Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries, #5)(23)

The comment was an abrupt change of topic, but Everly went with it. “How?”

“I’m not sure. But I bet Rex’ll have an idea.”

“Call him.”

“Now? Are you sure? We were taking a break.”

Everly gave him an incredulous look.

“Right,” Ball said, and pulled out his phone. He clicked on a button, and they waited. Within seconds, they heard the electronically distorted voice of Ball’s handler on the phone.

“What ya got?”

Ball spent a few minutes updating him on the events from earlier that day, then got to the reason for his call. “Meat’s still working on Elise’s computer, but we have the feeling, if she was targeted by a trafficker, most of her communication with him will be on her phone. But the cops have it now, and they said they didn’t know how long it would take their computer forensics division to look into it.”

“What’s the name of the detective again?”

“Ramirez. Diego Ramirez.”

“Give me some time to talk to him. I don’t know him personally, but I do know some of the other people over there. Is Everly there?”

“I’m here,” she said.

“Don’t give up hope,” he ordered. “Until you know for sure what happened, don’t assume anything. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“I’ll be in touch,” Rex said, and disconnected.

“What was that about?” Everly asked as Ball put away the phone. “I mean, that was nice of him and all, but something in his tone seemed . . . off. Almost desperate.”

Ball paused, as if considering what to tell her. Then he said, “This isn’t something Rex talks about. I only know because Arrow told the rest of the team. I’m telling you because, after what you did for me today, I feel like maybe we’ve gone beyond being just two strangers trying to solve a case.

Rex’s wife disappeared one day, just like Elise did. She was there when he went to work one morning and gone when he got home. There weren’t many clues, and it’s been a decade now, and there haven’t been any confirmed sightings of her.”

“Confirmed?”

Ball nodded. “The reason Rex started the Mountain Mercenaries is to help find other missing women and children. Over the years, he’s gotten some clues and tips about his wife, and none have panned out, though he’s been able to help so many others. But he’ll never stop looking, either until he finds her, or her remains are found and identified.”

Everly looked at Ball in disbelief, shaking her head. “Ten years?”

“Yeah.”

The sushi she’d eaten threatened to come back up. “I can’t go ten years without knowing what happened to Elise. She’d be twenty-five . . . No. I can’t do—”

Ball put his half-eaten kabob to the side and took her hand. “Shhh. I didn’t mean to upset you.

I’m an idiot.”

“Seriously, I can’t do it,” Everly responded.

“Listen to me,” Ball ordered, putting his hands on her shoulders and half turning her on the bench. “We’re close. I can feel it. I’d tell you straight up if I thought she was gone. I would. But something’s telling me she’s still here . . . somewhere. Hear me?”

Everly nodded. She wanted to believe him. So badly.

“Right.” He stood and held out his hand. “Come on. Ramirez said when we needed a ride back to the school, that he’d take us. We’ll get the rental and head back to Me-Maw’s. We’ll call Meat and see what he’s been able to get from the computer. And if I know Rex, he’ll be getting access to that phone sooner rather than later.”

“Okay.” She let Ball pull her upright, and was only a little surprised when he pulled her into his embrace. The jolt of electricity she felt between them was intense. He held her close for several moments, then pulled back. He gathered up what was left of their lunch and threw it away in a trash can nearby, then he gestured for her to precede him. She did, and felt his fingertips against the small of her back.

A sudden image of Pop doing the same thing with Me-Maw sprang to her mind, and she stopped abruptly.

“What? What’s wrong?” Ball asked.

“Nothing. I’m good,” Everly tried to reassure him. She had no idea if he felt the chemistry arcing between them like she did, but the last thing she was going to do was ask. He’d only just come to the conclusion that she could actually be a good partner. No way was she going to throw sex into

the mix.

Ball sat in the comfortable armchair with a smile on his face. If someone had told him he’d have anything to smile about before he’d left for Los Angeles, he would’ve told them they were crazy. He was working with a woman, there was a missing teenager, and he wouldn’t have his team at his back.

It was a potential disaster in the making.

But even though the day had been long, he’d had some pretty serious epiphanies about himself.

And now he was currently stuffed with Me-Maw’s homemade meat loaf and listening to her banter back and forth with Everly.

And speaking of Everly, she’d been extremely magnanimous, forgiving him for being an ass.

She hadn’t exactly saved his life today—or maybe she had. At the least, she’d certainly prevented him from receiving a worse beating than he’d gotten.