"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 fucked 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 asshole, 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 T H I R T Y - F I V E.

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.

"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 fuck off and you find one of us."

Merrick glanced at Cade for a long moment, question in his eyes. Cade knew what he was asking. Knew what he wanted to share with Elle.

In his heart, Cade knew it was the right thing to do even if it wasn't the easiest.

Slowly he nodded, silently agreeing to what Merrick had suggested earlier. Satisfaction and relief shone in Merrick's eyes.

Elle was starting to nod off again, though, the effects of the pain medication taking hold, and she was already exhausted enough.

Cade glanced at Merrick and shook his head. "Tomorrow."

Merrick nodded and then gently eased Elle lower in the bed, arranging the pillows so she'd be comfortable. She moaned once when the movement caused her pain, and Merrick flinched, his face a wreath of regret.

But then she nestled into the pillow, gave a soft sigh and went utterly still. Her soft breathing filled the space between them, and Cade simply watched the rise and fall of her chest.

What was it about her that had captivated him from the very beginning? He couldn't explain it. He didn't even really care about why or how. She was it for him. Some things just were, and this was one of them. Hell if he was going to fight it. Not when he was perfectly content to be right where he was.

Change was inevitable. But then they'd been barreling toward change for some time now. It was naive to think their lives wouldn't be altered when Merrick won the championship.

Merrick had thought out the possible roadblocks and come up with a solution, something Cade had failed to do. There was no way they could both maintain a relationship with Elle if Cade was in Grand Junction and Merrick was off fulfilling his obligations as the champion. And they sure as hell weren't going to pass Elle back and forth like a child custody case in a divorce.

Cade had been rooted in denial, not wanting to think of the changes that were most certainly coming.

"We could have lost her," Merrick whispered painfully.

"I know. The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off that Dakota took it upon himself to toss her out of the gym."

Merrick's gaze narrowed. "You think I should stick to my guns?"

Cade sighed. "Goddamn. Part of me wants to kick his fucking ass and then tell him to hit the road. What he did was unforgivable. He could have gotten her killed. The other part knows deep down that he never meant her harm. He's a dick, yes, but he's a dick who loves you and is fiercely loyal, and I honest to God think he's sick at heart over what happened."

"Yeah," Merrick muttered.

"I think he's got some making up to do where Elle is concerned. He made her feel unwanted. Like we didn't want her. That I won't forgive."

"I hear you," Merrick said through his teeth. "We'll talk to Elle in the morning, and then I'm going to have a come to Jesus meeting with him to clear the air."

CHAPTER T H I R T Y - S I X.

WHEN ELLE WOKE THE NEXT morning, she was alone in bed and the sun was streaming through the window. She blinked and then flinched away from the brightness before turning her head away.

Her body screamed in pain. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before. Every breath hurt. The nurse in the ER had bound Elle's ribs, but Elle hadn't been able to tolerate the wrapping. Now she wondered if she wouldn't have been better off.

Her face and jaw were swollen, and it hurt like hell to even move her lips. Moving anything was an ordeal. She felt like she was a hundred years old.

And the problem was, she had to pee really bad.

"Cade? Merrick?"

Their names came out a mere croak. Her throat was bruised and swollen from where her assailant had choked her.

She waited a moment, but with each passing second, the need became more pressing.

Gritting her teeth, she inched her way toward the edge of the bed, tears of pain pricking her eyelids. By the time she had one leg over the side, she was gasping and tears slid freely down her cheeks.

When she finally managed to get both feet on the floor, she straightened and immediately regretted it. Her cry of pain blistered her lips, and she bent over, agony wracking her body.

"Elle, what the hell?"

Cade's demand blew over her, and then he was there, easing her to sit back on the bed. She couldn't even breathe around the quiet sobs and the gasps of pain.

Merrick stood in front of her, his face a mask of worry. Just beyond him, Dallas stood, concern bright in his eyes.

"What on earth were you doing?" Merrick asked.

"Bathroom," she managed to get past stiff, swollen lips.