Written in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  She looked back over at Meghan, who had her hand lightly resting on Luc’s shoulder with a sad look in her eyes. Autumn held back another shiver, this one having nothing to do with the cold. She remembered the first time she’d met Luc, though she knew he didn’t. He’d been on the floor, covered in his own blood, Meghan’s hand on his shoulder then, as well. But that time, his fiancée had been trying to keep him alive.

  He’d been shot, and Autumn couldn’t do anything to help him but try to keep Meghan calm. Others said that had been enough, but she wasn’t sure. She could still remember the screams…though she wasn’t sure if they were Meghan’s or her own.

  She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and tried to shake off the memories that were best forgotten.

  “You weren’t lifting anything, right?” Meghan asked, worry in her tone.

  “He better not have been,” Wes snapped.

  Luc shook his head. “I only bent over to point something out to another person earlier. I’m just observing, and I’m not even working full days yet.” He cupped Meghan’s face. “I promise.”

  “Good.” Meghan rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him again. This time it was Tabby who sighed.

  “I know, right?” Autumn said to the other woman.

  Tabby snorted. “You should see it when Austin has Sierra, Shep is with Shea, Morgan gets with Callie, Decker has Miranda, and now…Luc with Meghan. It’s like love and heat and romance all rolled up in ink and shivers.”

  Autumn smiled at the thought. “I don’t think I’ve met a few of those you mentioned, but I can guess how all of that in one place could almost be too much.”

  Tabby shrugged. “I think once the rest of the Montgomerys settle down, Harry and Marie will be in grandbaby and new family heaven.” She winced as she said that, but Wes rubbed her shoulder. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Wes said. “Dad’s getting better.” From the way he’d ground that out, it was as if it were a forced hope, not an actual fact. But Autumn wasn’t about to comment on that. “No use tiptoeing around it.”

  Ah, that was right. Harry Montgomery was going through chemo and radiation for cancer. The mention of the heaven of such a perfect future, or even just the word heaven like that might bother some of them. Sometimes just the casual word here and there could hurt more than intended.

  “Okay, enough of the making out,” Storm muttered. “Let’s haul it in and head to Taboo.”

  Autumn smiled. She loved Taboo. Their friend Hailey ran the small café that was located right off the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. Plus, a side door to Montgomery Ink connected it with the café so the family could walk back and forth between the two places easily. Since the job site was in Edgewater, they were only fifteen minutes away. And, Montgomery Ink had parking in the back lot. Not an easy thing to come by.

  “Come on, then,” Wes said, wrapping his arm around Tabby’s shoulders. She rolled her eyes and took a step back, poking him in the ribs as she did so.

  “I’ll drive myself, thank you very much. I need to head home instead of back to the office after lunch.”

  Wes and Storm both frowned, looking very much like the twins they were. “Why?” they asked in unison.

  Tabby raised a brow. “I have my own reasons, and I told you both last week that I plan on working from home in the afternoons. Now let’s go to lunch. I’m starved.” With that very cryptic statement, Tabby bounced away, her hand moving frantically over her tablet as she did so. How the woman didn’t trip while multitasking like that, Autumn would never know.

  “Oh, stop being pains in the asses,” Decker muttered. “Tabby works her ass off. You don’t need to know everything she does.”

  “But what if she needs help?” Wes asked, his gaze on Tabby. Again, Autumn would have thought that look meant something more at one point, but now she saw the same type of brotherly worry there he had for Meghan, Maya, and Miranda.

  “Then she’ll ask for it,” Autumn said simply. Just because she didn’t know how to ask for help, didn’t mean that was the case for most people. “Tabby seems like she trusts you guys enough to ask for help if she needs it. Now I’m freaking freezing. Can we please go? Or are we going to stand here and look like sad puppies while the lovebirds make out some more and Tabby ends up alone and warm at Taboo eating all the food?”

  The twins huffed then did that chin tilt thing once again before heading off to their vehicles. Since Autumn had ridden in with Meghan, she jumped in the back seat of the truck, knowing Luc would rather sit up front. He wasn’t quite cleared to drive yet since his shoulder was still technically healing, and Autumn knew that bugged him to no end. Hence why she didn’t tease him. She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to get the image of him lying pale on the ground in a pool of his own blood out of her brain; no matter how hard she tried.

  Though perhaps that was a good thing.

  It was a stark reminder that no matter how hard someone tried, their past could return with a vengeance and hurt those around them. That’s why it was a good idea to never get too close.

  She pressed her lips together as Meghan drove them to Taboo. It would do Autumn well to remember not to get too close. Or at least not get closer than she already had. She knew the others wondered about her and had probably figured out that she was always vague when she talked about what she did and why she was in Denver. It wasn’t as if she could actually tell them, but it was starting to wear on her that she couldn’t say anything.

  They pulled into the parking lot and headed into Taboo without much fuss thankfully. And since it was technically after the lunch rush, the place wasn’t too busy. Hailey stood behind the counter, talking to one of her customers. Her thick blond bob shifted from side to side as she shook her head. Her blunt bangs and bright red lips made her look like she should have come from the age of starlets and bombshells, instead of working at a Denver café in the twenty-first century.

  Hailey’s eyes lit up when she saw them, and Autumn gave a little wave before sitting down at the long table in the corner. She took the seat closest to the end and kept her back to the wall and her eyes on the door. It was instinct to sit like that, and she hoped no one would notice that she tried to sit there—or in places like it—every time.

  She ended up sitting by Tabby, who also sat next to Meghan. The boys took up the other side of the table, with Luc sitting at the head next to his fiancée. That left one more chair next to Autumn, but since they weren’t expecting anyone else to join them, it seemed she’d have some space.

  Hailey came over with a smile and a roll of her eyes. She handed out waters to each of them, balancing her heavy tray like it weighed nothing. “Couldn’t keep away from me?”

  “You know it, sugar,” Storm drawled, and Hailey snorted.

  “The usual coffees for everyone?” Hailey asked.

  “Yes, please,” they all said in unison. Kind of creepy, but Autumn liked feeling part of a unit. Plus, Hailey knew exactly how to make each of their lattes, cappuccinos, and chicory coffees. That was just one of the many reasons they all came here so much. Hailey smiled then bounced away to get their drinks.

  “Don’t say things like that around Sloane, or you’re likely to end up with a black eye,” Wes muttered.

  “Like what?” Storm asked before taking a drink of his water. “I was just being polite.”

  “And don’t mention Sloane around Hailey,” Tabby said softly. “You know that’s a sore subject.”

  Autumn frowned but didn’t voice the questions she wanted to ask. Everyone had been friends for much longer than she’d been in town, so it wasn’t as if she knew everything that was going on. But sometimes it was as if she were on the outside looking in with her nose pressed up against the glass.

  Of course, wasn’t that what she wanted?

  It was the safest place to be.

  It had to be.

  “How’s Alex doing?” Tabby asked in a whisper as the guys talked amongst themselves.

  Autumn
leaned into Tabby as she spoke to Meghan about one of the other Montgomery brothers. Alex was in rehab after having a breakdown at Decker and Miranda’s wedding. Her heart hurt for the man and his troubles, but at least he was most likely getting help now.

  Meghan met Autumn’s eyes, then Tabby’s. “He’s okay. I think.” She worried her lip, and Luc reached out and gripped her hand without her even having to look at him.

  “He won’t let us see him,” Wes said, letting them know he was indeed paying attention to the other side of the table.

  “He will, though,” Meghan said firmly. “We’re family.”

  “Damn straight,” Storm added.

  Autumn leaned back in her chair and pressed her lips together. Damn, she missed her family. Missed the way things used to be, though she knew they would never be that way again. Change and circumstances had seen fit to make that happen.

  “Why the long faces?” a voice said from her side.

  She looked up—way up—at the sexiest man she’d ever seen. And considering the hot as hell at her table right then, that was saying something. He had a day’s growth of beard on his firm jaw, and cheekbones that looked like they could cut glass. He was seriously pretty in a ruggedly handsome, I’m-in-a-bad-mood-so-don’t-fuck-with-me sort of way. His hair was dark brown like the rest of the Montgomerys, and he’d cut it shorter on the sides but kept it long and spiked on top. From the way it went every which way, it also looked like he ran his fingers through it often. His dark blue eyes were also a Montgomery trait, but for some reason, she couldn’t help but feel like there was something…more to them than merely blue. Though she wasn’t sure what just then.

  He looked like he’d rushed to put on a white button up shirt, but didn’t bother to button the bottom one or tuck it in. He’d also rolled up his sleeves, showing his tan skin and intricate ink. She wanted to lick up every inch of him, and from the way he looked at her, he knew it.

  She cleared her throat as Tabby nudged her.

  “Autumn? You okay?” Decker asked, giving her a knowing look. She’d have flipped him off, but she didn’t want to deal with any more questions about her reaction to the man in front of her.

  He was a Montgomery, and since she’d met the rest of them except for Alex, who was in rehab, this had to be Griffin. The writer. The mysterious one, who had so far evaded her. Even in the hospital when she’d visited Meghan and Luc she hadn’t met him; and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

  This reaction was surely not good for her.

  “I’m fine.” She took a quick sip of her water since her voice sounded a bit too throaty for her. “What’s up?”

  Storm winked. “Well, cupcake, we were just introducing you to Griffin, but you seemed lost in space.”

  “Don’t call me cupcake,” she said absently, then turned back to Griffin and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Griffin.”

  He clenched his jaw then gripped her hand in his own. She refused to think about the heat of his palm or the shock of flesh against flesh. It was nothing. Just a momentary lapse in judgment when it came to her thoughts.

  “Cupcake?” he asked as he pulled away and took the last seat at the table—the seat closest to her, of course.

  “Storm is a dead man who happens to think he’s funny,” she said dryly, pulling her eyes from his too handsome face.

  “I’m sure—” Griffin whispered.

  Hailey came at that exact moment and handed them their drinks and took their orders, saving Autumn from having to deal with whatever the fuck had just happened. She’d met sexy men before, so it wasn’t like this was new. But she sure hadn’t had that reaction before. Maybe she was just hungry and lost in her own thoughts.

  Because there was no way she would get with a Montgomery. Not when they were the only ones to hold her close when she walked through the shadows of her life. And she would be leaving soon anyway. Looking too closely at a man who made her brain and body act as if she’d been plugged into an electrical socket wouldn’t help.

  “Nice to meet you, Autumn,” Griffin whispered in her ear. She held back a shiver at the feel of his breath on her neck.

  This could be a problem.

  “Or maybe I should call you Fall.”

  She blinked at him, her jaw dropping at the lame joke.

  Or maybe it wouldn’t be a problem at all.

  Chapter Two

  Writing a book was not for the sane of mind. Griffin Montgomery contemplated banging his head on his desk, but he’d done that a few times before, and all it had left him with was a headache and the beginning of a bruise—not so much with the words of wisdom needed to write a book. Or at least what he qualified as wisdom with his work.

  He ran his hand through his hair once again and frowned.

  When exactly had he last washed it?

  He’d worked out two days ago. He thought. Maybe. And he’s showered after that—because not doing so wasn’t an option after a hard workout. But had he even thought of taking the extra time to jump in the shower since? Showering took time. Standing under the water and scrubbing down took minutes that could better be used to write. If he didn’t immediately sit down at his desk or in his thinking chair, he wouldn’t work. He’d find something else to do.

  So when had he last showered?

  Well, shit. If he had to ask that question, he was probably a day or two late in getting clean.

  Griffin Montgomery was one hell of a prize.

  He ran his hands over his face. Ah, yes, it had been two days ago because it had also been two days since he’d made a complete ass of himself in the middle of Taboo with Meghan’s friend Autumn.

  What on earth had possessed him to call her Fall? Of all the juvenile jokes in all the most immature lands possible, he’d gone with Fall.

  He banged his head on the desk despite his earlier rumblings of not wanting to hurt his brain. He was already pretty brain-dead at this point if the words coming out of his mouth and not on the page were any indication.

  It wasn’t as if he hadn’t heard of Fall—Autumn—before. She’d been slowly weaving herself into the Montgomery clan, member by member, for a little while now. He just hadn’t had the chance to actually meet her. When Luc had been in the hospital, Griffin’s arrival apparently hadn’t coincided with hers. The guys had described her somewhat in casual conversation, but damn…

  They hadn’t mentioned the fact that she was knock down gorgeous.

  Plump lips and plumper hips, she looked like a damn siren fully prepared call men to their deaths just for a sweet taste of her. With her auburn hair, she effusively fit the part of a sultry water nymph ready to tempt the chastest of sailors. She had a spattering of freckles on her nose and shoulders, and he wanted to see where else they would dot her ivory skin.

  He groaned and adjusted his cock behind his fly. Damn it. He didn’t have time to get a hard-on for one of Meghan’s friends. Especially one who looked at him like she wanted to simultaneously study him under a microscope and turn her back on him in disinterest.

  Autumn intrigued him.

  And that could be very dangerous for a writer.

  Especially a writer who was officially behind on deadline.

  Griffin let out another groan, but this time it had nothing to do with being horny and everything to do with being a failure at the one thing he thought he could do. All of the Montgomerys were talented. They were artists, scholars, teachers, nurturers, and so much more.

  He was merely a creator of worlds, but he was damn good at it.

  Or at least he used to be.

  Now he was behind on one deadline and looking in the face of another. Why the hell had he tried to write two series? Most thriller writers only wrote one. They branded themselves as that series—or at least that main character—and kept going for as long as the publishing house let them.

  Griffin had to be different.

  He had two long-running series that had both hit lists and did reasonably well. He wasn’t one of the
big names in the business, but he was respectable—considering his age. He also usually loved putting one series aside and digging into another. It kept him fresh. And it was like going back and visiting an old friend once he got back into the first series.

  He put out two to three books a year, which was actually quite a lot compared to some. But damn, he sometimes felt like it was twenty books a year, instead of the amount he actually did.

  He was tired.

  He also had no idea what to do with his current book. His characters weren’t talking to him, and damn it, they weren’t even sitting in the same room with him. Instead, he had a feeling that both sets of characters were off together on vacation, hiding from him and laughing in his general direction.

  His series weren’t actually connected, but he liked to think that since each was set in a different city, they were in the same world. Maybe his two main characters, Jensen and Will, met up for coffee every once in a while. Of course, after the last thing Griffin had done to Jensen, he wasn’t sure the character would ever want to speak to him again.

  He didn’t write romance. His books were ongoing and never had the required happily ever after, but Jensen had been in a serious relationship for the five books Griffin had worked on. In the most recent release, Starr, Jensen’s serious girlfriend and soon-to-be-fiancée had died thanks to a serial killer bent on torturing Jensen.

  The readers simultaneously loved and hated Griffin for the death and the way Jensen had broken under the calamity. Griffin hadn’t gone into writing the book with that kind of pain in mind, but he’d seen what needed to happen in his mind and knew it had to be done.

  Will, his other main character, had never had a serious relationship and had no real family so his emotional arc was quite different and put Griffin’s head into a new space. Griffin would be starting that book next.

  He just had to finish Jensen’s new book first.

  Only he had no idea how to do that.

  The fact that both of his main characters were in a state of flux when it came to relationships and how they interacted with the world because of that should have told Griffin a bit about himself.