Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(69)

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 ass**le 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 ass**le 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.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

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.