Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(64)

“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.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

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 f**k 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 f**king crowbar because some ass**le 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 f**k, 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 motherf*cker 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 f**king 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.”