Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries, #5)(59)

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.

Ball was out there somewhere, trying to save someone else’s sister. Child. Friend. She vowed right then and there to never make him feel like he had to choose between her and his job. Besides, it wasn’t as if her job was without risks. Every time she suited up with the SWAT team, there was a chance she could be shot. Every time she pulled a car over, the possibility existed that someone would whip out a gun and blow her away before she could do anything. But she loved what she did.

Loved putting assholes behind bars where they belonged. Loved taking drugs off the street that could make their way into the hands of children. Loved making neglectful parents accountable for their actions . . . something her mom had never had to learn.

Reaching forward, Everly grabbed the remote and clicked off the television. The room went dark, but she could still see an outline of her sister because of the light Allye had left on in the hallway. Before she fell asleep, Everly grabbed her phone from the coffee table in front of the sofa.

She typed out a heartfelt text to Ball, then placed it back on the table. She snuggled up under the fuzzy blanket and sighed in contentment.

Everly: In case I forget to tell you later, you have the best friends. I’ve never felt so welcomed and supported as I have since you left. I miss you. Terribly. But I know if it was Elise out there, lost, scared, and alone, I’d want you and your team on her case. Can’t wait to see you when you get back.

“Wake up!”

Everly bolted straight up on the couch and reached for her firearm . . . which of course wasn’t on her hip.

“Everly, are you up?” Allye asked urgently again from the hallway.

“We’re up,” Everly told her friend, nudging a still-sleeping Elise.

“The guys are back, but Ball and Gray were hurt.”

Everything in Everly froze.

Hurt? Ball was hurt?

She had a million questions, but just one thing went through her head as she quickly signed what was happening to Elise. Allye had said hurt—not killed. It was a huge distinction.





Chapter Twelve

Ball winced as Elise flew into his arms. He rocked on his feet, but felt Everly’s hand on his back, supporting him.

He hadn’t wanted to worry Everly by telling her that he’d been grazed by a bullet, but Gray had let the cat out of the bag by texting Allye and telling her about their injuries. He’d had no idea that Everly and Elise were over at Gray’s house until his friend told him.

The second he’d entered the house, Elise had thrown herself at him.

“I’m okay, Elise,” he murmured, knowing she couldn’t hear him.

Everly took a step to the side and touched her sister’s shoulder. Careful, hon. He’s hurt.

Elise let go of him so quickly, he tottered again on his feet. Everly was there once more, hand on his back to keep him steady.

Ball had read every one of her and her sister’s texts probably ten times since he’d gotten back in cell tower range. They’d done as promised and sent him dozens of texts since he’d been gone.

Elise’s ranged from talking about what she was doing in school to sending him short little videos of her signing simple sentences to prevent him from forgetting what he’d already learned.

But it was Everly’s texts that made him miss Colorado Springs more than he ever had before.

It was weird because in the past when he’d been on a mission, he hadn’t thought about anything but the mission. But this time, it seemed that everywhere he looked, he saw things that reminded him of Everly.

A police officer standing on a street corner.

Someone gesturing wildly with their hands made him think about Everly signing to her sister.

Even seeing an older woman walking arm in arm with a younger female who was obviously related to her made him think of Me-Maw and Everly.

They’d found the missing child exactly where their intel had told them she would be, but unfortunately, the father was a paranoid son of a bitch who had holed up with a bunch of weapons.

He’d started shooting when they’d made entry into his piece-of-shit, rundown house, and hadn’t even cared that his daughter was right there next to him.

Ball had made a desperate grab for the little girl to get her out of harm’s way, getting grazed by a bullet in the process. Gray had sustained a concussion when he’d tackled the father, smacking his head against the wall of the shack as he’d grabbed him.

Even though the little girl had screamed her head off throughout the entire rescue and most of the way home, the look of relief on both her and her mother’s faces when they’d been reunited at the airport had made everything else fade into the background.

He’d reread Everly’s last text several times on the way to Gray’s house. He’d been planning on going straight to her apartment, but of course he changed his mind when he’d learned Everly and Elise had spent the night at his teammate’s house.