Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries, #5)(36)

The thought should’ve concerned him . . . but instead, rightness settled in his gut.

He also hadn’t known Elise very long, but the little he’d learned had made him extremely protective of the girl. She was hurting and scared, but doing her best to act like she wasn’t. She’d taught him a few signs, and teased him when he’d gotten them completely wrong. She was extremely strong and brave . . . just like her sister.

“Colorado Springs has a deaf school. It’s not as prestigious as the one here, but all things considered, it’ll be fine,” Everly said.

“And Elise is okay with going?” Ball asked.

“She was the one who asked if she could come home with me.”

Ball nodded. His mind whirled with plans.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t find her sooner,” Ramirez said.

“Me too. But we did find her, and at the moment that seems like a miracle. I appreciate how everyone has treated my sister since she was rescued. The professionalism and care has been impeccable.”

The detective nodded.

Ball took Everly’s elbow when she stood, then stepped back, giving her space. It was interesting watching her interact with her fellow police officers. It was as if a shroud fell over her.

She became stiff, less emotional. He understood it, but hated it all the same.

The second they stepped outside, she sagged.

Ball’s fingers itched to touch her, but he shoved them in his pockets instead. “I can get in touch with the rental car company and arrange to keep the car longer,” he said as they walked through the parking lot.

“Why?”

“I just thought since you don’t like flying, maybe you’d be more comfortable if we drove back.

Your chief gave you another week off, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s not necessary. We can fly.”

He couldn’t help it. Ball reached out and stopped her with a hand on her biceps. “Everly, you hate flying. We can drive.”

“I hate a lot of things. Eating brussels sprouts. Working the overnight shift. Taking my sister away from Me-Maw and Pop. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t do them. I need to get back to the Springs, set Elise up in the school, make sure she’s comfortable in my apartment, that she feels safe, and make sure my boss is okay with me working the day shift, at least for a while. I don’t have time to drive back.”

Ball stared at her. She was right, but he’d actually been looking forward to getting to know Elise better and spending more time with Everly. He’d missed sleeping with her when she’d been in the hospital with Elise, and the night before, she’d slept in her sister’s room with her. Somehow, in the few days they’d been in Los Angeles, he’d gotten used to having her in his arms. What had started out as something he’d done mostly because he’d known it would annoy her had become much more.

“Okay. Let me call Rex, and he’ll get our tickets organized.”

“That’s not necessary,” she protested.

“It is.”

“No, it’s not. I can take care of my sister on my own.”

“No one said you couldn’t,” Ball replied, trying to figure out where her sudden attitude was coming from. “Rex is thrilled that Elise was found. Trust me, that’s his goal with every case, but it doesn’t always turn out as good as this one did. He’s going to be happy to get both you and your sister out of LA so she can start to heal.”

Everly’s shoulders dropped, and she sighed. “I know. It’s just hard to accept help.”

“If it makes you feel better, think of it this way . . . it’s for Elise, not you.”

She chuckled. “Right.”

“And something else.”

“What?”

“I work from home. When I’m not on a mission, I’m happy to have Elise come to my place after school if you aren’t home yet. She can help me with my sign language and hopefully feel safe in the process.”

“You’d do that? Why?”

“Why?”

“Yeah. A week ago, you hated my guts.”

“A week ago, I was an ass,” Ball confirmed. “But you’ve made me see the error of my ways. I like Elise. She’s a hell of a lot like her older sister. Besides . . . if she’s at my house, that means I’ll get to see you too.”

“You want to? I thought for sure between Me-Maw, the newspaper clippings, the discussion about our underwear copulating in the washer, and great-grandbabies, that you’d run as fast as you could from me and never look back.”

Ball shrugged. “Yeah, well . . . you thought wrong.”

They stared at each other for a long moment before Everly sighed. “Thank you. That would be a big help. And this probably goes without saying, but don’t let her use the internet unsupervised. I know she’s fifteen, but that’s what got her into this mess in the first place.”

“Of course,” Ball said.

“Thanks.”

“How are you doing?” Ball asked.

“Me?”

“Yeah. You. You’ve been going nonstop for a while now. I know you were sleeping okay before we found Elise, but I haven’t really seen you much in the last two days. You look tired.”

“I am tired,” Everly told him. “But I’m so very grateful that we found her. It’s hard for me to put into words. I know better than most what the odds were of that happening. Even though I was trying to be optimistic, I had a small feeling she could’ve been gone. Finding her was a miracle, and I just want to get her out of here as soon as I can.”