“Anyway, Blake,” Maya said as she turned her attention. “We like what we see in terms of your skills on paper. Once we have the place ready, I’ll want to see you in action, but all of that isn’t the whole thing.”
Blake nodded, a little hope in her gaze. Good. She wasn’t just a ball-busting bitch. Montgomery Ink already had that, thank you very much.
“We’re a family here,” Maya continued. “Literally in some cases, but all the ways that matter in the other ones. So Austin and I are prepared to hire you on a trial basis. If you don’t fit in, then you’re out.”
Blake tilted her head. “So I need to make friends?”
Maya shook her head. “No, but there’s a flow to the shop, and since I’m part-owner, I want to make sure that flow continues to work. It’s never going to be the same year in and year out. When we add new blood, things change. And when people have to leave? It changes too. So you don’t need to make friends, but you need to work with us. We’re good at what we do. Damn good. And we have a reputation for being fucking incredible. I don’t want our piercer to fuck that up.”
Blake smiled then. “I get you.”
Maya nodded. “Good. We can talk specifics in the back, but for now, welcome to Montgomery Ink.” She held out her hand, and Blake took it, that smile still on her face.
Maya smiled back, knowing that Montgomery Ink was changing ever so slightly, but with change came new ideas and new energy. She could work with that.
She hoped.
By the time Blake headed out, Maya only had an hour or so left on her shift and hadn’t had a client since lunchtime. The walk-ins were slow today since it was the middle of the week, and Sloane had taken care of them easily. Maya had spent most of her day with paperwork—her least favorite part of the job.
She sighed and made her way to her station, getting her mind back into art and out of numbers. She had a few sketches to finish up for new clients and wanted to get them as perfect as she could before she showed them off.
When the bell above the door rang, she looked up and was out of her chair in the next instant, leaving behind all thoughts of art and numbers.
“What happened?” she asked as she tugged on Jake’s arm. “What’s wrong?”
Jake shook his head. “It’s been a fucking shitty couple of days.”
Maya took a closer look at him and knew it had been more than shitty. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of weeks, but even then, he hadn’t even bothered to take care of his beard. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he must have run his hand through his hair enough that it stood on end in some places. Without thinking of the worries that had gone through her head these past few weeks, she put her other hand on his chest and leaned forward.
“Jake.”
He gave her a sad smile and shook his head. “I shouldn’t have come here.”
She didn’t know why that hurt so much to hear. She should be a safe place. She’d always been a safe place for him. What had she done to break that? Damn it. No matter what happened in her life and her thoughts, she and Jake were a unit. Screw the idea that she couldn’t have that anymore.
Maya tugged on his arm again, and this time, he let her lead him. While she might have been able to take on a guy twice her size, it was hard to move Jake when he didn’t want to.
She led her best friend back to the office and tried to ignore the pointed look Sloane gave her. The man was far too observant for his own good. She flipped him off for good measure before closing the door behind her and Jake.
“What’s wrong, Jake?” she asked. She didn’t know what Maya to be with him right then. Should she tell him to suck it up? Or hold him because he was in pain? She wasn’t as callous as she acted for others, but sometimes people just needed that kick in the ass. For now, though, she wasn’t sure she could find that inner strength to be tough when Jake looked like this.
Jake sank onto one of the chairs and rubbed a hand over his face. “Lots of crap, that’s what.”
Maya let out a little growl and crouched in front of him. She ignored the position it put her in, considering she practically knelt at his feet and was dick height at the moment. Fucking thoughts ruining the way she acted around him.
“Be specific, Gallagher, or I’ll kick your ass.”
He snorted before reaching out and tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. They both froze at the movement, and she had to swallow hard since her mouth had gone dry.
“Holly and I broke up.”
He said it so quickly that she almost fell back on her ass at the blow the words caused. She stood up on shaky legs and stared at him, her heart breaking. All this angst, all this pain because Holly and he weren’t together anymore? She’d known he was falling for the other woman, but it still hurt to hear the tone of his voice. She pushed away the thoughts that he was single now.
This was her best friend. Nothing more. Nothing less.
“I’m sorry,” Maya said honestly. “I know you really liked her.”
“She’s the one that dumped me.” He shook his head. “And I didn’t fucking see it coming. And now Border’s here, and it’s all screwed up.”
Maya had to blink a couple of times to digest everything. Holly had dumped him. So he had to still be hung up on her. And Border? His old friend from before he’d met her? And she knew Border wasn’t just an old friend, not quite an ex, but more than just someone he’d lost touch with. No wonder it looked like he’d gone on a bender without the alcohol. That was a lot to deal with all at once.
Of course, the fact that Border was back just brought home the fact that she and Jake were only friends. Jake was single, and his ex was back in town after being gone for what seemed like forever.
Well, fuck, then.
She’d take care of her best friend and do her best to not make it weird. Because it wasn’t weird. It couldn’t be when the man in front of her had been by her side through so much over the past decade, and nothing would change what they had. They were friends.
“That’s a lot,” she said finally. “When did Border get back in town?”
Jake shrugged. “A couple of days ago. Right before Holly dumped me. And, hell. She just threw me, you know? I thought I was going to break up with her, and instead, she shows up and says that I should follow my heart or some shit. I thought she meant Border, you know, because he showed up even though she doesn’t know our past. But then she mentioned you, and I just stood there like a fucking idiot.”
She tilted her head, her heart racing. “Excuse me?”
“I mean, hell, why would she think you’d come between us? You’re my best friend. You’re Maya. You’re not competition.”
Maya stood there like an idiot, trying to process his words. They shouldn’t have hurt as they did, but apparently, she couldn’t quite think clearly where he was concerned.
And that was enough of that. There was no way she could keep this up. She was so done with it. Done with being angsty and not herself. Her friend needed her, and apparently, she wasn’t ever going to be competition. Thinking that she could be, thinking that she had any right to another role in his life only made things harder for her.
She didn’t like this Maya. Didn’t like who she became when she stood off to the side.
But she wasn’t going to be with him. Not the way she wanted or thought she wanted. So she’d buck up and remember who she used to be because this pale imitation of herself wasn’t someone she ever wanted to be. She’d put on the mask she’d worn for so long, the one that told everyone to fuck off and that she’d be fine no matter what happened. She was happier that way.
It didn’t matter that Jake was single now. Didn’t matter that Holly had mentioned her name when she’d dumped him. Because Jake didn’t feel that way. Hadn’t for a long time; if he ever had. One night of drunk almost-fucking didn’t count for much in the grand scheme of their relationship. Jake could have his ex, and Maya would just get over it.
It was nothing really.
Nothing.
“Why would she think that?” Maya asked, her voice low, devoid of emotion. “We’re friends, Jake. We’ve always been friends. I know that not everyone understands that, but I thought Holly did.”
Jake met her gaze. “We weren’t always just friends, Maya.”
Her jaw clenched. They’d purposely never mentioned that night, never mentioned the fact that she’d had her mouth on his dick, and he’d finger fucked her to orgasm. Even Graham and Owen hadn’t mentioned seeing her at the bar. It was the unwritten rule, and here Jake was, messing it all up.
“That was one night a long time ago,” she said, her voice steady. She wouldn’t break despite the fact that she wanted to be anywhere else but here. She’d put on her shell, and nothing could penetrate that, not even her best friend’s trek down memory lane.
“And we never talked about it.”
Maya shook her head. “What’s there to talk about? It was fun, and we both know we’re good in bed. But things changed after that, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
“And Holly thinks there are unresolved issues with that.”
There were.
“What do you think? You say you were going to break up with her, but you didn’t. You waited until she did it first. You have Border here, and frankly, I won’t be used as a scapegoat.”
“I think that I’m too tired to deal with this.”
She snorted. Typical. “Fine. But I’m still your best friend so if you want to get a drink and talk this out, let me know. And if you want me to help you bash her? Well, I can do some of that, but there’s got to be a girl code or some shit that says I can’t. Oh, and Jake? Next time you come in here like you did, just tell me what’s wrong. We’ve always been good with things like that, and yet you’ve…” She trailed off. Mentioning that things were weird when they both already knew that wouldn’t help anything.
“Maya,” Jake growled, his eyes closed and his head resting back over the chair. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
“Then you better figure it out, Jake. Because you know I’ll always be by your side, but I can’t be that person if you change things.”
She’d already changed things on her end, but that was her fault, and she’d deal. She hadn’t altered her relationship with Jake, not really. And there was no way she’d actually do that without knowing full well the consequences. Because right now, her brain hurt, and the shell she wore was cracking. Jake didn’t know what he wanted. Maya sure as hell didn’t. And then there was Border. Where was he? What did he want? And why hadn’t she met him yet?
There was too much riding on what came next, and that meant she had to postpone the inevitable until they were all thinking a little more clearly.
“I don’t know what I want,” Jake said finally.
Maya took a deep breath. “Then go home, and I’ll see you soon. Because I know it sucks to be dumped. I know that you’re hurting right now, but I won’t be the person you hit because you’re in pain.”
Jake snorted. “I thought that was what best friends were for.”
She shook her head, her eyes annoyingly burning. “We’re the ones that can handle the harshest of blows, but that also means we know exactly where to hit the other.” She paused. “Go home, Jake. Call me when you need me.”
Jake stood up and stared at her. She tilted her head so she could meet his gaze. He was so tall here, so intimidating. This Jake scared her, scared how it changed what could happen. She wasn’t sure she was ready to face that and what it meant.
“I don’t know what I need, Maya. I don’t know if that means you.”
She let the words bounce off her shell. She would not be hurt by them. “Then figure it out because I’m not your fucking punching bag.” She nodded toward the door. “You know the way out.”
He sighed and made his way to the door. “I love you, Maya. You know that right.”
She did, and it hurt. “Yeah, and I love you, too. Now go.”
He opened his mouth to say something but apparently thought better of it before walking out and leaving her alone with her thoughts. Her shell would hold; she would be the Maya she liked, not the one who asked for permission to feel, to ache. Because this Maya only felt what she wanted to, and pain for the man who’d just walked out of the room would not be part of it.
She was fine.
And if she told herself that one more time, she’d kick her own ass.
Maya let out a breath. Something had shifted between the two of them, and she didn’t know what that meant. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. There were some things you never came back from, and this seemed like one of those times.
Chapter Six
Border needed to hit something. Anything. It had been almost two weeks since he’d shown up in Denver to try and figure out his future, and all he’d found was a closed door and a path leading to broken promises.
He’d thought he’d left that behind when he’d hightailed it out of Denver in the first place, but apparently, the old saying was true, and one could never truly outrun their past.
What was he doing there? He’d been sleeping in Jake’s guest room for two weeks, but hadn’t talked to the man beyond simple pleasantries. He’d never told Jake he was sorry for leaving, never told him that he’d felt more than just friendship in the past.
Jake never asked where Border had been all those years, and Border had never offered up the information. It was as if there was a wall between them he couldn’t quite fix or figure out. It was his fault that there was weirdness between them, but Jake wasn’t helping. Ever since Holly had broken up with him, he’d been even more growly than usual. Of course, since Border didn’t really know the man as much as he’d known the boy when they’d been friends before, this could just be Jake’s normal attitude. But he had a feeling it wasn’t. And he had feeling that this wasn’t just about Holly.
In the past two weeks, Border hadn’t met Maya, and Jake didn’t mention her. It was as if when Holly had dumped Jake, he’d done something to Maya, as well. Border wasn’t sure what it was, but he had a bad feeling about it.
Since he’d been back, though, his time hadn’t been all about mooning over Jake and trying to plan the rest of his life. Instead, he’d been working, and pointedly ignoring anything to do with the other Gallaghers. And Montgomerys, for that matter. He didn’t want to get tangled up with the ever-growing families until he could be in the same room with Jake and not feel awkward as hell.
While he was in Denver for Jake, and he wouldn’t lie about that to himself even if he wanted to, he was also there to take care of a job he’d failed to complete. He’d failed in the worst way possible, and there was no way he’d let the rest of his mission go by the wayside because he was acting like a damn teenager in heat when it came to Jake Gallagher.
Border wasn’t government, and didn’t have the same rules that those in charge did, but he did have a code. And not letting his charges die in his care was part of it. Of course, he couldn’t tell Jake any of that. It wouldn’t be safe for anyone if Jake had even an inkling of what Border truly did for a living.
He let out a breath and looked down at his phone, reading the latest message from the family he’d handed his last charge off to. They were good people, and he knew they could keep this one safe—unlike the last place Border had been. He closed his eyes and tried to push the memories of the screams out of his head.
It wasn’t like he was some secret agent or anything as media-worthy as that. He just did odd jobs for people who couldn’t help themselves. Everything he did was legal, but sometimes, it toed the line. He protected people when those who should have been able to couldn’t.
And because he worked alone most of the time, he had to learn to trust his instincts. That trust had gotten people close to him murdered, and now he had to face the consequences. He’d left the business, left everything that would have gotten him killed in the next couple of years. He just had to finish this one job, and he’d be clean.
Only Jake kept pushing him away without even trying, and Border didn’t know how much longer he’d last before he blew up at the other man.
Jake stormed into the living room, clay on his forearms and a mark on his forehead. He’d washed his hands, but they were still wet and fisted at his sides. He growled to himself.
“Problems?” Border asked. He stirred a big pot of chili and raised a brow at the other man.
“I’m fine,” Jake bit out. The other man opened the fridge and looked in without grabbing anything before closing the door. “Why are you cooking?”
Border kept stirring the pot, doing his best not to stir another pot—namely the one between him and Jake. “I’m hungry and wanted food. I’m tired of eating out so I don’t bother you, so I’m cooking dinner for both of us. You used to like my chili.”
So much for not stirring the pot.
“I barely remember your chili,” Jake growled.
Border rolled his eyes. “You remember just fine. Don’t be an asshole because you’re in a bad mood.”
Jake ran his middle finger over his eyebrow. “Actually, I think being in a bad mood is the perfect time to be an asshole.”
Border snorted. Jake had him there. “I guess you’re right.” He dipped the wooden spoon into the chili and brought it up to his lips. His eyes still on Jake’s, he blew on the spoon to cool the bite of chili.
“Want a taste?”
Jake’s throat worked as he swallowed, and he nodded. Border moved the spoon toward Jake’s lips, and the other man opened his mouth. When Jake clamped his hand around Border’s wrist to steady him, Border held back a groan.
Jake’s tongue snaked out and tasted the chili before he took the bite, his gaze never leaving Border’s.
Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5) Page 7
