“What happened, Elle?” he asked as he started removing her shirt.

He hoped if he could get her talking that she wouldn’t focus on the fact that he was stripping her down to nothing. He didn’t want her to freak out, and it was entirely possible given her current emotional state.

“I don’t know,” she said blankly. “The last thing I remember is going to bed and then suddenly I was standing in the rain with you in front of me.”

Merrick cursed. “Never known anyone who sleepwalked, but it sure as hell sounds like that’s what happened.”

“Why on earth would I walk out of the house?”

Her voice shook, and he could see how freaked out she was over the idea of just walking out without realizing it.

“That I don’t know, baby. You scared the hell out of me. God only knows what could have happened if I hadn’t been up and seen you walk out the door.”

Reaction set in on him about the same time it hit her. His hands shook as he pulled her up to peel down her wet pants. He and Cade would have woken up and found her gone, and they may never have found her again.

Or she could have been killed or seriously injured.

Or she could have simply walked away and kept on walking.

“Slip out of your panties,” he said in a gentle voice. “We need to get you in the shower and warmed up. You need help, or can you make it on your own?”

She glanced down and remained still for a long moment. “I can do it,” she finally murmured.

“Okay, but I’m staying right here. I’ll get another dry towel and a change of clothes for you, but then I’ll be back.”

She nodded and stepped into the shower, flinching when the hot water hit her cold skin.

When he was certain she wasn’t going to take a header in the shower, he quickly left the bathroom to get the towel and something for her to wear. He hesitated outside of Cade’s bedroom a moment, pondering whether to wake his friend.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle the situation with Elle, but if they were going to be in this together, Cade needed to know. Merrick would be pissed as hell if this had happened while he’d been sleeping and Cade hadn’t woke him up.

And there was the fact that Cade could brew a pot of hot coffee while Elle was in the shower. Then maybe they could sit down together and hash this out.

He knocked on Cade’s door and then stuck his head in. Cade stirred and stuck his head up, his eyes blurry with sleep.

“What’s up?” Cade asked.

“I’ll explain more later, but I need you to put on some coffee so we can warm Elle up. She was sleepwalking in the rain. I have her in the shower now.”

Cade was up in an instant. “What the fuck?”

“Yeah, that was my reaction,” Merrick muttered.

Cade dragged on a pair of sweats and was throwing on a T-shirt when Merrick ducked back out of the bedroom.

He entered the bathroom to see Elle standing under the spray, her head down, eyes closed. Her face was contorted as if whatever she was thinking was causing her pain.

He hated the helplessness of the situation. His helplessness. He’d do anything in the world to help her, and yet there was no way for him to take away whatever private hell she was enduring.

His worst fear was of losing her. And hell, he didn’t even really have her yet. Not fully. And it had nothing to do with the fact that he hadn’t touched her sexually or made love to her. Fuck all that. He didn’t need a physical relationship with her to feel like what they had was real.

He didn’t have her fully yet because her past still had a firm hold on her mind. Though he didn’t doubt one bit her desire to commit to him and Cade, he knew she couldn’t fully do so until she’d resolved what had happened to her.

And he wanted her. More than he’d ever wanted another woman.

Realizing that it was likely she’d stand there in the shower in whatever daze she was currently in all night, he reached in to turn off the water.

When his hand closed over her shoulder, her skin was hot and flushed. Her eyes flew open, and she gave him a startled look before relaxing when she realized it was him.

“Come on, baby,” he said in as gentle a voice as he could manage. “Let me dry you off.”

He helped her over the edge of the tub and made sure her feet hit the bath rug so she wouldn’t slip. Then he briskly rubbed her down with the towel before wrapping her dripping hair in it and arranging it atop her head.

“I got you something to wear. Can you manage on your own?”

She nodded, nearly toppling the towel from her head. He righted it and motioned to the pair of sweats and the T-shirt on the counter.

“Cade and I will be in the living room. He made fresh coffee. Come on out when you’re dressed, and we’ll talk.”

She grimaced but nodded. Her arms had crept up to her waist, and she wrapped them protectively around herself as she stood naked and vulnerable to his gaze.

Not wanting to make her any more uncomfortable, he averted his eyes and then backed from the bathroom, though the image of her standing in the shower, water running down her sleek body, was still firmly imprinted in his mind.

Cade was pacing the living room floor when Merrick appeared. When Cade saw Merrick, he pulled up abruptly, his face a cloud of concern.

“What the hell is going on? You said she was sleepwalking. In the fucking rain?”

Merrick blew out his breath. “I was up. Couldn’t sleep. Guess I was worried about her. I checked in on her twice, but each time, she was sleeping soundly. I was sitting in the chair over there and heard her come down the hall. I called out to her but she kept walking. Next thing I know she’s out the kitchen door, through the garage and standing out by the street. I don’t even want to know what could have happened if I hadn’t been up.”

Cade let a vehement string of curses fly. “Maybe I should call Dallas.”

“That might be a good idea,” Merrick said grimly. “This is beyond my scope. I don’t know how to help her, Cade.”

Cade went quiet, his gaze moving beyond Merrick. Merrick turned to see Elle walk into the living room, her feet bare, and she was shivering.

Merrick was at her side instantaneously, his arm going around her. “Come sit on the couch and get warm.”

Cade was there with a blanket as Elle settled against the cushions. She tucked her feet underneath her, and Cade arranged the throw securely around her body. Then Cade perched on the couch next to her, worry creasing his brow.

“What happened, Elle?” Cade asked.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, they were swamped with confusion and fear.

“I don’t know,” she said helplessly. “I don’t remember anything except waking up outside in the rain when Merrick shook me.”

“Were you having a bad dream?” Merrick asked. “Think about it. Try to remember.”

She frowned, her lips pursing in concentration. “I remember a badge. And bright sunlight. It glinted in the sun.”

She broke off abruptly, her hand going to her forehead. Her fingers shook badly as she rubbed over her eye.

“Elle?” Cade asked gently. “What is it? What do you remember?”

Her hand slowly dropped, delving below the blanket to touch her hip through the sweats she was wearing.

“I remember the badge digging into my hip while he…”

Her voice broke off in a sob, and her hands flew to her face to stifle the escaping sound.

She hated the feeling of helplessness that assaulted her the moment she thought back on that awful dream—the awful memory. It wasn’t a dream. It had really happened. To her. She’d been violated. Held down, helpless, while a man forced himself on her. Had hated her. Had every intention of killing her. He’d tried to kill her. He’d shot her.

What could she have done to inspire such animosity? She couldn’t fathom that kind of hatred. Couldn’t imagine having done anything to deserve something that awful. But what woman did? No one deserved to be raped. It wasn’t a woman’s fault. There was no excuse for a man to violate a woman, no matter how angry he was. No matter what the perceived sin of the woman.

Logically she knew that, and yet she still couldn’t wrap her mind around it all. There had to be a reason, didn’t there? But no. Women were raped all the time for no other reason than a man wanted to exert his power, that he wanted to degrade and punish her.

The fault wasn’t with her. She knew that. And yet she couldn’t get past the idea that she’d done something to warrant a man raping and trying to kill her.

Cade slid his hand around her nape and pulled her head to his chest. She shook violently against him, and she heard the low curses from both Cade and Merrick. She heard the worry in their voices, and the anger. Not at her. But at what had happened to her and the grip her past still had on her even though she couldn’t remember it.

“It’s okay, honey. You’re with us. It’s okay to remember. He can’t hurt you now. Talk it out if you want. We’re here. We’ll listen.”

“I don’t want to remember,” she said, her voice muffled by Cade’s shirt.

Merrick sighed, his heart softening at the vulnerability in her voice. He ran his finger up her bare arm and rubbed his knuckle back down in a soothing manner.

“I don’t claim to understand what you’ve been through, baby. I won’t insult you by saying I do. But I do understand why you don’t want to remember. I get that. But I also know that this is like a festering wound, and it’s not going to go away. At some point, we have to face it. Together. And you need to know that Cade and I are going to be here to help you in any way we can.”