“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, and 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.
“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.