Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries, #5)(76)

He’d told her the story about his mysterious handler’s wife, how she’d disappeared more than a decade ago but Rex had never stopped looking for her. Never stopped believing she was out there somewhere.

That wasn’t going to be Elise’s fate, not if Everly had anything to say about it. But again, even if the kidnapper blew her away the second she got in his van—which she doubted, because the grocery store parking lot was usually fairly busy—Ball would succeed where she’d failed.

Her resolve kicking in, Everly did her best to look nonchalant as she approached the stairs to the lobby and parking lot.

She was a damn good cop. And it was going to take every bit of what she’d learned on the streets and in the academy to beat this asshole at his own game.

There were cameras throughout the building, and she knew the second Ball discovered she and Elise were missing, he’d have Meat or Rex get the tapes.

Taking a risk the man had only wired her apartment, Everly stopped in the stairwell before entering the lobby. She looked up at the camera in the corner and, not knowing if the kidnapper was watching, as quickly and surreptitiously as possible signed that Elise had been taken again and she was on her way to meet with the kidnapper.

She added one last thing that she hoped she’d get to tell him in person, but wasn’t sure she’d have the chance to.

It wasn’t a lot of information, but hopefully it would give Ball and his friends a heads-up that something was wrong and to start looking for them.

She took a deep breath, fortifying herself, and walked out of the stairwell, through the lobby, and out into the parking lot. As Everly climbed into her Cherokee, she prayed that Ball would get to her apartment sooner rather than later.

If he arrived and found the phones soon enough, they would alert him that something was wrong, that she and Elise weren’t simply gone on an errand or something. The picture the kidnapper had sent her would also be a big fucking clue.

But she hoped he’d understand why she’d gone after Elise by herself, instead of contacting him first. She also hoped he’d figure out her clue when he saw what she’d left for him on top of her phone.





Chapter Sixteen

Ball took the stairs in Everly’s apartment complex two at a time. He hadn’t let on when he’d talked to her earlier, but he was extremely uneasy about whatever Meat had called to talk to them about.

He’d tried to get the man to tell him exactly what was up, but Meat had explained he didn’t have much to tell him yet, just a suspicion, but he was working as fast as he could to figure it out, and when he did, he’d talk to both him and Everly at the same time.

Ball had meant to get to the apartment early, but one of his clients had called to talk about his website, and the conversation had gone on longer than Ball wanted. The second he hung up, he’d closed his laptop and left the house.

The sooner he could get both Everly and Elise to move into his place, the happier he’d be. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the apartment Everly was in. It was in a nice area, the security was good, there were cameras everywhere, and it was plenty big enough for the sisters. But he wanted her closer. At all times. Wanted her pictures on the walls of his home. Wanted her shit in his closet.

Wanted her in his bed every night.

Granted, they were pretty much sleeping together every night as it was, but he wanted her with him. For some reason, she always seemed so much more relaxed at his house. He wanted that for Everly every night.

Ball rang the special bell Everly had installed over the last few weeks. It was attached to the door itself and connected via Wi-Fi to a flashing light inside. He waited—and frowned when several minutes went by and Elise didn’t answer the door. He pressed the bell again, and when she still didn’t come to the door, he idly reached out and tried the doorknob.

Shocked when it actually turned in his hand, Ball immediately went on high alert.

There was no way Elise would forget to lock the door when she got home.

He slowly pushed it open and listened for a moment.

Nothing.

It was completely silent.

Palming his phone, he pulled up Meat’s number and was ready to call. But he didn’t want to alert anyone that he was inside the apartment just yet. Ball walked silently through the living area and peered down the hallway. Dark and quiet. He peeked into the guest bath and saw it was empty. Elise’s door was open, and he peered inside. Nothing seemed amiss.

Walking faster now, he listened at Everly’s bedroom door and didn’t hear anything. He silently pushed open the door and looked inside. Seeing no one, he walked in. There was a red T-shirt on the floor next to a pair of socks and her tennis shoes, and her work boots were near the closet. He quickly checked the closet, fingering the clothes hanging over the edge of the laundry basket. They were damp. Everly had been home, changed, and apparently she and Elise had gone somewhere. But why hadn’t she called him? And why had they both left the door unlocked?

Things weren’t adding up, and it left Ball feeling terribly uneasy. He wandered back out to the living room and simply soaked in the space. Something felt . . . off.

Nothing was out of place, everything as neat as usual. But Ball couldn’t shake the feeling that Everly and Elise were in danger.

He went into the kitchen and saw that the sink had been used recently. It was still wet.

Fingering the towel hanging on the refrigerator door, he noted that it, too, was damp.