Merrick brushed his lips across her brow. “You aren’t alone. You have me and you have Cade. I promise you we aren’t leaving you. We’ll do whatever we have to in order to help you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
She laid her head over his chest, and he immediately put his hand to her bedraggled raven hair. Dark as midnight, a startling contrast to ocean-blue eyes. She was the sort of woman a man noticed in a crowd. Which meant he and Cade were going to have to be damn careful with her safety.
The door opened, and heavy footsteps sounded on the floor. The woman jerked upward, her eyes wide with fright, and she clutched at Merrick in an unconscious plea for protection.
“Shhh,” he soothed. “It’s just Cade. He’s back with food and your medicine. It’s going to be okay.”
A moment later, Cade appeared with a takeout bag and a white pharmacy bag. He strode toward the coffee table and set down his purchases.
“What do you think you’d like to drink?” Cade asked. “I have water, tea and juices. I picked up orange and grape from the pharmacy.”
“Water is fine,” she murmured.
He pulled everything from the packaging and then opened a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup. He opened a bottle of water and set it down beside the bowl and then motioned her forward.
“Can you sit up enough to eat, or should I feed you?”
Merrick saw the discomfort that crossed her face. She shook her head and then tried to push her way from Merrick’s arms. He helped by holding her upright and not letting her move too fast.
When she was perched on the edge of the couch, Merrick draped the blanket over her shoulders, and Cade took her hands between his in a gesture that obviously surprised her.
He rubbed back and forth, infusing warmth into her fingers, and then he looked at her with tenderness in his eyes that Merrick understood all too well.
“As soon as you eat, I’ll give you an antibiotic pill and something for pain as well. You’ll sleep well after that.”
She nodded her acceptance and reached for the spoon, fumbling clumsily as she tried to grip it with the bandages on her hand.
Finally Cade took the spoon and gently put her hands back into her lap.
“Let me,” he said quietly.
C H A P T E R F I V E
CADE STARED INTO HER EYES and then lifted the bowl and the spoon before sliding onto the couch beside her. She was flanked by him and Merrick, and he wasn’t sure how well she’d take that. More than one woman would feel threatened by having two hulking Neanderthals basically trapping her.
Cade wasn’t as big as Merrick. He didn’t sport the tattoos or the long hair. But he worked out with Merrick. He was his longtime training partner, and he adhered to the same strict regimen that Merrick did.
“I’m going to hold the bowl like a cup so you can sip from it,” he said. “It might get messy if I try to feed it to you by spoon, not to mention, it’ll take forever.”
She offered a trembling half smile and allowed him to tip the bowl toward her mouth. Her bandaged hands came up to lay over his, and then she took an experimental sip.
She drew away, closed her eyes and sighed in seeming contentment.
“Good?” Cade asked.
She nodded.
He put the bowl back to her mouth, and she took a larger sip this time. She was slow, taking measured tastes as if waiting to see if her stomach rebelled.
Cade waited patiently until she finally sat back with a sigh and waved off any more.
“That was wonderful,” she said.
He reached for a bottle of water and then fished out the medicine he’d gotten for her. After dumping an antibiotic pill and a pain pill into his palm, he put one to her lips and held the bottle up so she could swallow. After she downed the second pill, Cade stood to clean up the mess, but Merrick waved him off.
“I’ll do it. You stay here with her.”
Cade raised an eyebrow, but Merrick made a slight dip with his head, motioning toward the woman, and then looked pointedly at Cade. He wanted Cade to stay with her awhile so she’d grow more comfortable with him. It was obvious that Merrick had already done so judging by the fact she’d been solidly in his arms when Cade had returned with the food.
Cade had just returned his attention to the woman when her eyes went wide and she blurted out, “Elle!”
Cade frowned but leaned back so he was closer to her. “Who’s Elle?”
The woman turned to him in wonder. “Me. I think. It’s my name. Not all of it, but it’s what I was called. I’m sure of it.”
“That’s good,” Cade soothed. “See? That’s a start. It’ll all come back to you as soon as you feel safe. Elle is a pretty name. It suits you.”
“Thank you,” she said earnestly. “For being so kind. For understanding. And for helping me. I still don’t know why you’ve done it. Most people would have washed their hands of me within minutes.”
Cade scowled. “There was no way in hell Merrick and I were leaving you on your own. You need our help, and you’re going to get it.”
She reached clumsily with her bandaged hand and curled her fingers around his. “Thank you.”
He felt that simple touch all the way to his heart. She was clearly terrified and uncertain, but it seemed she’d determined that she trusted him and Merrick both. Satisfaction ripped through his chest. He
Damn it, he wanted her to be his. He already thought of her as his. He doubted Merrick felt any different. The big man had been awfully growly and possessive when it came to her.
And it all caused a huge problem. They knew nothing about her or her past, and neither did she. She could already belong to someone. Hell, she could have a husband and a family somewhere. There could be people worried about her, and yet he and Merrick hadn’t done what they should have. They hadn’t taken her to the police or the hospital.
But her terror was very real when it came to mentioning police and hospitals, and Dallas had confirmed it. And Cade didn’t think for one moment this woman had done anything wrong. She was clearly a victim, and he wasn’t about to set her up for more brutalization by turning her over to the wrong people.
Until her memory came back and she could decide for herself, she was staying with him and Merrick, and fuck anyone who said differently.
C H A P T E R S I X
“YOU MAY AS WELL SAY what’s on your mind,” Cade said, without looking up from the stove.
Merrick had walked into the kitchen five minutes ago, slid into one of the chairs by the bar but hadn’t said a word.
Merrick wasn’t much of a talker, at least on a deeper level. He could bullshit with the best. He also managed to get his point across with no problems. But Cade always knew when something was eating at him, because he always went all quiet and brooding.
He and Merrick went way back. They’d been friends since grade school. Dallas too. The three had been inseparable even when life had taken them in different directions after high school.
Cade had known he wanted to go into business for himself. Dallas had gone to medical school and after
