Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(66)

“I hurt,” she said simply. “It hurts to breathe.”

Merrick made a sound behind Elle that could be rage, or it could be grief. Then he carefully lifted the hem of her loose pajama top they’d put on her so that he and Cade could see the extent of her bruising. The ER nurse had wrapped her ribs, but Elle hadn’t been able to bear the discomfort of the tight encasing, so they’d reluctantly allowed her to remove it.

Merrick sucked in his breath when the now-blackened flesh came into view. Cade had to swallow back the growl that boiled in his throat.

With a shaking hand, Cade reached out to carefully touch the injured skin. Merrick leaned his head down and pressed a gentle kiss to her ribcage.

“Let me get you some medicine, honey,” Cade said in a low voice.

“Want to talk to you,” she murmured.

He kissed her on the forehead as he rose to get the prescription bottle. “We’ll talk when you’re more comfortable, okay?”

She nodded, and he went to the dresser and shook out a pill and then reached into the minibar to get a bottle of water. When he returned, he frowned to see Elle struggling to sit up while Merrick was doing his best to keep her down.

“Let me sit up please,” she pleaded. “I’m so tired of lying on my side, and I can’t lie on the other side because it hurts. If I could just sit up and prop some pillows behind me, I think it would be heaven.”

“Just be careful,” Merrick cautioned. He glanced up at Cade. “Pick her up, and I’ll arrange the pillows.”

Cade put the pill and water on the nightstand and then reached for Elle, pulling her into his arms and up against his chest. After Merrick propped a mound of pillows against the headboard, Cade eased her down until she settled on the mattress and leaned back against the pillows.

When he was convinced she was comfortable enough, he turned and took the pill and the water to hand to her. She swallowed it down and chugged thirstily at the liquid before handing it back to Cade. Then she sagged against the pillows and briefly closed her eyes.

He moved, and her eyes flew open. “Don’t go,” she blurted. “I wanted—needed—to talk to you and Merrick.”

Cade settled on the bed, pulling up one knee so he could angle toward her. “I’m not going anywhere, honey. I was just getting comfortable.”

She glanced at the bedside clock and frowned. “It’s late. Aren’t you coming to bed?”

Cade glanced down and then over to Merrick. They’d already showered and changed, but they were still dressed in jeans and T-shirts.

“Tell you what. Give me two seconds to get undressed, and I’ll crawl in with you and then we’ll talk about whatever you want.”

Merrick was already getting out of bed and shedding his jeans and shirt. Cade did the same, and then he and Merrick got onto the bed, pulling the covers back so they could get up next to Elle.

Cade shouldered up against the pillows and rested his hand down the length of her leg. Merrick pulled the covers up and then propped his head up in the palm of his hand.

“What’s on your mind, baby?” Merrick asked.

She licked her lips nervously and then closed her eyes, her features drawing until she looked sad and…defeated.

“Today, when this happened… When he grabbed me, I was so terrified. It was a shock. You know, like I wasn’t expecting it. I mean, who expects to be grabbed when they’re trying to walk into their house?”

“Understandable,” Cade murmured.

“But it made me realize the difference from before. When I was attacked before.”

Tears filled her eyes and leaked down her cheeks. Cade pressed his lips to her shoulder, his heart aching for all the hurt she’d endured.

“What was different?” Merrick asked gently.

“I knew the man who attacked me before. I trusted him,” she choked out. “It was a different kind of shock. It was…betrayal.”

Cade slid his hand up her leg to lace his fingers with hers. “I suspected as much,” he murmured.

Merrick nodded his agreement.

“Everything you’ve remembered so far adds up to it being someone you knew and him being a police officer or having something to do with law enforcement.”

Her entire body trembled, and she pulled the covers farther up her body in a protective gesture.

“A cop did this to me,” she whispered. “But did I trust him because he was a cop, or did I trust him because he was someone I knew?”

The undertone was there. The question that wasn’t voiced. Had it been someone she’d been intimate with? A boyfriend. Lover. Husband?

The thought sickened Cade to the point of discomfort.

“Whatever the case, he can’t hurt you anymore, baby.”

Merrick’s quiet vow echoed through the room and vibrated over Cade in its intensity.

Merrick very carefully nudged her chin toward him, and then he caressed her cheek with his big hand. Such gentleness was in total contradiction to his size and strength. He looked like he was just as easily capable of crushing her with that one hand.

“Listen to me,” he said in a husky voice. “What happened today is not going to happen again. You’ll be with either Cade or me every minute of every day. I don’t care what anyone else says. If someone tells you differently, then you tell them to f**k off and you find one of us.”