Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries #5)(58)

“I don’t know what I’d do if Gray disappeared like that,” Allye said. One hand went to her belly and rubbed as she talked. “I have such respect for single parents. I don’t think I could do it. I’m scared to death to have this kid. I’m afraid it’ll change everything about my relationship with Gray.”

“It won’t,” Everly said.

Allye smiled. “No offense, but you don’t really even know us, right?”

“You’re right, I don’t. But I’ve seen how he looks at you. He can’t take his eyes off you. When we were at The Pit, every time I looked over at the guys, he was staring at you. And I may not be around you guys all that much, but men like the Mountain Mercenaries don’t seem like the kind who do anything halfway. Not their soldiering, not their other jobs, and not loving the women they’re with.”

“They don’t,” Allye agreed. Then she tilted her head and asked point-blank, “Do you love Ball?”

Everly blinked. She hadn’t expected Allye to be so blunt. But she should’ve. Ball was a respected and loved member of their tribe. If she was in the other woman’s shoes, she’d want to know the same thing.

“I don’t know.” She saw Allye frown, and hurried on. “But the first thing I do in the morning is grab my phone to see if he texted while I was asleep. More and more often, though, I wake up in his arms on my couch. We fall asleep that way and don’t wake up until morning. He respects my sister and has gone out of his way to learn how to talk to her. Really talk to her, not just scribble shit on a piece of paper or do weird pantomimes. I see the worry in his eyes when I’m wearing my bulletproof vest for work, but he hasn’t said anything to indicate that he thinks I should choose another safer profession. I’ve never felt my body tingle from merely a kiss before . . .

“Is that love? I’m probably the worst person in the world to ask about love. My own mother didn’t love me. I can promise you this, though, I’m not interested in a casual fling with Ball. I’m too old for that shit. And if we get to that point, the first person who hears that I love him will be Ball, not you . . . sorry.”

Everly held her breath, hoping like hell she hadn’t offended Allye. When the other woman leaned back against the couch with a huge smile on her face, she figured she was all right.

“Good answer,” Allye said, still grinning.

“Does this ever get any easier?” Everly asked.

“What? Waiting for them to get home? Wondering if they’re okay and what they’re doing? Not really.”

“Not the answer I wanted to hear,” Everly said dryly.

“But you know what does make it easier?” Allye asked.

“What?”

“Knowing that wherever they are, whatever they’re doing, they’ve got each other at their backs. Those men know what they’re doing. Yes, many times their missions aren’t exactly safe, but I know without a doubt that they’ll do whatever it takes to get home unharmed.”

“Yeah, that helps,” Everly admitted. It was a lot like the brotherhood she felt as a police officer. When a call for assistance got broadcast, every cop in a ten-mile radius dropped everything to get there to help.

“But more importantly—and you should understand this better than anyone—is knowing that what they’re doing is helping other women and children get home to their families. It’s hard to believe in today’s day and age that human slavery still exists, but that’s what trafficking is. It’s ugly and perverse, and our men are making the world a better place, even if it’s only one woman at a time, one kid at a time.”

That Everly could definitely understand. It was why she’d contacted Rex in the first place. “You’re right, that does make it easier.”

“I thought it might,” Allye said.

They fell silent as they turned their attention to the movie.

Half an hour later, Everly looked over at her sister and saw she was fast asleep.

“You want to wake her up and tell her to go to bed?” Allye asked quietly.

Everly shook her head. “If it’s okay, I think we might both just sleep right here.”

“That’s more than okay. I’ll leave the hall light on in case either of you wakes up disoriented.”

“Thank you.”

Allye pushed herself to her feet and shook her head. “No, thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being exactly the kind of woman Ball needs.”

Everly chuckled. “I’m not sure you need to thank me for that. I’m the one who’s wondering how I got so lucky.”

“Good night, Everly. I’ll see you in the morning. Maybe we’ll both get lucky and hear that our men are back tomorrow.”

“Hopefully.”

And with that, Allye headed out of the room, leaving Everly alone with her sister.

The movie was still playing on the TV, giving off just enough light to see. For a long time, Everly watched Elise sleep.

It could be argued that the Mountain Mercenaries had had nothing to do with Elise being found, though Everly couldn’t help but think that somehow they had. Rex and Meat had worked tirelessly to find any kind of clue in her sister’s computer and phone, but more important, they were lifelines when she’d needed them most. Knowing she had the best of the best at her back had made the entire situation a little easier to endure.