Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(65)

“So you want me to just quit and ride your star like some f**king charity case?” Cade bit out.

“Oh, f**k 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 ass**le 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 f**ked 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 ass**le, 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.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

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.