Theirs to Keep

C H A P T E R E L E V E N

“HEY, YOU GOING TO THE after party?” Dakota asked Merrick.

Merrick hesitated and then glanced across the room to where Elle was curled in a chair in the corner sound asleep.

“I don’t think so, man. I’m tired. I could use a little peace and quiet right now.”

Dakota followed Merrick’s gaze to Elle. “Your fans are going to want to see you. This is an important lead-up to the championship fight. Did you see that Lash was at the fight? Second row. He left in a hurry after you submitted Carew.”

Merrick shook his head. “I didn’t see.” And he didn’t care. Lash was the champion, and Merrick wanted the belt. It didn’t matter who it was. It wasn’t personal.

“I think it’s a good idea for you to at least make an appearance,” Dakota persisted.

Merrick sighed and glanced over at Cade. In the past, he and Cade and Dallas would have gone to the after party and partied hard through the night. Now all he wanted to do was go back to his hotel room so he could spend some quiet time with Elle and find out what the hell she’d thought about all this.

“I’ll send a car with two bodyguards with Elle back to the hotel,” Dakota said, his tone persuasive. “They’ll stand outside her room. No one will get near her. When you’re done, you can head back. Spend an hour. I’ll make sure no one bothers you after that.”

Cade, who’d been listening in, looked torn as well. He glanced at Elle and then back at Merrick. Then finally he put his hand on Merrick’s shoulder.

“This is your night, man. It’s your call. I’ll go with you to the party if you want to go. Dakota’s probably right. It’s probably a good idea for you to show up, at least for a little while. You had a ton of people come out for you tonight.”

Dallas pushed in next to Cade. “You guys want me to go back to the hotel with Elle?”

“No,” Merrick clipped out.

He trusted Dallas implicitly, but even the charade of Dallas being with Elle grated on him. He didn’t want to see them leave together even if he knew the entire thing was a fabrication meant to make sure Elle wasn’t thrust into the spotlight. It was utterly ridiculous, but jealousy was eating at him at the mere appearance that Elle was with another man.

He turned to his trainer, his lips tight. “You make damn sure she gets to the hotel safely and that the bodyguards don’t leave her side until she’s inside. I’ll relieve them when I get back to the hotel. I’m holding you personally responsible for her safety.”

Dakota nodded. “Get showered and changed, and I’ll arrange transportation to the bar we’ve rented out for the night. While you’re doing that, I’ll have Catherine take care of Elle.”

It took everything Merrick had to walk away from her and not go to her, leaving her sleeping in the chair. Goddamn but he hated this.

He shook his head and jabbed his finger at Dakota. “You take care of it personally. Catherine’s a wonderful woman, but I’d rather you see to Elle’s protection.”

“Whatever you want, Merrick. Now go. I’ll take care of things.”

Elle was gently shaken awake by Catherine, Dakota’s wife. Dakota was in his forties, and Catherine was likely in her late thirties, but she didn’t look a day over twenty-five. And it wasn’t because of artificial means. The woman was just beautiful and vibrant, and she had a smile that could light up an entire city block.

She was smart too. She was often involved in the business aspect of Merrick’s career. Elle knew from just the short time she’d been associated with the guys that Dakota depended on Catherine a lot for advice and her opinions. She had the respect of all the men around her, and Elle admired her for that.

“Hey, you feeling okay?” Catherine asked.

Elle nodded and sat up quickly, embarrassed that she’d fallen asleep during Merrick’s locker room celebration. A quick glance around told her that things were dying down and people were starting to clear out of the dressing room.

“This is what’s going down for the night,” Catherine said. “There’s an after party. It’s completely normal. Tradition, one might even say, for the winner to host a party for fans. It’s important for Merrick to be there and have a presence. The organization is looking hard at him right now. They know he’s a contender for the belt and he’s likely going to get that offer soon. Public support is always a good thing to have on your side.”

Elle held her hand up to stop the flow of words. “Catherine, I understand. Of course he should go. This is an important night for him. I just wish…”

Catherine’s face wrinkled in sympathy. “What do you wish?”

“That I could be there too,” Elle said wistfully.

Catherine put her hand over Elle’s. “I know you do. I can only imagine.”

Catherine and Dakota both knew of Elle’s situation. Merrick could hardly keep it a secret from them since he needed their cooperation in keeping Elle out of the public eye. Most of Merrick’s camp knew. And Dakota and Catherine had both been wonderful to her.

But what they didn’t or couldn’t know was the extent of her relationship with either Cade or Merrick. How could they when even Elle didn’t know?

As far as they were concerned, Elle was a woman in trouble, and Cade and Merrick were lending her a helping hand and support until she got her memory back.

Elle knew in her gut that she wanted more. But damn if she could even put a finger on exactly what she wanted from the two men. Or maybe she knew, and she was too afraid to admit it even to herself.

“Dakota has a car to take you back to the hotel. If you don’t mind, I’m going to catch a ride back with you,” Catherine said. “I’m beat, and as thrilled as I am for Merrick, I don’t have it in me to pull a late nighter tonight.”

“Of course I don’t mind. I’d love the company,” Elle said honestly.

“Dakota is sending two bodyguards with us, and they’ll remain outside your suite until Merrick and Cade return.”

Elle nodded, not bothering to say it was unnecessary. How could she say that with any certainty? She had no idea who’d tried to kill her or where he was now. All she knew was that the only time she felt safe was when she was with Cade and Merrick.

Dallas walked over and bent down to press a perfunctory kiss to Elle’s forehead. It could easily be interpreted as an affectionate kiss from a man to his lover, and Elle knew Dallas did view her affectionately, but it was a pretense.

“You going to be okay with Cathy?” Dallas asked. “I’ll go back to the hotel with you if you want.”

Elle shook her head. “Go and have fun. Enjoy the moment, and make sure Merrick does too. And please don’t let them worry about me. Catherine has been nice enough to ride back to the hotel with me, and I’m going to curl up and get some sleep. I’ll be fine.”

Dallas smiled and then ruffled her hair. “Okay, will do. You two be careful.”

“See ya, Dallas,” Catherine said.

Dakota walked over then with the two mountains who’d escorted her to her seat earlier.

“Elle, this is Carl and Steven, and they’ll be escorting you back to the hotel.”

“I’m going to ride with her, babe,” Catherine spoke up.

Dakota’s brow furrowed. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m tired. You guys go and celebrate.”

Dakota pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It was clear the couple cared a lot for each other, and Dakota wasn’t hesitant at all about demonstrating that love for his wife regardless of who was watching.

“See you later then,” he said. Then he nodded at Elle. “They’ll take you out now.”

Elle followed behind Carl while Steven fell in behind her and Catherine. As they walked toward the door, Merrick came out of the shower, his hair still damp. Elle stopped a moment to absorb the image of him standing in the dressing room wearing a T-shirt advertising his training facilities and a pair of jeans that hugged his body in all the right places.

Cade walked over to where she stood, his stance casual. Merrick came up behind him until both men were mere inches away.

“You okay?” Cade asked softly.

She nodded and smiled. “Yep. Congratulations, Merrick. It was an awesome fight.”

The corner of Merrick’s mouth lifted. “You watched? Or did you hide your eyes the entire time?”

She huffed indignantly. “You submitted him with a rear naked choke hold.”

Both men laughed. Cade started to put his hand out to touch her but pulled it back at the last minute.

“We’ll see you later, okay? If you need anything at all, call my cell. I’ll be checking it.”

Elle nodded, and after one last lingering glance, she turned and walked away with the two bodyguards.