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  Merrick’s gaze narrowed. “You think I should stick to my guns?”

  Cade sighed. “Goddamn. Part of me wants to kick his fucking ass and then tell him to hit the road. What he did was unforgivable. He could have gotten her killed. The other part knows deep down that he never meant her harm. He’s a dick, yes, but he’s a dick who loves you and is fiercely loyal, and I honest to God think he’s sick at heart over what happened.”

  “Yeah,” Merrick muttered.

  “I think he’s got some making up to do where Elle is concerned. He made her feel unwanted. Like we didn’t want her. That I won’t forgive.”

  “I hear you,” Merrick said through his teeth. “We’ll talk to Elle in the morning, and then I’m going to have a come to Jesus meeting with him to clear the air.”

  C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - S I X

  WHEN ELLE WOKE THE NEXT morning, she was alone in bed and the sun was streaming through the window. She blinked and then flinched away from the brightness before turning her head away.

  Her body screamed in pain. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. Every breath hurt. The nurse in the ER had bound Elle’s ribs, but Elle hadn’t been able to tolerate the wrapping. Now she wondered if she wouldn’t have been better off.

  Her face and jaw were swollen, and it hurt like hell to even move her lips. Moving anything was an ordeal. She felt like she was a hundred years old.

  And the problem was, she had to pee really bad.

  “Cade? Merrick?”

  Their names came out a mere croak. Her throat was bruised and swollen from where her assailant had choked her.

  She waited a moment, but with each passing second, the need became more pressing.

  Gritting her teeth, she inched her way toward the edge of the bed, tears of pain pricking her eyelids. By the time she had one leg over the side, she was gasping and tears slid freely down her cheeks.

  When she finally managed to get both feet on the floor, she straightened and immediately regretted it. Her cry of pain blistered her lips, and she bent over, agony wracking her body.

  “Elle, what the hell?”

  Cade’s demand blew over her, and then he was there, easing her to sit back on the bed. She couldn’t even breathe around the quiet sobs and the gasps of pain.

  Merrick stood in front of her, his face a mask of worry. Just beyond him, Dallas stood, concern bright in his eyes.

  “What on earth were you doing?” Merrick asked.

  “Bathroom,” she managed to get past stiff, swollen lips.

  “Aww, honey.”

  Cade slid his arms underneath her and lifted her up. She couldn’t call back the near shriek as her body was jolted. Cade swore and then stalked toward the bathroom. He set her down in front of the toilet and then unceremoniously yanked down her underwear before easing her back onto the commode.

  “Oh God, this is humiliating,” she moaned.

  “Shut up,” he said in an almost polite voice. “I don’t want to hear it. Get over it because right now you can’t move without causing yourself considerable pain.”

  “I can do the rest,” she gritted out. “Turn around or something. This is embarrassing.”

  He sighed but did as she asked. And God, but it was the most difficult thing she’d ever done to complete the task of using the bathroom. By the time she was finished, sweat had broken out over her body and she was nauseous.

  Cade steered her around and then glanced into her eyes. “It hurt you when I carried you in here. Do you think it would be better if you walked?”

  She thought for a minute, and the memory of the jolt of him picking her up was enough to persuade her that she would rather risk walking.

  Like an old woman, she trudged into the bedroom where Merrick and Dallas stood by the bed, both frowning.

  “Elle, sweetheart, don’t take this the wrong way, but I need you to show me your pretty ass,” Dallas said.

  Her eyes widened, and she halted.

  He held up a syringe. “I’m going to give you an injection. You’re in considerable pain, and to be honest, at this stage, those pills aren’t going to help you much. This will work much faster.”

  She nodded, not even offering argument. She’d bare any part of her body if it meant getting faster relief.

  She crawled onto the bed and face planted in the pillow, rolling slightly onto her uninjured side so no weight was on the injured one.

  Merrick reached to carefully pull the band of her panties far enough that Dallas could swab the skin where he was going to inject her. Then the prick of a needle and the burn of medication as it pushed into her hip.

  Mere moments later, she melted into the bed as the edge lessened on the pain. The discomfort became more tolerable, and she sighed in relief.

  “Better?” Dallas asked.

  “Better,” she mumbled against the pillow. “Can I sit up now?”

  “Just take it easy and let Cade and Merrick help you,” Dallas cautioned.

  As soon as she started to push upward, Cade and Merrick were there. They lifted her, careful not to touch any of the bruised areas. Then they turned her so she could sit up in bed.

  The medicine made her swimmy, but she welcomed it because she wasn’t in pain. Finally not in pain.

  “Thank you, Dallas,” she said, slurring her esses.

  He smiled. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. I had to come check on you this morning. I had a feeling you were going to hurt like a son of a bitch when you woke up.”

  She grimaced and nodded. “You were right.”

  “You too out of it to talk, baby?” Merrick asked.

  She shook her head. “I’m okay. Just a little slower.”

  “I’m going to leave you three,” Dallas said. “I’ll be back tonight after the clinic closes. If you need anything, though, call me. I’ll be right over.”

  He reached down to squeeze Elle’s hand, and she smiled at him. “Thanks, Dallas.”

  Cade and Merrick walked him to the door, and a moment later, they were back. They both sat on the bed on either side of her, and she glanced more closely at Merrick. His hair was damp with perspiration, and he had sweat spots on his T-shirt.

  “You worked out,” she said.

  Merrick looked uncertain for a moment. “Does that upset you? Cade stayed here with you the entire time. You were out like a light when I got up.”

  She was temporarily dumfounded. “Why on earth would that upset me? You have four weeks until your fight. You can’t slack off now.”

  Cade grinned. “Little slave driver’s right.”

  Merrick relaxed. “We need to talk about Dakota.”

  Elle sighed. Talk about a mood dampener.

  “Don’t look like that,” Merrick said, his voice pleading.

  “I may not want you to fire him, and I may think you need him, but it doesn’t mean I want to think about him or deal with him,” Elle said.

  Merrick touched her hand, running his finger up and down her palm.

  “Dakota and I are going to have an understanding today concerning you. I’m not going to fire him. Yet. He only gets one shot at this, though. He fucks up, he’s out. He has to understand your position in my life. A position I want you to be in very much.”

  She nodded.

  “The second thing we need to talk about is Dallas brought by your paperwork,” Cade said. “Birth certificate. Social security card. Everything we need to establish your identity.”

  She blinked and then swallowed. This is what she wanted. She was sure of it. And yet now that it was happening, she felt a moment’s panic. It was as if it were the final step in erasing her past completely. Dissolving who she’d been and creating a whole new person.

  There was a tinge of sadness, and for what, she couldn’t even place. A fleeting moment of grief for someone she couldn’t remember.

  “Elle?”

  “Who knows if that’s even my real name,” she said in a cracked voice.

  Cade cupped her chin and then quickly pulled his hand away so he wouldn’t touch the bruised, swollen part of her face.

  “You’re Elle to us,” he said gently. “You’re Elle Walker soon to be Sullivan, and that’s all that matters.”

  “I don’t think we should get married yet,” she blurted.

  Merrick’s face immediately went dark, and Cade frowned.

  “Why the hell not?” Merrick demanded.

  Cade shot him a warning glance, and Merrick snapped his mouth shut.

  “Why not, honey?” Cade asked in a quieter tone.

  “Distraction,” she said honestly.

  She turned her gaze to Merrick, determination edging her words.

  “You have four weeks to get ready for this fight. And you know what? I want a honeymoon. There’s no way getting married now helps you get ready for this fight. It’s time away from your training.”

  Merrick puffed up, his face reddening, and she knew he was about to start arguing.

  “After the fight,” she said firmly. “After you win, we get married. We go to Vegas. Get married and then we go somewhere where it’s just the three of us and there’s no crazy asshole trying to get revenge. No Dakota. No nothing except us.”

  “That’s a pretty persuasive argument,” Cade admitted.

  Merrick swore. “I want you to be mine.”

  She smiled then. Crookedly. Around the pain in her mouth and swollen jaw. “Don’t you know, Merrick? I’m already yours.”

  Merrick leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers. He seemed emotional. His eyes were closed as he murmured, “Okay, baby. Just…okay.”

  She reached for Cade even as Merrick kept his forehead to hers. The three of them touching, connecting.

  Some of the earlier melancholy lifted away, leaving lightness that danced its way into her heart. It was senseless to dwell on her past when she had Cade and Merrick as her future.

  “There’s something else we need to discuss,” Cade said.

  She looked hesitantly at him as he and Merrick exchanged looks.

  “We want to move,” Merrick said bluntly. “For a whole host of reasons. Namely your safety.”

  When she started to protest, Cade cut her off. “We’re selling the business. If Merrick wins—and he’s going to—we aren’t going to need it. We won’t have time for it. We’re thinking of moving to Denver to start a new training camp there. Bring on some up-and-coming fighters to train under Merrick and Dakota and our team. We won’t stay here where some asshole has a vendetta because our business had him arrested and he took it out on you.”

  “But,” she began only to be silenced by Merrick this time.

  “You said it, Elle. If I win this, my life is going to change in ways we don’t even perceive yet. And I don’t want us going in opposite directions. I don’t want you and Cade here, struggling to keep the business afloat while I’m off traveling and making appearances and doing publicity shit. I want you both there with me. By my side. I’m a selfish bastard, but I don’t want to split my time with you between me and Cade. I want you with me all the time. Cade has money saved up. The miserly bastard has the first dollar he ever made in a savings account. Plus he’ll draw a salary as my manager. Dakota’s going to only focus on the training aspect. Cade’s going to handle the business, and that’s something you can help him with.”

  She blew out a deep breath. “Are you sure this is what the two of you want?”

  “Hell yeah,” Merrick growled. “We want you. Safe. With us. In our arms. In our lives. That’s all that counts in the end.”

  She smiled. “I think I can live with that.”

  C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - S E V E N

  THE ARENA WAS BUZZING WITH excitement. The night had been rife with upset victories, and speculation was high that the main event could well be another upset where the champion would be dethroned.

  Elle could barely contain herself in the locker room. She’d already been out to view the raucous crowd three times, and she couldn’t sit still as she paced the confines.

  She’d stayed well away from Merrick, not wanting to in any way compromise his focus. For the last two days, he’d gone quiet and intensely brooding, almost as if he’d turned inward for the incentive necessary for the task ahead.

  An arm slid around her shoulders, and she turned hastily to see Dallas standing beside her.

  “How you holding up, sweetheart?”

  She smiled. “Nervous as hell. Oh my God, I don’t know how you’ve stood this for so long.”

  “I puked my first couple of fights,” he admitted. “Too much adrenaline. I was so amped up that I was in overload.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, I can totally relate.” Her laughter died, and she went quiet for a moment. Then in a fierce, low voice she said, “He’s going to win.”

  She said it as a statement, but she still couldn’t quell the need for reassurance. Dallas kissed her temple. “Yeah, he’s going to win. No doubt.”

  Dakota walked out of the dressing room and made a beeline for Elle. His expression brooding and intense. A look she’d fast come to associate with Dakota when he was in fight mode.

  “He wants to see you.”

  Elle frowned. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I’ve tried to stay out of his way all day. I don’t want to mess up his concentration now.”

  Dakota smiled. The two had reached a truce while she’d still been laid up in a hotel room recovering from her attack. He’d been appalled and horrified that his actions had led to such a horrific event.

  He’d been utterly sincere in his apology—and just as sincere about his love and loyalty for Merrick. In the end, she couldn’t hold that loyalty against him. She knew she’d do anything to protect Merrick, so she couldn’t fault Dakota for trying to do the same. Even if he’d gone about it all wrong.

  “I think he needs to see you, babe. You’ll center him. He needs to be grounded right now. He needs to see what he’s fighting for. You’ll remind him of that.”

  Elle’s heart melted. “Okay. I’ll come.”

  She followed behind Dakota into the locker room, where Merrick’s shoulders and arms were being massaged and rubbed down. He had on a satin jacket with the hood up, and he looked…formidable. Not at all like the loving, gentle giant she knew him to be.

  But then he looked up and found her gaze, and he softened all over, losing the brooding intensity that could easily scare a grown man.

  “Elle,” he whispered.

  The room cleared in about three seconds, and then they were alone. Just her, Merrick and Cade, who stood to the side. But he came in closer as Elle approached Merrick.

  Cade sat on the bench next to Elle where she’d taken a seat directly across from Merrick. Their knees touched, and Merrick reached for her hands, clumsy with the gloves on.

  He extended his fist to Cade so they bumped knuckles, and they held them there while Cade reached for Elle’s free hand.

  “This is it,” Cade said simply. “Don’t leave anything in the ring, Merrick. Go hard. No regrets.”

  “No regrets,” Merrick echoed.

  “You can do this,” Elle said softly. “I believe in you, Merrick. I love you.”

  He put his gloved hands clumsily to her face and pulled her into a deep kiss. “I love you too. This. All of this. Is for you. For us.”

  Dakota burst into the room followed closely by Cathy.

  “It’s time, Merrick. I’m going to have Cathy take Elle to her seat, and she’s going to stay with her for the fight. Front row. She’ll be close. Cade and Dallas are going to stay in the corner with me.”

  Merrick nodded and then leaned forward again to claim Elle’s mouth in a lusty, possessive kiss that left her breathless.

  “Win,” she whispered. “Do it for you, Merrick. Nobody else.”

  Elle and Catherine were escorted ringside by two security guards. Catherine latched onto her hand and pulled her up close while the two guards moved only a short distance away, flanking the women.

  “I’ve never been so oh-my-God nervous in my life!” Catherine yelled in Elle’s ear. “This is it, Elle. This is what he’s worked for over so many years.”

  “He’s going to win,” Elle said with calm she didn’t feel.

  All she could think was what if he didn’t win? Every plan, every action over the last month had been made with the assumption that Merrick would win the title.

  The three had picked out a home in Denver. Dakota and Catherine had begun negotiations on a training facility. Their house in Grand Junction had been put up for sale, and Cade had sold his business.

  Even Charlie was making the move to Denver and would be a part of Merrick’s training team.

  The only dim spot in the last weeks was the fallout from Elle’s attack, and she’d worried endlessly that it would prove to be a huge distraction for Merrick and split his concentration at a time it had to be completely focused.

  Her attacker had survived, but fortunately for Elle, he confessed everything. He pled guilty to assault, and he testified against the man Cade and Merrick had captured stealing the car. Other than statements provided by all three of them, nothing further was to be done, and they’d been able to push the incident from their minds.

  The flurry of activity surrounding the move and Cade selling their home and business had helped to distract Elle so she didn’t spend much time dwelling on the terror of what had happened to her.

  But only in the last week, three weeks after the attack, had the bruising finally faded, and she could move without pain or discomfort.

  Thank God she’d healed before the fight because it was a madhouse, and if Merrick won? There was going to be mad hugging and even madder celebration.

  Tonight, because Merrick was the contender, he’d enter the ring first. When the lights dimmed and the first strains of Merrick’s entry song began, goose bumps chased up Elle’s arms. She yanked her gaze up the aisle, straining to get a glimpse of Merrick when he appeared.

  His nickname still made her giggle. Merrick “The Hit Man” Sullivan. It sounded so…mafia. But he’d gained the nickname because it was said he had lead fists and, with one well-placed punch, could drop a much larger guy like a stone.

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