Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries #5)(43)

As if he’d been sitting around waiting for her response, his answer popped up immediately.

Rob: Never. You’re mine.

Terrified, Elise clicked out of the app and immediately deleted it from her phone. She sat up and threw the phone on the floor, not even caring if she broke it. Then she lay back down, covered her head once more, and sobbed.





Chapter Nine

Five days later, Everly paused outside the run-down-looking bar/pool hall. The sign was crooked and looked like it would be knocked down with one strong windstorm. The wood panels on the outside of the building gave it a rustic feel.

As if he could read her mind, Ball said, “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

Everly raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been here, remember?”

He chuckled. “Right. Come on.”

She felt his hand on the small of her back as she dutifully headed for the door. It was around noon, and Elise was at school. Everly had the day off, and Ball had decided it was time for her to reacquaint herself with his team and meet their women. He’d arranged for everyone to gather here at The Pit.

Everly was nervous. These were Ball’s friends. The men and women he’d move heaven and earth for, if required. If they didn’t like her, she had a feeling the relationship between her and Ball was screwed.

And it definitely felt as if she was in a relationship. How it had happened, Everly wasn’t sure. It wasn’t so long ago that she’d walked into this bar and overheard Ball bad-mouthing her. She’d been pissed and a little hurt.

But he’d managed to crawl under her defenses. Not a day went by now when she didn’t see him, even if it was just for thirty minutes or so. A few days ago, he’d popped over to her apartment right after she’d finished her shift just to drop off a lasagna that he’d made for her and Elise. Another day, he came over after Elise had gone to bed, and they’d sat around and talked until she’d looked down at her watch and realized it was one in the morning.

He’d asked about Me-Maw and Pop and kept her up to date on the trafficking investigation being done back in LA. And then there had been the texts. He was constantly sending her messages, just letting her know he was thinking about her, or telling her what Rex had found, or sending her a silly joke.

Not only that, but he’d been texting Elise as well. Everly’d had a long talk with her sister about internet safety, and even though it was a little late, she figured it was better than never. Every morning, Everly checked Elise’s phone. She wasn’t happy about having to do it, just as Elise wasn’t happy that her sister was checking up on her, but she understood why.

And every morning, Everly scrolled through pages and pages of texts between Ball and Elise. Her little sister was slowly opening up more and more to Ball, and not surprisingly, he was extremely sensitive in his responses. He listened to her worries about finding friends, fitting in at school . . . they’d even had a fairly in-depth conversation about sex and relationships. Topics Elise wouldn’t discuss with Everly. Particularly, what men like the guy who’d kidnapped her got out of hurting women, and how Elise should never have sex if someone was pressuring her. One comment really stood out for Everly:

Ball: Sex can be many things . . . passionate, quick, slow, hilarious, playful, and serious. But one thing it should never be is painful. Or manipulative. On your part or his.

Everly had never had playful sex. Or even sex that was all that passionate. But he was right on the money in saying it shouldn’t be manipulative or painful.

Ball was insightful, and sensitive to what Elise had been through, and it made Everly like him all the more.

But their conversations weren’t all emotional land mines. He’d also sent short videos of him signing. He was getting better, but was still pretty rough. Elise was extremely patient as she corrected him, and she’d even sent some videos back of herself, demonstrating signs.

Everly loved seeing the relationship blossom between her sister and Ball, but it also worried her. She didn’t think Ball was the kind of man who would drop out of Elise’s life if things between him and Everly didn’t work out, but that didn’t stop her from at least thinking about it.

Ball was almost everything she’d ever wanted in a partner—and that scared the shit out of her. Her life was crazy enough as it was. She wasn’t sure she wanted to—or could—fit a man into everything else she had going on. But she couldn’t deny that it felt good being with him.

They entered the bar, and it was just as Everly remembered it. A little dark, the smell of alcohol prominent, and music coming out of a jukebox in the corner of the front room. She assumed the music would be turned up as the place got busier and the hour got later, but for now, it was simply quiet background noise. Ball led her over to the bar.

“Everly, this is Noah Ganter. There are several bartenders, but Noah and Dave are here the most.”

She held out her hand. “Hi, it’s good to meet you.” The bartender was probably in his late twenties, and he had that boy-next-door look about him. His brown hair was tousled, and his hazel eyes sparkled with humor. He looked happy, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Same,” Noah said. “Can I get you something to drink?”

It was still early, and even though she wasn’t driving, Everly wasn’t much of a drinker. “A Coke?”