Maya Banks - Theirs to Keep

Merrick lifted an eyebrow. “Can’t we? Where else are you going to go, Elle? Do you honestly think we’d let you just walk out of here knowing you have no memory, no money, no place to go?”

She stared back, having no idea what to say to that. Most people would just turn her over to the police and be done with her. But these two men knew of her terror, knew she didn’t trust any cop, and they not only took her in and didn’t push her to go to the police, but they made her a promise to be with her…long term.

“You guys aren’t real,” she whispered.

“The hell we aren’t,” Cade bit out. “I made you a promise, Elle. Merrick made you a promise. Neither one of us is going back on our word. We aren’t letting you go, and we’re damn sure going to protect you.”

She closed her eyes, soaking in the firmness of his words, how determined they both sounded. A haven. Sanctuary. They were offering something she desperately needed. She’d be a fool to turn it down.

“Okay,” she said in a shaky voice, taking the plunge.

If she couldn’t trust them, who could she? There was no one else. She had no other options. Cade and Merrick were all she had.

She jumped when a loud bang exploded in the kitchen, and suddenly an older man appeared, staring over at Cade and Merrick.

“Where the hell have you two been? I’ve been at the office an hour waiting for your lazy asses. You pick today to sleep in?”

“DAMN IT, DAD,” CADE EXCLAIMED as he reached to keep Elle from bolting from the room.

Charles Walker glanced between the three, his eyes narrowing suspiciously, but then his gaze settled on Elle and he frowned.

“You blew off work for a one-night stand?”

Merrick groaned. “For God’s sake, Charlie. Shut the fuck up for two seconds.”

Elle was standing, her arm outstretched where Cade had caught her wrist to keep her from bolting. She was staring at Cade’s dad like he was the antichrist. And, well, he couldn’t exactly fault her suspicion. Damn old man had no filter whatsoever. He said what he liked when he liked and didn’t much give a fuck what anyone thought.

“What the hell happened to her?” Charles demanded as he stared harder at her. It seemed to have finally sunk in that she was obviously injured and scared out of her mind.

Merrick stood and walked around the table to take Elle’s hand. He glanced back at Cade. “You deal with him. I’ll take Elle in the other room.”

Cade sighed as Merrick herded Elle out of the kitchen, and then he turned to his dad.

“What did I say?” Charles asked, raising his hands, palms up.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Cade muttered. “What do you ever not say?”

Charles slid into Merrick’s vacated chair. “What’s the story on the woman?”

Cade leveled a stare at his dad. “I’m only telling you if you keep quiet, and I mean you don’t say shit to anyone.”

Charles shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

“I’m serious, Dad. This is deep. I haven’t said much to Merrick about this aspect of it, but we have to keep this quiet because he can’t afford to fuck up his chance at a title shot. This could get twisted around and reflect badly on Merrick if we aren’t careful.”

His father’s expression became serious. “What’s the matter, son?”

Cade ran down the story from the time he and Merrick had responded to the breach in security to the present. By the time he was finished, Charles was wearing a scowl that rivaled Merrick’s worst.

“Son of a bitch,” Charles muttered.

“Yeah.”

“So you’re going to keep her?”

The incredulous tone to his dad’s words rubbed Cade the wrong way.

“What do you want me to do, Dad? Toss her out? She’s hurt. She’s been raped and God only knows what else. The son of a bitch shot her twice. It’s a miracle she’s alive. And she’s terrified of the police. So you tell me. What would you do with her?”

Charles sighed and rubbed a hand over his balding head.

“And you’re a damn liar if you tell me you’d toss her out, so don’t even try that shit with me, old man.”

“Think you know me so damn well,” Charles grumbled.

Cade cracked a grin. “I know you’re a grumpy-ass huge marshmallow.”

Charles flipped up his middle finger, and then he stared in the direction of the living room. “So seriously, Cade. What are you going to do with her? You and Merrick have enough on your plate between the business and his training and career. And the job doesn’t run itself. You know I’ll help in any way I can, but you’ve still got a huge problem on your hands.”

“She’s not a problem,” Cade said quietly. “She needs to rest and recover physically, and she needs a place where she feels safe in order to do that. That’s going to be with me and Merrick. When she’s able, we’ll take her into the office with us so she isn’t alone. We’ll figure it out.”

“I’m reading a lot more than just a white knight in action here,” his dad mused. “You’re interested, Cade. I’d swear that you and Merrick are both sniffing around the same female.”

Cade didn’t answer.

Charles sighed. “That’s never a good idea. This can’t end well. You have to know that. You and Merrick go way too far back to let a woman come between you now.”

“We’ll deal with it,” Cade said tightly. “Right now, all we’re concerned with is getting her well and back on her feet. She has an entire past she remembers nothing of.”

“That’s a hell of a lot of baggage she’s sporting, son.”

“Nothing so heavy I can’t help her carry it,” Cade said in a quiet voice.

ELLE SAT ON THE WORN, WOODEN bench and watched as Merrick sparred with Cade in the ring. Cade held a large punching bag, and Merrick ducked and feinted right and left before landing punches that pushed Cade back.

It had been three weeks since the night they’d found her. The bruises had faded. The gunshot wound was nearly healed. She looked and felt better, but her past was still a huge shadow in her mind, an impenetrable veil of darkness.

Part of her wondered if it was better that way. It made her a coward, but every time she tried to think, to focus her attention on the past, she broke into a cold sweat and dissolved into a panic attack.

If that wasn’t a huge sign that she was better off not knowing, she didn’t know what was.

After the first couple of days, the men had settled back into their routine and incorporated Elle into it. She went to Merrick’s workouts with him. Then she’d ride into the office when Merrick joined Cade.

They’d been adamant about making sure she was never alone and that she felt safe at all times while she was recovering. Dallas had become a regular visitor to the men’s home to check in on her progress.

Charlie stayed with her in the office if Cade and Merrick were out on a job. She was never without someone, and while some people would feel smothered by the constant company, it reassured her. She didn’t want to be alone. Maybe she’d never want to be alone again.

It baffled her that four strangers had essentially gone so far out of their way for her. For a nobody. A woman with no past, a woman who, for all they knew, could be a criminal.

The thought made her shiver because she didn’t feel like a criminal. Wouldn’t she know? If she had been involved in crime, would she find the idea so repugnant now?

Cade and Merrick had dismissed her concerns without so much as a moment’s consideration. They reminded her that she was the victim and that she’d done nothing wrong. Their faith gave her a much-needed boost in her own faltering beliefs.

They were simply too good to be true. And that worried her. If something seemed too good to be true, it usually was, and she was literally waiting to have the rug pulled from underneath her and for her to be cast adrift.

The thought scared her to death. Being alone frightened her. She had grown to depend on the two men way more than she’d like to admit.

And worse, she was developing feelings that weren’t clear to her. They were more than gratitude. Couldn’t be confused with psychological dependency. The whole falling for your savior thing. Besides, she had two rescuers. How could she explain her growing affection for both of them?

She winced as Merrick was taken down by one of his sparring partners. He trained with two younger fighters who were up-and-coming. She’d been around enough in the past weeks to know that Merrick was older. Not quite past his prime, but he’d started later than other fighters had. He was approaching an age where it was do-or-die time, and from what she’d gleaned from his conversations with Cade and Charlie, this was his last opportunity—or at least he perceived it was. If he didn’t make a run for the title now, he’d never get another shot.

It took effort not to cheer when Merrick executed a triangle choke, and his partner quickly tapped. Merrick rolled away and then jumped to his feet. Cade tossed him a towel and a bottle of water, and Merrick sucked the water down as he scrubbed the sweat from his face.

The sparring session was early today so Cade could make it before going into the office. Twice a week, they got up before dawn and met at the gym before going into work. The other days, Merrick worked out with the other members of his training team, and Cade took care of the business.

Elle admired Cade’s and Merrick’s loyalty to each other. It was obvious they’d been friends for a long time and that their friendship was very important to them.