Defending Everly (Mountain Mercenaries, #5)(80)

As he got close, he saw that it was her car. And her kidnapper had chosen the meet spot well.

It was as far away from the building as it could be, so any video that might’ve been taken would be practically useless. He shot off a quick text to Rex, letting him know that he’d found Everly’s car and where, then made his way to the trailhead.

“Please let this be where he took them,” Ball said, clenching the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. “I’m coming, Everly,” he said. “Hang on, baby. Hang on.”





Chapter Seventeen

Everly stumbled for what seemed like the thousandth time, but she didn’t care. She wanted Tylor fucking Tuttle to underestimate her. Yeah, it sucked that she was hiking in flip-flops. And that she was still fighting the effects from the stun gun he’d used on her. But they were on their way to Elise, that was all she cared about. She needed to make sure her sister really was all right. Tylor was batshit crazy, and she wouldn’t put it past him to have already killed her and not remembered doing so.

As she walked, the details of meeting Tylor played on a loop in her head.

Everly pulled into the parking lot and immediately saw the white van at the edge of the lot.

It had a cheap TUTTLE PLUMBING magnetic sign on the side, just like he’d said. She pulled up next to it and climbed out. She went to the passenger door, and the man behind the wheel motioned to the back door.

Feeling as if she were a little kid accepting candy from the proverbial stranger, she opened the sliding side door and looked inside.

There were no seats in the back, just a lot of odd-looking tools hanging on hooks on either side. She did a double take, though, because in the back, a suitcase that looked suspiciously like the one that should’ve been in her apartment, in the back of her closet, sat open.

“Get in and shut the door behind you,” the man said.

Without a choice, Everly did as he said, the sound of the closing door reminding her of a coffin lid slamming shut.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” the man said. “I’m Tylor Tuttle. I’m going to be your new brother-in-law, but it’s too bad we’ll only be related for a short time.”

She wasn’t going to rise to that bait, but she couldn’t stop the question. “Why?”

“Because as soon as you perform the ceremony that will make Elise and I husband and wife, I’m gonna kill you.”

Everly blinked. “I’m performing the ceremony?” She was pissed at his assumption, but confused why he thought she would, or could, marry anyone.

“You’re a cop. You have the authority to join us as man and wife.”

There were so many things wrong with what he’d just said, Everly wasn’t sure where to start. But she didn’t have time, anyway, because he kept talking.

“And if you marry us, Elise will know you give your blessing for us to be together forever.

She’s scared, and she needs to know that her sister supports her. She’s nervous.”

“I bet she is,” Everly said. “Maybe you should marry me instead?” She figured the suggestion was worth a shot.

Tylor wrinkled his nose. “You’re old. I already have one old wife, I don’t need another.”

“If you already have a wife, how can you marry again?” She didn’t care about his “old”

comment. Thirty-four wasn’t old, but if you were a pedophile, anything over twenty was ancient.

“Oh, I’ll be getting rid of her as soon as I get home with Elise. I only have one appropriate room to keep her in, and I don’t want Elise to be jealous.”

Everly felt sick at the man’s words. He looked normal and sane, but obviously wasn’t. His brown hair was brushed neatly, and his clothes were relatively clean. He wasn’t fat. In fact, he was a bit on the slender side, but not so much that it would make anyone look twice at him. He was absolutely ordinary. He could be anyone’s next-door neighbor—and that was what made him so scary. If he was holding some other poor woman hostage, no one would suspect him.

She shivered. “Is Elise okay?”

“Of course she is. I don’t want to hurt Elise. If I do, it’s because she brought it on herself or because you did something stupid. She’ll learn to obey me. She’ll learn that she’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar. I’ve always loved that saying. It’s cute, right?”

Everly clenched her teeth. The bastard had already hurt Elise once before, and he was blaming it on her? Besides being crazy, he was also an asshole. If he worked in management, he’d be the kind of man who’d blame losing an account on his female subordinate, just because he could. Misogynistic asshole.

“Although I appreciate you following my directions and doing as you’re told, I’m actually shocked that you did. That wasn’t very smart.”

“I’m trying to make sure my sister is safe and unharmed,” she told him.

“I already told you that she’s going to live a long life with me,” Tylor said with a frown.

“And you also told me if I didn’t do what you said, you’d kill her,” Everly reminded him.

He laughed. “As if I’d kill my beautiful Elise. I just told you that to make sure you’d come after her alone. I have to make sure you aren’t around to mess things up and continue searching for her. When you’re gone, we can live our lives in peace, without having to look over our shoulders.”