” I asked, swallowing hard. “Hi,” I whispered, not knowing what else to say.

  “Hi,” Annabelle said back as she moved forward.

  “I missed you,” I said, not wanting to hold anything back. Not anymore.

  “I missed you, too,” she said as she stood in front of me, so close I could feel the heat of her. I reached up and pressed my thumb against her lips. She moved back, flinching.

  I cursed. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, I am. Hotch…Hotch must have seen you do that before, and then he did it to me.”

  I growled, anger bubbling up. “If I see him, I will kill him,” I ground out.

  “I think you’re going to have to stand in line behind the rest of my family,” she said on a sigh. “And everyone will have to stand behind me.”

  “Let’s not talk about Hotch anymore,” I said, not knowing if that was the right thing to say at all.

  “I don’t want to talk about him either, other than to say that while I thought I was doing an okay job of saving myself, I’m so glad you showed up. Beckett told me how you figured it out, about everything. I’m just so glad that you were there.”

  “If you thank me for saving your life, I’m going to get angry,” I growled.

  “Well, you’d better stay angry,” she said softly. “Thank you. Thank you for being there, thank you for always being there. I’m so sorry you got hurt.”

  “Not your fault. And you don’t get to thank me again. You’re the one who made sure he couldn’t shoot me in the chest.”

  “And you’re the one who ensured he couldn’t shoot me in the head,” Annabelle said, and then her eyes widened as she put her hand over her mouth.

  I shook my head, a grim sense of humor sliding over me. “What the hell is wrong with us?” I asked her.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

  I held out my hands, and she slid hers into mine and stepped forward.

  “My five minutes are almost up,” I whispered.

  “Then I’d better be quick,” she said.

  “I love you,” I whispered. “Always. I always have. Maybe just as friends before when we were younger, but it’s turned into something more. And I loved you when I told you to leave. I was wrong. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”

  “Don’t. No more anger or pain over what would have or should have been. We can’t do that to ourselves. Not anymore.”

  “Okay, then. Let’s think about you and me. I love you so fucking much.” Her eyes filled with tears, and I cursed. “Don’t cry.”

  “I’m going to cry, and you can’t stop me. Because I love you, too.”

  “I don’t know how that makes sense,” I said on a laugh. She rose to her tiptoes and kissed me softly. I cupped her face, grateful when she didn’t flinch, then kissed her again, both of us being so careful with each other.

  “Marry me,” I whispered, shocking even myself.

  She blinked at me, moving back. “What?” she whispered.

  “Marry me. I love you so fucking much, Annabelle. We’ve already been through the worst together. I want you in my life. For now and always. I know it’s too soon, I know it’s insane, but I want you as my wife. I know you married my brother before so you’d be marrying into the family again, but we love you, Annabelle. All of us. I want you to be a Queen in truth.”

  She blinked away tears and looked at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my parents in the doorway, both of them wide-eyed as they stared, love in their gazes.

  “It’s too soon,” Annabelle whispered, and I tried not to let the blow show.

  “Okay, but still be with me,” I whispered.

  “I’m not finished yet,” Annabelle chided. “I love you. It’s too soon. But yes, yes, I’ll marry you.”

  I nearly fell to my knees, and when my dad scowled, even as his eyes were filled with happiness, I let Annabelle help me to the couch. Then she leaned over and kissed me softly.

  “I love you, Jacob Queen.”

  “And I love you, Annabelle Montgomery, soon to be Queen.”

  And then my parents were there, and we were all smiling, and I knew that we had a long ways to go. This wasn’t our end, it was only the beginning.

  I looked up at the ceiling for just the barest moment and whispered a word of thanks to Jonah for bringing Annabelle into our lives.

  And I knew he would be there with us always, too.

  Even if it had taken me a long time to realize that.

  Chapter 23

  Annabelle

  * * *

  I leaned against my twin’s side as Archer wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. While I wasn’t much below average in height, it had always bugged me that Archer was so much taller than me. After all, we were twins and should at least be alike in some aspects, fraternal or not.

  “Why are you scowling at me?” Archer asked, a single brow raised.

  “Just annoyed that you took all the tall genes.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. The others in the room eyed us, curious gazes on their faces. Marc stared at Archer as if he were the only thing in his universe, and it made me so happy. Archer was happy with the love of his life, as I was with mine. Somehow, we had both found our happiness, nearly at the same time. It made me so happy that Archer seemed to have found peace as I had.

  “Marc is looking at you right now like he could lick you up,” I said, teasing.

  Archer choked on his beer after he had taken a sip.

  “Thank you for that image. You’re my sister. That’s gross.” He paused. “But you know Jacob’s doing the same to you. Now I need to scowl at him all big-brother-like.”

  I elbowed Archer in the gut, and he laughed. “I’m the big sister. Remember? Five minutes before you.”

  “Like you ever let me forget. You are seriously the middle child sometimes.”

  I beamed. “Am I? Or am I just the best?”

  “Why are you giving yourself delusions of grandeur over here?” Beckett asked as he strode over to my other side.

  I wrapped my free arm around his waist and leaned into his massive chest. “I’m allowed to imagine that I’m the best every once in a while. But since this family dinner is for Jacob and me—mostly me—I can pretend I am the best.”

  “And when our littlest sister decides to get married, do you think we’ll have the same type of party?” Beckett asked, his voice low.

  I glared at him before risking a glance over at Paige and Colton.

  They were talking in hushed tones in the corner, both of them smiling at each other as if they were the only two people in the world. If they weren’t careful, though, our father would go over there and drag Paige away by her hair, just because he could. Not because he didn’t like Colton. We all liked Colton.

  “Why are you standing over here ignoring everybody?” Benj
amin asked as he came slowly to our sides. He gently shoved Beckett out of the way so he could hug me closer. Beckett just sighed. Archer opened his arm and grinned. “It’s okay, big bro. Come over here, let me hold you.”

  Beckett made a show of it and then went over and hugged Archer so the four of us were in a line, all cuddling and watching Jacob’s family, my parents, and the rest of our friends and family enjoying their dinner.

  It wasn’t a true engagement party, more like a proposal party as I liked to call it.

  A proposal and a thank-God-we’re-alive party.

  And it had only been a few weeks since the kidnapping and shooting, so while I wasn’t nearly okay yet, I was much better than I had been.

  We had more things to worry about, far more things to deal with. And we would. But for now, Jacob and I were fine, as was the rest of my family. We had made strides in our largest project to date, and we were working as a cohesive unit. We were doing okay.

  And I was marrying the love of my life.

  I smiled. I couldn’t help it. Before I could say anything, three kids, ages five to eleven, chased each other around the house and interrupted my thoughts. Archer laughed and then moved away so he could pursue them.

  Clay, their cousin/dad/caretaker, ran after them, giving us all an apologetic gaze. “Sorry, they decided to play tag. In the house. Because this is my life.”

  I laughed, and then Benjamin pulled away to join in on the fun, surprising me.

  “Well, it’s good to see Benjamin out and about and smiling.”

  I frowned, looking up at Beckett. “What do you mean by that?” I asked.

  Beckett shook his head. “Not right now. We’ll talk about it later.”

  “Well, that’s not ominous at all.”

  “What’s ominous?” Brenna asked, pulling up to Beckett’s side. She only had eyes for him, even though I was her best friend, but I let it be. It was fine that my best friend was in love with my brother. He had no idea, though maybe one day things would change, and something would happen. Still, Beckett was a little bit obtuse.

  Beckett patted Brenna on the head, and I groaned.

  Okay, he was a lot dense.

  “You cut your hair. I like it.”

  “Did you just pat me on the head like a dog?” Brenna asked, huffing.

  “What? It’s cute.”

  She rolled her eyes, glared at me instead of him, and stomped away.

  “What? What did I do?” Beckett looked honestly confused, and I wasn’t going to enlighten him. It wasn’t my place.

  “I think you should probably go get a drink and just forget it.”

  “Fine,” Beckett said and made his way towards where Brenna was, probably to either apologize or ask what he did wrong.

  “Your family is loud,” Eliza said, Lee at her side. My other best friend and Beckett’s best friend had joined us as well and were mostly staying out of the way. I didn’t blame them. We got loud when we were together, and it only got worse when Clay and the kids came. I loved the kids, though, and considering I knew for a fact that my father had egged them on for the game of tag, I didn’t mind the noise.

  “Hey, I’m glad you’re okay,” Lee said before kissing the top of my head.

  I could feel a glare on me, and I knew Jacob was watching, but I ignored it. There was no reason for him to be jealous. Lee was a longtime friend, and I knew he’d never had eyes for me.

  “Anyway, I need to head home soon,” Eliza said quickly.

  I looked up at her, frowning.

  “Oh? We haven’t even eaten.”

  “Marshall has a scheduled call soon, thankfully. I want to make sure I’m home for that.”

  Lee frowned. “Do you need a ride?”

  She shook her head and smiled. “No, I’m fine. I drove here. And I made sure I was a little farther down the block so no one blocked me in. But I’m glad you’re safe. Never do that again. You scared the life out of me.” Eliza kissed me on the cheek, and I hugged her tight, and then Lee wrapped his arms around us both and lifted us up.

  “What was that for?” I called out.

  “I just felt like it,” Lee said, gave us a wicked grin, and then went over to where the others were.

  I shook my head, alone for a moment before Jacob came over and brushed my hair from my face before kissing me softly.

  “I was about to beat up Beckett’s little friend,” he growled against my lips.

  I wrapped my arms around his waist and sighed. “It’s just Lee. You don’t have to be jealous of him.”

  “I can be jealous of anybody I want,” he said softly. “I love you,” he whispered.

  My heart squeezed, and I let out a happy sigh.

  “I love you, too.”

  “There are a lot of people in this home that love you. A lot that are your family.”

  “Like your parents, and you.” I paused. “Jonah’s here, too, you know. Don’t you feel it?”

  I did my best to mention him often, to never forget, and I knew Jacob was doing the same. And when his eyes filled with the barest hint of sadness before he smiled, I knew I’d said the right thing.

  “It’s precisely what I was thinking. He’s here, probably telling jokes, and wondering why it took us so long.”

  “I had to become me before I could find you.”

  “That’s a very good answer,” he whispered and kissed me again.

  “Get a room!” Archer called.

  “Or not,” Dad corrected. “Let’s sit down and act like civilized people and stop making out in corners. Both of my young ladies,” Dad scolded, and Paige laughed until I pulled away, sliding my fingers along Jacob’s.

  “Well, you’re about to be inundated by the full Montgomery experience. Are you ready for this?”

  He winced. “I don’t know if I’m ready for the Montgomerys, but I’ve always been ready for you. It just took me a little while to realize it.”

  I turned under my fiancé’s arm and made my way to my family, connections and all. I knew that we might not be fully steady, we might have a little more broken bits than others, but we were finding our way.

  One promise at a time.

  Broken

  Eliza

  * * *

  I set my phone and purse down on the table as I walked in and rolled my shoulders back. It was a fun party, seeing Annabelle so happy meant the world to me, but it was still hard to see others so ecstatic about their futures when mine wasn’t home yet.

  What an odd thing to say, considering it felt like I had spent more of my adult life alone than with my husband. But Marshall would be home soon. Within the next sixteen days.

  I could not wait to see him.

  It had been a long tour this time. Longer than all the others. And I hoped it would finally be the last. Between Marshall being on tour, and all four of my brothers being strewn across the world, I was tired of being alone. And though Annabelle and the others did their best to make sure I was never truly alone, that I knew I had them as family, I wasn’t entirely right yet.

  I wasn’t completely whole.

  But soon, Marshall would be home, and then my brothers, and then everything would be okay. Finally.

  I slid my earrings out of my ears, tossed my shoes onto the floor, and looked around my small home that didn’t feel like mine yet. I was a military wife. I didn’t get to put many things on the walls or put my finishing touches on everything until I knew that we would be in a place for a while. These past two tours had extended Marshall’s duties here, which meant I had been in one place longer than planned. I’d been able to put down some roots with friends, and at least get a decent job. But I still hadn’t made this place a home. I needed to change that, but not until Marshall was here. I didn’t want to make too many changes unless he was back. That way, when he came home, it wasn’t too much of a shock.

  He would already have enough stress when he came back stateside. I didn’t need to add to it by changing everything and decorating things he had no chance
to voice his opinions on.

  It would have been nice to have my big family close, to not feel as though it had been ages since I’d seen them. But soon, that would change. I was only a little jealous of Annabelle and her family, but then again, they’d opened their arms to me, and I was never alone when it came to them. They were always there, Annabelle and Paige and Brenna and the Montgomery brothers. They were loud, boisterous, and always had open arms, even if the older two brothers, the twins, glowered a lot most days.

  I was thinking about taking a bath when the doorbell rang. I frowned, wondering if maybe Annabelle had decided to check on me.

  Or perhaps it was a salesperson who wanted to sell me exterminator services or water. They seemed to come around more often these days, and it annoyed me to no end. It would annoy Marshall even more, so maybe I should get one of those signs that most solicitors would ignore, but at least I could point at it and scowl instead of having to speak and open the door fully.

  I looked through the side window and my knees went weak. But I didn’t say anything. Maybe it wasn’t what I thought it was.

  Perhaps this was just a mistake.

  I was Mrs. Marshall Strong, Eliza Wilder Strong. I could do this.

  I opened the door to the uniformed officer, the man who must be a chaplain, and my knees gave out.

  “Mrs. Strong?”

  I could hear the words, and I knew what was coming, but everything just echoed as a keening wail sounded.

  Mine.

  And when the men spoke, I knew it was over.

  Marshall was dead.

  My husband was gone.

  Next up in the Montgomery Ink series?

  Beckett Montgomery finds his fate with Eliza in INKED OBSESSION

  * * *

  Want to read a special BONUS EPILOGUE featuring Jacob and Annabelle CLICK HERE!