by Maya Banks
His heart squeezed nearly out of his chest when he saw her lying in the hospital bed curled into a small ball. A police officer sat next to the bed, and it appeared that he was questioning her in a gentle voice. But Elle was terrified, her face so ashen that she looked close to passing out.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Cade demanded, his voice cracking like a whip through the room.
The officer jerked around, his brows drawn into angry slashes. “I’m questioning Miss Walker. Get the hell out.”
Cade advanced menacingly. “I was very explicit that no one, and I mean no one, was to be in this room unless Merrick or I were with her. She’s scared shitless, and you’re going to intimidate her into answering your questions?”
“I wasn’t intimidating her,” the officer snapped. “I was trying to get her side of the story. There’s a man in ICU, and she looks like a bus ran over her. And there’s blood all over her garage floor. I’m just doing my job, so chill out.”
“You don’t say jack to her without us present,” Merrick snarled. “And only if she consents. Did you even ask her if she felt well enough to talk to you?”
The officer remained silent.
“I didn’t think so,” Cade bit out.
Cade plopped into the chair on the opposite side of the bed, staring challengingly at the police officer. “We aren’t leaving.”
The police officer turned to Elle. “If you’d prefer they not be here, I’ll make sure they’re escorted out.”
One part of Merrick appreciated that the cop was looking out for Elle. The other part wanted to ask him and what army would be escorting them out?
“They can stay. I want them to stay. They need to hear what happened. The threat was to them,” she said, her voice still shaking.
She fingered the sheet covering her nervously, the tips white from her grip. She was obviously terrified of the cop and trying valiantly to hold it together.
Cade leaned forward, his frown dark. “I’m more concerned with whether you’ve been taken care of first. Have they treated you? Are you in any pain? Your statement can damn well wait until after you’re more comfortable.”
She smiled faintly. “They did x-rays already, and they gave me a shot of pain medicine.” She lifted her wrist where the IV was inserted to show him. “Just waiting on the doctor to come back with the report.”
“She was nearly hysterical. She was hysterical,” the cop said grimly. “They had to give her something to calm her before she hurt herself.”
“Ever occur to you that you could be part of the problem?” Cade said rudely. “No one should have so much as looked at her until we were allowed to see her. She’s been brutalized by some creep, and then she was surrounded by strangers.”
The officer nodded. “I understand. I apologize, Miss Walker, if I frightened you in any way. I only want to help you, and in order to do that, I have to get to the bottom of this.”
She nodded hesitantly, but the fear was still there in her eyes.
Merrick sat on the end of the bed, anxious to be rid of the cop so he could make things right with Elle. It was killing him not to touch her or hold her in his arms.
The officer cleared his throat. “If I can get back to the matter at hand. Can you tell me exactly what occurred when you arrived at your home?”
Elle swallowed and grew paler. It was automatic for Merrick to place his hand over her sheet-covered leg. Just so she’d know that he was there and that things were okay now.
“Will I…” She drew in a big breath and then grimaced and put her hand to her ribcage, flinching in pain caused by the deep inhalation. “Will I be arrested for what I did?” she asked in a small voice.
“What the fuck?” Cade exploded. “Over my dead body! Is that what they’ve been telling you, Elle?”
The officer held his hand up. “No one has said anything of the sort. Preliminary evidence shows this to be a matter of self-defense. The sooner I can get her statement, the sooner we can be done with this. I don’t see any reason that any action will be taken against her unless we find evidence that contradicts her statement.”
Merrick’s lips twisted as he tried to control his anger.
“Now, if you can start from the beginning,” the officer said patiently.
He shot Cade and Merrick a quelling look before directing his attention back to Elle.
“I got out of the truck and went through the garage to the kitchen door. Before I could unlock it, he grabbed me from behind. He wrapped his hand around my neck and squeezed so hard I couldn’t breathe.”
As she spoke, her hand fluttered to her throat where bruises had already appeared. It pissed Merrick off all the more that she’d been there alone and unprotected when she damn well should have been with him at the gym. He was going to take Dakota apart over this.
“He yanked me backwards, and when I tried to fight, he punched me in the side.”
Cade balled both hands into fists, and his entire body vibrated with rage.
“I don’t remember a whole lot more,” she confessed. “He told me that he had a message for ‘my boys’ and that if they didn’t drop the charges, he would come back and ‘fuck me up.’”
The officer was steadily jotting down her every word, and he frowned as she said the last. Then he turned in Cade and Merrick’s direction.
“Drop what charges?”
Cade sighed. “I can’t be one hundred percent sure, but I’m at least ninety-nine that this is retaliation for the guy we had arrested a while back for trying to steal a car from a client’s car lot. Our office was shot up and torched the very next day and now this.”
Merrick shook his head, sick at heart that Elle was being targeted because of him and Cade.
To Cade and Merrick he said, “I’ll need to know more about what happened after I’ve spoken to Miss Walker.” Then the officer turned back to Elle. “So what happened after that?”
“He punched me again in the side and then he turned me and hit me in the face. He let me fall, and I remember lying on the floor of the garage thinking that I couldn’t allow it to happen again.”
The police officer frowned. “Again? What do you mean by that?”
Elle immediately went silent. Her gaze skittered toward Cade, fear making her eyes large against her pale face.
“Someone hurt her before,” Cade said shortly.
Before the officer could pursue the matter, Elle stammered on, trying to cover what she’d let slip.
“I just knew I had to get away. I didn’t know what he planned to d-do to m-me. I thought that he wouldn’t expect me to do anything but lie there, so I lunged for a crowbar that was a short distance away and…I hit him,” she finished quietly.
“Good for you,” Merrick said fiercely.
Even the cop looked approving.
“I hit him more than once,” she said in an almost apologetic tone. “I was so scared. I thought he would kill me.”
The officer put his hand over Elle’s and squeezed soothingly. “You did fine, Miss Walker. I don’t think there’s any doubt you acted in self-defense. Hell, if you had killed him, I don’t think anyone would hold it against you.”
Elle went quiet, eyeing the officer’s hand, but she was still. Oddly so. Whatever panic she was feeling, she controlled it well.
“Son of a bitch needs killing,” Cade growled. “He has a beef with us so he roughs up a woman?”
The officer muttered his agreement.
Elle carefully extricated her hand from the officer’s grasp before continuing on. “After he went down, I fell and then I called 911. I don’t remember anything else. Just so many people showing up and all the noise and questions.”
Merrick slid his hand up her leg and squeezed her knee. “You did great, baby. You were fierce.”
She smiled faintly, but her smile looked sad. “I don’t feel great. It made me remember things.”
She bit her lip and looked away as if realizing once again she’d spoken out when she should
n’t have.
“Is that all you need?” Cade asked brusquely, looking pointedly at the cop. “She needs to rest. She’s been through hell.”
The officer rose. “I appreciate you talking to me, Miss Walker. I know it wasn’t easy for you and that you’re in a lot of pain. If I need anything else, I’ll be in touch. I don’t anticipate any problems. Obviously we’re waiting to see what the condition of your attacker is. He’ll most certainly be charged with assault and attempted murder, but between you and me, it’ll save a lot of trouble if the asshole just dies.”
Elle’s eyes widened in surprise, but Merrick wholeheartedly agreed with the officer’s assessment.
Merrick rose and extended his hand to the cop who shook it.
“If you need to talk to Elle again, you’ll need to go through me or Cade,” Merrick said firmly.
The officer nodded and then jotted down both their cell numbers. After telling them he’d be in touch to get the details on the arrest at the car lot and their office being burned, he excused himself from the room.
With more than a little dread, Merrick turned to face Elle, prepared to grovel on his knees if necessary for the hurt he’d caused her when she’d already suffered so much pain.
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - T H R E E
ELLE LAY BACK AGAINST THE pitiful excuse for a pillow and closed her eyes wearily as the door closed behind the police officer. If she didn’t have so many drugs in her, she’d be a shaking, sobbing mess. As it was, she was just incredibly weary, and all she wanted was to go to sleep and escape her reality for a few precious hours.
“Elle?”
Merrick’s gentle voice crept into her consciousness. His hand smoothed over her brow and then caressed a line down to her jaw.
With effort, she managed to open her eyes and focus her bleary gaze on him.
“I won’t keep you awake long, baby. But I need to say this, okay? I can’t let you think this any longer.”
He eased onto the bed at her side and angled his body so he was sitting right next to her, his head just over hers.
“It’s okay,” she said, her words slurred. She just wanted the whole mess to be over.
He took her hand, warming it between his much larger ones. “No, it’s not okay. It’s not okay at all. Dakota had no right to tell you to leave the gym, and I had no right to jump down your throat. God, I was so scared when I saw you, baby. And I was angry because you should have been with me where you were safe. I fired Dakota. It won’t happen again.”
She gave him a stricken look, flabbergasted that he’d fired his trainer, someone he’d been with since the very start.
“Why would you fire him?” she asked, appalled.
Merrick gave her a perplexed, bewildered look that clearly said he hadn’t expected her response.
“Because he put you in danger. He presumed to tell you what to do and where to be.” His voice rose as he grew angrier. “He had no right to tell you anything at all.
“He was only looking out for your best interests,” she said wearily, so tired that her ache was bone deep. “You were distracted, Merrick. Even I could see it.”
“Do you honest to God think that you were the reason I wasn’t focused?” He studied her a moment and then shook his head. “Don’t answer that. It’s clear that’s exactly what you think.”
“Merrick,” Cade interjected carefully. “Now isn’t the time, man. She’s about to fall over.”
Frustration ate at Merrick. He couldn’t let her go on thinking what she was thinking. He leaned down close, cupping his hand over her forehead and smoothing her hair back as he stared into her eyes.
“Listen to me, Elle. I admit I was distracted. But it had nothing to do with you. If you want to know why I kept looking over at you, it was because it felt good to know you were there. When I felt myself losing focus, I’d look at you and it would reinvigorate me. It would remind me of what I was fighting for. I like you being there. I’ve become dependent on you being there. I don’t want to think about you not being around when I’m training. You’re like my security blanket.
“We fighters are a superstitious lot, and for me, you’ve become my talisman. I need you there. I want you there. And Dakota had no goddamn right to tell you to go home. From now on, I want you to have the confidence to stand up and say no. Because there’s never going to be a time when I don’t want you around, baby. Do you understand that?”
She nodded slowly, her eyes dull with fatigue and the cloud of the medication.
He leaned down to kiss her forehead, leaving his lips there a long moment.
“I love you and I’m so damn sorry for yelling at you. I was scared to death, and I was pissed because I wasn’t able to protect you. I was pissed that some son of a bitch put his hands on you. You’ll never know how it felt for me to see you there with blood on your face and your body so bruised.”
She smiled sluggishly. “You’re forgiven. I love you too, Merrick. But don’t fire Dakota. You’ll regret it.”
Merrick worked to keep the frown from his face. He didn’t want to upset her, not when she needed rest.
“We’ll see,” was all he was willing to concede.
At this juncture,Dakota would be lucky if Merrick didn’t kick his fucking ass.
“Get some rest, baby,” Merrick said gently. “Cade and I will be right here with you.”
She sighed and closed her eyes and was out in mere seconds. For a long moment, Merrick watched the steady rise and fall of her chest and how her eyelashes rested delicately on her cheeks.
His thoughts were in turmoil. Something had to be done. They couldn’t continue on this way. Things were too chaotic. Out of control. Elle wasn’t safe. None of them were.
The door quietly opened behind them, and Merrick swung around to see Dallas stick his head in. Merrick motioned him inside, and Dallas came in, a concerned look on his face.
“What the hell happened?” Dallas asked in a hushed tone.
Merrick relayed the events, and Dallas’s face darkened into a fierce scowl.
“Son of a bitch. This is getting ridiculous.”
“Tell me about it,” Cade muttered.
“Has the doctor been by?” Dallas asked.
Merrick shook his head.
“I’ll go see what I can find out since I’m her general practitioner.”
“Thanks, man. We appreciate that,” Merrick said.
Dallas left and returned just a few minutes later with the ER physician in tow.
After the doctor introduced himself, he cleared his throat. “Miss Walker has two broken ribs and severe bruising around her ribcage. She’s going to need to take it easy for the next little while. We’ll bind her ribs before she leaves so she doesn’t incur further injury. I’d prefer to keep her overnight, but Doctor Carrington has assured me that he’ll be looking in on her so I’m agreeable to letting her go so long as she is on complete bedrest for the next twenty-four hours and that she takes it easy for the next two weeks.”
Cade and Merrick both nodded, and Merrick sent Dallas a grateful look for stepping in.
“I’ll let her sleep off the pain meds, and when she comes around, the nurse will bind her ribs and give her the discharge instructions,” the doctor said.
“Thank you,” Cade and Merrick both said at the same time.
Now that the formalities were taken care of, Merrick was tired of sitting back when all he really wanted was Elle in his arms. He climbed gingerly onto the bed next to her and carefully positioned himself on his side so he could pull her up against him. He fussed with the blanket and her pillow so she’d be comfortable, and then he went still so she wouldn’t be disturbed.
Cade and Dallas stood on the other side of the bed, and after Cade related all that had happened between Dakota and Merrick, Dallas blew out his breath.
“Damn,” he murmured. “That’s tough, Merrick. You know Dakota is a focused son of a bitch and he can be a selfish bastard when it comes to training. But he’s good, a
nd he’s been loyal to you and has been with you since day one. Are you really going to fire him?”
“I can’t believe you’re even questioning that,” Merrick said darkly. “He tossed Elle out of the gym and sent her home where she was attacked by some asshole with a grudge. That would have never happened if he’d just kept his mouth shut or, even better, come to me and talked it out before acting on his own and being a complete dickhead.”
“I agree there. He fucked up,” Dallas said bluntly. “But did he cross a line that he can never go back from? That’s the question you have to ask yourself. He has a lot to make up to Elle. No doubt there. But don’t you think he should be given the chance to do it?”
Merrick clenched his teeth so he didn’t bite the head off of his best friend. He knew Dallas’s heart was in the right place, and he knew he was making sense. But damnit.
“Look,” he finally said. “Right now I’m too pissed off to deal with Dakota. All I’m worried about at the moment is Elle. I want to get her someplace safe. I want to make damn sure she’s okay. I’ll deal with Dakota when I’ve calmed down some.”
Elle murmured something in her sleep and nuzzled her face closer into his chest. He automatically put his hand to her hair and stroked the dark strands.
“It’s okay, baby,” he murmured close to her ear. “Rest now.”
“I’ve got to run back to the clinic. I left a few patients waiting when I heard what happened,” Dallas said.
Cade’s brow furrowed. “How did you know what happened?”
“Cathy called me.”
Merrick sighed. The whole thing sucked. No, he didn’t want to lose longtime friends. But neither could he keep a person around who was purposely trying to drive a wedge between him and Elle. Over his dead body would he ever let anyone come between them.
“I’ll check in on Elle tonight if that’s okay,” Dallas said as he turned toward the door.
“We’d appreciate that, man,” Cade said. “Thanks.”
Dallas held up his hand in a wave and then disappeared out the door.
Merrick sighed and closed his eyes, suddenly as weary as Elle had looked. Damn but the entire day had sucked.