Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries #5)(9)

“Fine. He can stay,” Everly said, turning to Me-Maw.

“Seriously, I’m perfectly all right with—”

“I’ll sleep out here, and he can have the guest room,” Everly said, interrupting him again.

“We had a king-size bed put in there a few months ago,” Pop said, getting into the conversation for the first time. “The couch out here stinks. Trust me, I know. I’ve fallen asleep on it more times than I can count.”

Everly stared at her grandfather in disbelief. “Not you too.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the older man said with a smirk. “All I’m saying is, if Ball’s going to be doing research into the night, I’m guessing you’ll need to be discussing that with him, and it’ll be easier if you’re in the same room. Your me-maw and I don’t sleep that well, and if you were out here in the living room, we’d be able to hear you.”

Ball couldn’t help but be impressed by the way the couple so easily manipulated their granddaughter. It wasn’t that he wanted to sleep in the same room she was in, but it sure was fun watching her squirm. He kinda thought it was weird that her grandparents were so willing to throw her into an intimate situation with a man she wasn’t dating . . . but then Ball studied the couple more closely.

Allison’s brow was furrowed, her hands wringing together slightly but steadily. And even though Landen was currently teasing Everly, Ball heard the note of concern in his tone.

They were probably using their granddaughter’s lack of love life as a means of distraction from the situation with Elise. He already knew they felt tremendous guilt. They had no control over where Elise was now, or what might be happening to her . . . but they could control where Everly slept, maybe even have a hand in helping her find someone to spend her life with.

Teasing him and Everly was something they could focus on instead of the worry that had been heavy on their shoulders for the last week.

“It’s fine,” he said, letting Everly off the hook. “I can stay at the hotel like we planned. I promise to tell you what I find out.”

“No,” she said. “I don’t trust you. We’ll both stay here.”

Her response surprised and bothered him. He needed time away from her. He couldn’t be with her twenty-four seven. No way. “I’ve already got the hotel room reserved. I’ll stay there.”

“What if Elise calls? Won’t you need to be here? What if whoever has her calls? We can’t be taking eight or ten hours off each night just because you’re too weirded out to work with a girl.”

Ball clenched his teeth together. She was right. Damn it. “Fine.”

“Fine,” she repeated. “But”—she turned to her grandmother—“I can sleep in Elise’s room. There’s a perfectly good bed in there. That way, Ball can still do his research in the relative quiet of the guest room, and if he needs to ask me anything or consult, I’ll still be around to assist.”

At the mention of her missing granddaughter, Allison sighed heavily, and her shoulders drooped as if the weight of the world was once more pressing down on her, the momentary playfulness with Everly already forgotten. “Okay, honey.”

Figuring he’d get out of the stressed couple’s way and get to work, Ball said quietly, “If someone will point me to Elise’s room, I’ll just take a look around, if that’s all right.”

“I’ll show you,” Landen said. He headed down a short hallway, and Ball followed. Before he left the living room, he saw Everly heading for the kitchen to comfort her grandmother.

“Here it is,” Landen said as he pushed open one of the doors. “If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.” And with that, he headed back to his wife and granddaughter.

Ball stepped into Elise’s room and simply stood there a moment, taking it in, trying to get into the head of the missing fifteen-year-old. It didn’t look like the Adamses had touched it since she’d left for school almost a week ago.

The comforter on the bed was thrown back, as if she’d just climbed out of bed and hadn’t looked back. There were pink sheets on the bed, and the comforter was also pink with big white flowers. The walls had posters of Beyoncé and Drake, as well as Thor and Wonder Woman. There was also a poster of a young actor he didn’t recognize. Making a mental note to ask Everly about it later, he continued looking around.

She had a desk that was an absolute mess. There were papers and books all over the surface. A bulletin board hung on the wall behind it. Ball stepped closer so he could get a better look. Ticket stubs, a few pictures of who he knew was Elise with other girls, a poem, and other silly mementos were tacked up so she could see them every day.

Dirty clothes were lumped in a corner near an already full hamper, and clothes spilled out of the small closet on the other side of the room.

Ball walked over to the window and tried opening it. Locked. He peered out, and saw it would be easy to open the window and sneak out of the house, as the room was on the first floor, but there weren’t any footprints that he could see outside, under the window itself. Besides, she’d gone to school the day she’d disappeared. She hadn’t snuck out of the house to meet up with someone.

“It looks like a normal teenage girl’s room, doesn’t it?”