Maya Banks - Theirs to Keep

Merrick nodded. “I’ll get her changed and warmed up. But hurry. It’s likely been three days since she’s eaten.”

Cade glanced at the woman and swore. He snagged his coat from the chair and stalked out of the living room. A moment later, the kitchen door banged, leaving Merrick to stand in silence with the woman staring nervously up at him.

Merrick sighed. “Look, there’s no easy way to do this. I don’t want to frighten you, but the chances of you being able to get into these clothes without my help are zero. I swear to you I won’t hurt you. I’ll try not to look. I’ll be as quick as possible so it’s over with and you can rest and be comfortable.”

She curved her arms over her stomach, her hands gripping her arms. He could see the distress radiating from her. Her pupils widened. Her pulse rate kicked up, as did her breathing, and sweat beaded her forehead.

Hell, she was on the verge of a full-scale panic attack, and he had no idea how to offer her more reassurance than he already had.

“You can turn your back. I can untie the hospital gown from the back, and it will slip right over your arms, and then we’ll try to get this zip-up sweatshirt on you without hurting you.”

She licked her lips and swallowed hard, almost as if she was battling her fear and anxiety. That she was making such an effort not to melt down made Merrick respect her resiliency all the more.

She may be fragile-looking, seemingly helpless and in need of a lot of TLC, but a weaker woman would have likely already died. She certainly wouldn’t have broken into a gun shop to try to find a place to sleep and hide for the night. Nor would she be holding her ground against someone as big and scary-looking as Merrick.

Slowly she sat up and then turned so her back was presented to Merrick. She let the blanket slide down and immediately began to shiver.

Cursing, he hurried forward and began to work the wet gown off her. But it was soaked through and sticking to her skin like glue. Hell, it was ruined anyway.

He pulled a pocketknife from his jeans, flipped it open and then cut through the tough knot at her neck. Once it loosened, he gently pushed the gown forward, baring her slender back.

The growl rumbled in his throat before he could call it back. There was a huge bruise covering her lower back, and damn if it wasn’t in the shape of a shoe. A damn big shoe. Someone had kicked her.

Blanking his mind to his rage, he worked instead on getting the dry sweatshirt over her upper body. Then he got down on the floor at her feet and pulled the sweatpants up her legs, careful to keep his gaze averted.

When she was dressed, she immediately leaned back, pulling the blanket protectively over her body. She was still shivering, and Merrick turned with a frown toward the fire.

Deciding she was too far away and not wanting her to move, he got up and simply started sliding the couch forward until she was close enough to feel the warmth of the flames.

“Better?” he asked.

Only the tiniest curve to her mouth hinted at a smile. “Better.”

He eased onto the couch beside her, careful not to touch her or get too close. Even though her expression didn’t change, her eyes cut over to him, her gaze never leaving him.

The silence was awkward. He felt like a moron. He had no idea what to do in a situation like this. Females in distress weren’t exactly something he came across a lot in his line of work. And frankly, if asked, he would have said they were something he would have avoided at all costs. They just seemed more trouble than they were worth.

But this one… There was something about her that had captured his entire attention from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her.

His protective instincts had been riled until they were a roar in his gut.

Nothing or no one was going to touch her. Not when she was with him. No one would ever hurt her again.

Even as he had the thought, he knew how ridiculous it sounded. It was as if he was making a permanent claim on her, like he’d always be there to protect her and watch over her. And hell, if he were honest, he knew it was more than that.

It shamed him. It disgusted him. But he wanted to hold her. Touch her. He wanted to shelter her from everything bad. He wanted to kiss her and show her how gentle he could be.

This was a woman who may never want to be touched by a man again. She’d been brutalized and violated. That knowledge sent his thoughts into a black rage.

He wanted to be someone she could turn to, who she could trust. No matter how ludicrous the thought was, given they’d only been acquainted a few hours.

“Is there nothing you remember?” he asked quietly.

Her brow furrowed, and her lips turned down into an unhappy grimace. He was immediately sorry for putting that look on her face.

“When I close my eyes and I concentrate, I can almost touch things. Does that make sense? It probably sounds stupid.”

“No,” he denied. “Not at all.”

“It’s like everything is cloaked in shadows, and I keep thinking if I could only get a little light there that I could see all I’ve forgotten. But it’s scary because at the same time I know if I do shine light on the shadows that very bad things could be revealed.”

Her lips drooped even farther.

“I’m scared.”

She whispered the admission in a voice that ached with vulnerability.

No longer willing to keep the distance between them, he reached over and carefully pulled her into his arms. She stiffened at first and remained stock-still, almost as if she were battling her fear, but then she relaxed and melted into his embrace.

He shifted his body so he was closer to her, so she would benefit from his warmth, and he cradled her against his chest.

“I know it’s scary,” he said. “But I want you to know that you’re safe with me and Cade. We aren’t going to let anything bad happen to you. Everything that frightens you is currently in your mind and in your memories. Those things can’t hurt you. Only real people can, and I’ll kick anyone’s ass who tries to get close to you.”

She turned her face upward so their gazes connected. A small smile pulled at her lips. “Do you know I believe you? There’s something in your voice. I don’t understand it. It’s probably stupid of me, but maybe I’m desperate to trust someone. I feel so…” Her voice choked off in a near sob. “I feel so alone.”

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.

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 wanted her to trust him. Wanted her to have no qualms about depending on them.

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.