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  “So you sent the woman I love into a dangerous situation—a situation you were well aware of, Dakota. Hell, she just got caught in an office building after being shot at and the building torched. You knew we weren’t sending her anywhere without one of us at all times. Why the fuck would you take it upon yourself to send her home behind my back?”

  “I was doing what I thought was best for you,” Dakota said in a frustrated voice. “You don’t see it, Merrick, but the rest of us do. Your edge is slipping. You aren’t as sharp as you were even a month ago. You’re going to fuck up the one shot you have at the big time. If you won’t think about yourself, then at least think of the rest of us who’ve spent years supporting you and building you up and making sacrifices because we believed in you.”

  A garbled sound of rage bubbled from Cade’s throat, but Merrick held up his hand. He had this.

  “You placed a woman in a position of danger and vulnerability. How exactly did you expect she’d defend herself if something like this happened? You didn’t tell me what you’d done. You could have picked up the phone and called Cade to let him know. You could have called Dallas. Cade’s dad. There’s a hell of a lot you could have done, and you didn’t do shit. This is on you, Dakota, and I’m not going to forget it. You’re fired.”

  Catherine made a sound of pain, and when he looked at her, her eyes were wounded.

  “I’m sorry, Cathy,” Merrick said quietly.

  Catherine walked forward, tentatively touching Merrick on the arm. “Think about it, Merrick. Don’t make any hasty decisions. Dakota was a dickhead, but he’s a dickhead who loves you and is loyal to a fault. Maybe too loyal. He’s not used to having to share you with others, but he’ll learn. Sleep on it please, and we can talk when emotions aren’t so high.”

  Merrick kissed her cheek. “I can’t guarantee anything, Cathy. He betrayed my trust. He betrayed Elle.”

  “I’m sorry, man,” Dakota said, sadness so deep in his eyes that it made Merrick’s gut clench. “I fucked up. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I don’t want to throw away the years we have together over this.”

  “You did this,” Merrick pointed out.

  “Yeah, I know,” Dakota said quietly. He turned to his wife. “Come on, Cathy. Let’s leave them to see to Elle.”

  With an unhappy frown and one last look in Merrick’s direction, Catherine followed her husband out of the waiting room.

  “Son of a bitch, I fucked up,” Merrick swore when Dakota and Catherine had gone. “I was such a bastard to her. And fuck it all, I’ll never forget that look in her eyes when I yelled at her about leaving when Dakota was the one who kicked her out. I can only imagine how she felt and how embarrassing it was for her when Dakota acted like a dickhead and tossed her out of the gym. And then I blame her for what happened to her. Jesus, but when I fuck up, I fuck up big.”

  “We still don’t even know what happened,” Cade said wearily. “It’s all very bizarre. It’s pissing me off that they kicked us out of her room and won’t let us be in there with her.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Merrick fumed. “They can’t keep us away from her, and you know what? I’m tired of this crap. I’m going in to see her, and they’re going to have to arrest me to keep me out.”

  Cade grinned. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  Merrick pushed through the door leading to the exam rooms,Cade on his heels, and he went down the hall, peeking into every single one until finally he came to where Elle was.

  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 wrappe
d 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 shouldn’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 medicatio
n.

  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.