by Maya Banks
“What are we going to do about this, Merrick?” Cade asked in a grim voice.
Merrick didn’t pretend not to know what Cade was talking about.
“I don’t know,” Merrick said honestly. “One thing’s for sure. They’ve declared war, and they’ve made it obvious that they aren’t above stooping to the level of attacking an innocent woman to get their point across.”
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - F O U R
MERRICK AND CADE HAD TAKEN Elle and checked into a hotel for the night. Their house was a police crime scene, but even if it wasn’t riddled with police tape, there was no way in hell they’d take her back to a place where her attacker had already boldly waltzed in.
After the way the office had been shot up and torched, the next logical conclusion was for there to be a similar attack on their home.
Elle had still been groggy even after sleeping off the pain medication, and as soon as she’d become aware enough to get up and go to the bathroom, Cade had given her another dose of pain killers and tucked her promptly back into bed.
Cade and Merrick took turns checking in on her until they were certain she was down for the count. Still, they stayed close by her door in case she woke up in pain or just scared.
Dallas showed up at nine p.m. with Chinese takeout. They sprawled in the sitting area of the suite far enough away from the bedroom so Elle wouldn’t be disturbed but close enough that they could get to her fast.
“So what are you going to do, man?” Dallas said bluntly. “You’ve got a fight in four weeks, and you just fired your trainer.”
“I don’t know yet,” Merrick ground out. “I need some time to think. I’ve been a little worried about Elle at the moment. She’s more important than some damn fight.”
“I get it,” Dallas said calmly. “But I don’t want you to fuck around and let this go. You’ll regret it later, Merrick. I know you. I’ve known you too many years.”
Merrick scraped his fork against the takeout box and shoved another bite into his mouth. Too many carbs. But tonight he didn’t give a shit. Dakota would have his ass over eating this crap.
He leaned back in his chair and then looked at his two best friends.
“What’s on your mind, Merrick?” Cade asked calmly.
Yeah, Cade would know something was bothering him. Other than the obvious.
He battled with whether to bring it up so close on the heels of what had happened. It would seem reactionary and like he was too quick to jump the gun. But the longer he pondered the solution, the more at peace he felt about it.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. This will sound crazy, like I haven’t thought it through, but I’ve thought of nothing else since seeing Elle bloodied and bruised in our garage. Elle, who was forced to defend herself with a fucking crowbar because some asshole wants revenge because we had his ass arrested. Fuck that.”
Dallas and Cade exchanged curious glances.
“You both want me to go hard at this title.”
Cade and Dallas both nodded.
“You want me to focus. You want me to move past the distractions. Well, I can’t do that until I know Elle is safe.”
“I get that,” Cade said.
Merrick leaned forward, putting his carton of Chinese food down so he could rest his forearms on his knees.
“I think we should hang up the business for now,” he said bluntly.
Cade’s head reared back. “Have you lost your goddamn mind? You know how hard I worked to get that off the ground.”
Merrick nodded. “I do.”
“Then what the fuck, man?”
Wisely, Dallas remained a quiet observer to the tense exchange.
“Elle said it best,” Merrick said. “When she was talking about wanting to take over the office with you. She said if I won the title, my life would change and I wouldn’t be working in our business. She’s right. Things will change. The thing is, I don’t want to be the only one who changes while you two are left behind holding the bag.”
Cade started to open his mouth, but Merrick shut him down with a look.
“Let me finish. There are so many reasons to do this, and I’ll start with the most important. Elle’s in danger because of us and our business. Because we crossed the wrong person and he wants revenge. The motherfucker isn’t going to stop just because Elle beat the shit out of his flunky. Hell, I don’t even want to take her back to that house. I’d rather us sell it and move someplace that fits the three of us better.”
Cade’s eyes narrowed, but he kept silent.
“The other thing is, if I win—and I want to win… I know none of you believe that. You think I’m fucking away the opportunity of a lifetime. I’m going to win. And when I do, I want you and Elle both right there with me. You’ve always been there, Cade. You don’t call what you do for me a job, but it is. You’re part of the camp, the team. I’ll need you more than ever if I win this thing. I can’t do it alone, and I want people I trust around me. I’ll need you and Elle to keep me grounded. None of us will have time for the business.
“If we’re going to make this work with Elle, we can’t be in two separate places,” Merrick added softly. “We want her with us. You want me to win. We can’t have both if you’re here and I’m somewhere else.”
“So you want me to just quit and ride your star like some fucking charity case?” Cade bit out.
“Oh, fuck you,” Merrick said rudely. “You’ve got goddamn money saved. You’ve been saving since you were a damn teenager. You hoard cash like Scrooge. You’d be paid a salary, and you’d damn well earn it. There’s no charity case, dumbass. If we’re going to make this work with Elle, then we need to figure out a way to be together and to work together where we aren’t worried every day that some asshole with a grudge is going to retaliate by assaulting the woman we love.”
“I hate to be the voice of reason here, because I’m always the voice of reason,” Dallas said dryly, “but Merrick has some very good points, as much as it pains me to agree with his ornery ass.”
“Thanks a lot,” Cade snapped.
“Think about Elle,” Merrick said. “Think about the fact that it would be much easier to keep her with us when we’re not split up all the time. And really, the timing is perfect. We can walk away from the business or sell it to someone else. Our building was destroyed. We’re renting shitty office space until we rebuild. So, what if we don’t?”
Cade blew out his breath. “Jesus, man. What a time to hit me with this.”
“It’s the best time to hit you with it. If we wait, it could be too late. I won’t risk Elle again. We’ve got to take this threat seriously, and we’ve got to become better at making sure one of us is with her at all times.”
Cade rubbed his hands over his face. “I can’t even believe I’m considering this.”
“I’m not asking for a split-second decision,” Merrick said in a quiet voice. “I know how hard you worked for this. Sleep on it. We can talk about it again.”
“Where the hell would we live?” Cade asked.
Merrick knew he’d scored a major victory by getting Cade to consider details like where they would live. It meant he was already looking at the possibilities and weighing them in his mind.
“Dakota’s been talking about moving our gym to Denver. If I win, we get increased exposure and a bigger city to draw in new fighters. We buy a house there and take the necessary precautions to safeguard Elle.”
Both Dallas and Cade lifted their eyebrows.
“Does this mean you aren’t firing Dakota?” Cade asked.
“Fuck,” Merrick said, the curse exploding out of his mouth. “I want to kick his goddamn ass.”
Dallas nodded. “Understandable. He certainly owes Elle an apology, and he probably needs his ass kicked.”
“And after you kick it, you can rehire him,” Cade pointed out.
Well, at least there was that. And he had to admit, he looked forward to flattening Dakota a few times before he played nice
again.
“If I rehire Dakota, will you at least consider my suggestion?” Merrick asked Cade.
Cade expelled a long breath, his shoulders heaving with the effort. Then he looked at Merrick, his lips tight.
“Yeah. I’ll consider it.”
Then Merrick turned to Dallas, his chest tight because he knew what it would mean if he and Cade moved to another city.
“I want you there, man. Every damn time.”
“And I’ll be there,” Dallas said, his voice serious. “You know I will. When I can’t be at the clinic, my nurse practitioner does a crack job of keeping things flowing. It won’t be the same without you guys here where we can eat dinner together or shoot the shit at the house whenever we want. But I’ll never be further than a phone call away.”
Merrick held up his hand, and Dallas bumped his fist to Merrick’s.
“I want what’s best for you,” Dallas said sincerely. “I may not be able to fully wrap my head around this relationship you and Cade have with Elle, but I want the three of you to be happy, and I want you to succeed. You’re the best, man, and this is your time to shine.”
Merrick sighed. “If I haven’t fucked it up already.”
Dallas shrugged. “Just work harder. You’ve got four weeks. Get your shit together and then focus. If anyone can do this, you can.”
Cade leaned forward. “This isn’t just about you, Merrick. A lot of people have put a hell of a lot of time into your training. Dakota’s an asshole, but he and Cathy both have banked everything on you. Don’t let everyone down.”
A sense of purpose gripped Merrick by the throat. “Yeah, I get it.”
“Just remember that the most important person you do this for is yourself,” Dallas added.
Merrick nodded. “I’ll talk to Dakota in the morning. Tonight… Tonight I’m going to watch over Elle and try not to torture myself with all that could have happened and all that did.”
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - F I V E
WHEN MERRICK AND CADE WALKED back into the bedroom after Dallas left for the night, Cade was surprised to see Elle awake and lying on her uninjured side.
Her face was nestled into the pillow, but her gaze was distant, and she didn’t react to their entry, which told him wherever she was, it wasn’t here.
He settled down on the edge of the bed and trailed his finger down the silky skin of her arm.
“Elle? Are you hurting, honey? Do you need something else for pain?”
For a moment, she didn’t respond. It wasn’t until Merrick crawled onto the bed behind her and sat up against the headboard so her body was flush against his that she stirred and directed her unfocused stare on Cade.
“I hurt,” she said simply. “It hurts to breathe.”
Merrick made a sound behind Elle that could be rage, or it could be grief. Then he carefully lifted the hem of her loose pajama top they’d put on her so that he and Cade could see the extent of her bruising. The ER nurse had wrapped her ribs, but Elle hadn’t been able to bear the discomfort of the tight encasing, so they’d reluctantly allowed her to remove it.
Merrick sucked in his breath when the now-blackened flesh came into view. Cade had to swallow back the growl that boiled in his throat.
With a shaking hand, Cade reached out to carefully touch the injured skin. Merrick leaned his head down and pressed a gentle kiss to her ribcage.
“Let me get you some medicine, honey,” Cade said in a low voice.
“Want to talk to you,” she murmured.
He kissed her on the forehead as he rose to get the prescription bottle. “We’ll talk when you’re more comfortable, okay?”
She nodded, and he went to the dresser and shook out a pill and then reached into the minibar to get a bottle of water. When he returned, he frowned to see Elle struggling to sit up while Merrick was doing his best to keep her down.
“Let me sit up please,” she pleaded. “I’m so tired of lying on my side, and I can’t lie on the other side because it hurts. If I could just sit up and prop some pillows behind me, I think it would be heaven.”
“Just be careful,” Merrick cautioned. He glanced up at Cade. “Pick her up, and I’ll arrange the pillows.”
Cade put the pill and water on the nightstand and then reached for Elle, pulling her into his arms and up against his chest. After Merrick propped a mound of pillows against the headboard, Cade eased her down until she settled on the mattress and leaned back against the pillows.
When he was convinced she was comfortable enough, he turned and took the pill and the water to hand to her. She swallowed it down and chugged thirstily at the liquid before handing it back to Cade. Then she sagged against the pillows and briefly closed her eyes.
He moved, and her eyes flew open. “Don’t go,” she blurted. “I wanted—needed—to talk to you and Merrick.”
Cade settled on the bed, pulling up one knee so he could angle toward her. “I’m not going anywhere, honey. I was just getting comfortable.”
She glanced at the bedside clock and frowned. “It’s late. Aren’t you coming to bed?”
Cade glanced down and then over to Merrick. They’d already showered and changed, but they were still dressed in jeans and T-shirts.
“Tell you what. Give me two seconds to get undressed, and I’ll crawl in with you and then we’ll talk about whatever you want.”
Merrick was already getting out of bed and shedding his jeans and shirt. Cade did the same, and then he and Merrick got onto the bed, pulling the covers back so they could get up next to Elle.
Cade shouldered up against the pillows and rested his hand down the length of her leg. Merrick pulled the covers up and then propped his head up in the palm of his hand.
“What’s on your mind, baby?” Merrick asked.
She licked her lips nervously and then closed her eyes, her features drawing until she looked sad and…defeated.
“Today, when this happened… When he grabbed me, I was so terrified. It was a shock. You know, like I wasn’t expecting it. I mean, who expects to be grabbed when they’re trying to walk into their house?”
“Understandable,” Cade murmured.
“But it made me realize the difference from before. When I was attacked before.”
Tears filled her eyes and leaked down her cheeks. Cade pressed his lips to her shoulder, his heart aching for all the hurt she’d endured.
“What was different?” Merrick asked gently.
“I knew the man who attacked me before. I trusted him,” she choked out. “It was a different kind of shock. It was…betrayal.”
Cade slid his hand up her leg to lace his fingers with hers. “I suspected as much,” he murmured.
Merrick nodded his agreement.
“Everything you’ve remembered so far adds up to it being someone you knew and him being a police officer or having something to do with law enforcement.”
Her entire body trembled, and she pulled the covers farther up her body in a protective gesture.
“A cop did this to me,” she whispered. “But did I trust him because he was a cop, or did I trust him because he was someone I knew?”
The undertone was there. The question that wasn’t voiced. Had it been someone she’d been intimate with? A boyfriend. Lover. Husband?
The thought sickened Cade to the point of discomfort.
“Whatever the case, he can’t hurt you anymore, baby.”
Merrick’s quiet vow echoed through the room and vibrated over Cade in its intensity.
Merrick very carefully nudged her chin toward him, and then he caressed her cheek with his big hand. Such gentleness was in total contradiction to his size and strength. He looked like he was just as easily capable of crushing her with that one hand.
“Listen to me,” he said in a husky voice. “What happened today is not going to happen again. You’ll be with either Cade or me every minute of every day. I don’t care what anyone else says. If someone tells you differently, then you tell them to fuck off and
you find one of us.”
Merrick glanced at Cade for a long moment, question in his eyes. Cade knew what he was asking. Knew what he wanted to share with Elle.
In his heart, Cade knew it was the right thing to do even if it wasn’t the easiest.
Slowly he nodded, silently agreeing to what Merrick had suggested earlier. Satisfaction and relief shone in Merrick’s eyes.
Elle was starting to nod off again, though, the effects of the pain medication taking hold, and she was already exhausted enough.
Cade glanced at Merrick and shook his head. “Tomorrow.”
Merrick nodded and then gently eased Elle lower in the bed, arranging the pillows so she’d be comfortable. She moaned once when the movement caused her pain, and Merrick flinched, his face a wreath of regret.
But then she nestled into the pillow, gave a soft sigh and went utterly still. Her soft breathing filled the space between them, and Cade simply watched the rise and fall of her chest.
What was it about her that had captivated him from the very beginning? He couldn’t explain it. He didn’t even really care about why or how. She was it for him. Some things just were, and this was one of them. Hell if he was going to fight it. Not when he was perfectly content to be right where he was.
Change was inevitable. But then they’d been barreling toward change for some time now. It was naïve to think their lives wouldn’t be altered when Merrick won the championship.
Merrick had thought out the possible roadblocks and come up with a solution, something Cade had failed to do. There was no way they could both maintain a relationship with Elle if Cade was in Grand Junction and Merrick was off fulfilling his obligations as the champion. And they sure as hell weren’t going to pass Elle back and forth like a child custody case in a divorce.
Cade had been rooted in denial, not wanting to think of the changes that were most certainly coming.
“We could have lost her,” Merrick whispered painfully.
“I know. The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off that Dakota took it upon himself to toss her out of the gym.”