Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries #5)(37)

Ball didn’t care that they were in the middle of the parking lot outside the police department, he pulled Everly into his arms. She didn’t fight. Instead, she practically melted into him. Her hair brushed against his jaw, and he inhaled deeply, needing the physical intimacy as much as she did.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Me too. I don’t get it. Elise is her flesh and blood. Why wouldn’t she care?”

Ball knew Everly already had the answer, but he had to say something. “Drug addicts literally can’t care about anything but their next high. They crave it with every fiber of their being. They’d lie, cheat, and steal to get it. Things like jobs, family, and friends fall to the wayside in their quest to find and do drugs.”

“I know,” Everly mumbled.

They stood like that for a long moment, soaking in the comfort of human contact.

“Thank you for being here,” Everly said. “I know you didn’t want to come and that you could’ve left by now. Instead, you’ve been amazing. Driving Me-Maw and Pop back and forth to the hospital. Bringing Elise some clothes to change into. Making sure I ate something. I . . . It hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

That was just one more thing Ball liked about Everly. She didn’t shy away from saying what she was thinking . . . good or bad. “There was no way I was going to leave you guys the second she was found.”

Everly shrugged and straightened. Ball kept his hands on her waist, just as her hands stayed on his upper arms. She looked him in the eye. “A week ago, you would’ve.”

She was right.

“What’s happening with us?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Ball said softly. “But I haven’t felt like this in a very long time. If ever.”

“Me either. I was perfectly happy being an independent, kick-ass SWAT officer and cop. I didn’t need anyone, and I liked it that way. Now my little sister will be living with me, and I have no idea if the man who kidnapped her will try again. In the last two days, I’ve turned to tell you something at least a dozen times, only to realize you’re not right there.”

He chuckled. “We did spend practically every minute of every day together there for a while, didn’t we?”

Everly nodded.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been sleeping like crap. I fully admit that I was fucking with you a little that first night, when I spooned behind you. That bed was plenty big enough for us to sleep in and never touch . . . but the joke was on me, because now I can’t sleep worth a damn when you’re not there with me.”

“We’re a mess,” Everly said with a small shake of her head.

“It’s been an intense week,” Ball agreed. “I’d like to see you when we get home.”

“You just volunteered to help me with Elise. We’re definitely going to see each other,” Everly told him.

“No. Like, see you. Take you out like a normal person. Dinner. Bowling. Maybe a movie. See if there’s anything to our attraction once we’re back to our normal lives.”

She stared up at him as if he’d just asked her to take off her clothes and streak through the police station behind them.

Feeling awkward, Ball hurried on to say, “If you want to. I know I was a dick, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want anything to do with me. I was totally chauvinistic, and I should’ve given you the benefit of the doubt, but you know my story, know why I didn’t, and—”

Everly cut him off. “I’d like that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Although I can’t promise I’ll have a ton of time. I don’t know what I’ll do with Elise if we go out. I don’t feel comfortable leaving her alone, and I won’t have Me-Maw and Pop to help me out.”

“She can either come with us, or I’m sure one of my buddies will look after her. We won’t call it babysitting because Elise is way too old for that, but my guess is that she won’t really want to be alone for a while either.”

“They’d do that?”

“Are you kidding? The second they hear I have an actual date, the others will fall all over themselves volunteering to have her over.”

“You guys all seem pretty close.”

“We are. I’d do anything for those guys. I thought I knew what brotherhood was from my time in the service, but it doesn’t compare to what I’ve found with them.”

“How did the Mountain Mercenaries come to be?” Everly asked.

“We all got calls from Rex, who told us to come for interviews. We met at The Pit, and he never showed. We were pissed, but ended up spending the night shooting the shit and playing pool. Apparently, the ‘interview’ was pretty much just seeing how well we all got on together, because we got calls offering us jobs afterward.”

“And you’ve never met Rex, all this time?” Everly asked.

She still had hold of his arms, and Ball still had his hands on her waist. He knew he wasn’t in any hurry to leave; he was enjoying this little time alone with her. “Nope.”

“And how did your friends meet their girlfriends?”

Ball chuckled. “Those are all really long stories, and I’ll leave it to them to tell you.”

“Can I ask something?”