Theirs to Keep - Maya Banks Page 0,76

should have been with him at the gym. He was going to take Dakota apart over this.

“He yanked me backwards, and when I tried to fight, he punched me in the side.”

Cade balled both hands into fists, and his entire body vibrated with rage.

“I don’t remember a whole lot more,” she confessed. “He told me that he had a message for ‘my boys’ and that if they didn’t drop the charges, he would come back and ‘fuck me up.’”

The officer was steadily jotting down her every word, and he frowned as she said the last. Then he turned in Cade and Merrick’s direction.

“Drop what charges?”

Cade sighed. “I can’t be one hundred percent sure, but I’m at least ninety-nine that this is retaliation for the guy we had arrested a while back for trying to steal a car from a client’s car lot. Our office was shot up and torched the very next day and now this.”

Merrick shook his head, sick at heart that Elle was being targeted because of him and Cade.

To Cade and Merrick he said, “I’ll need to know more about what happened after I’ve spoken to Miss Walker.” Then the officer turned back to Elle. “So what happened after that?”

“He punched me again in the side and then he turned me and hit me in the face. He let me fall, and I remember lying on the floor of the garage thinking that I couldn’t allow it to happen again.”

The police officer frowned. “Again? What do you mean by that?”

Elle immediately went silent. Her gaze skittered toward Cade, fear making her eyes large against her pale face.

“Someone hurt her before,” Cade said shortly.

Before the officer could pursue the matter, Elle stammered on, trying to cover what she’d let slip.

“I just knew I had to get away. I didn’t know what he planned to d-do to m-me. I thought that he wouldn’t expect me to do anything but lie there, so I lunged for a crowbar that was a short distance away and…I hit him,” she finished quietly.

“Good for you,” Merrick said fiercely.

Even the cop looked approving.

“I hit him more than once,” she said in an almost apologetic tone. “I was so scared. I thought he would kill me.”

The officer put his hand over Elle’s and squeezed soothingly. “You did fine, Miss Walker. I don’t think there’s any doubt you acted in self-defense. Hell, if you had killed him, I don’t think anyone would hold it against you.”

Elle went quiet, eyeing the officer’s hand, but she was still. Oddly so. Whatever panic she was feeling, she controlled it well.

“Son of a bitch needs killing,” Cade growled. “He has a beef with us so he roughs up a woman?”

The officer muttered his agreement.

Elle carefully extricated her hand from the officer’s grasp before continuing on. “After he went down, I fell and then I called 911. I don’t remember anything else. Just so many people showing up and all the noise and questions.”

Merrick slid his hand up her leg and squeezed her knee. “You did great, baby. You were fierce.”

She smiled faintly, but her smile looked sad. “I don’t feel great. It made me remember things.”

She bit her lip and looked away as if realizing once again she’d spoken out when she shouldn’t have.

“Is that all you need?” Cade asked brusquely, looking pointedly at the cop. “She needs to rest. She’s been through hell.”

The officer rose. “I appreciate you talking to me, Miss Walker. I know it wasn’t easy for you and that you’re in a lot of pain. If I need anything else, I’ll be in touch. I don’t anticipate any problems. Obviously we’re waiting to see what the condition of your attacker is. He’ll most certainly be charged with assault and attempted murder, but between you and me, it’ll save a lot of trouble if the asshole just dies.”

Elle’s eyes widened in surprise, but Merrick wholeheartedly agreed with the officer’s assessment.

Merrick rose and extended his hand to the cop who shook it.

“If you need to talk to Elle again, you’ll need to go through me or Cade,” Merrick said firmly.

The officer nodded and then jotted down both their cell numbers. After telling them he’d be in touch to get the details on the arrest at the car lot and their office being burned, he excused himself from the room.

With more than a little dread, Merrick turned to face Elle, prepared to grovel on his knees if necessary for the hurt he’d caused her when she’d already suffered so