Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(14)

With every hour he spent getting to know her, his intrigue grew.

For the first time in his life, Meat hoped he wouldn’t heal too quickly. The faster his ankle got better, the sooner he’d be leaving.

Then he had a crazy thought. If Zara had been born in the States, she was an American citizen.

What was preventing her from going back?

She couldn’t really want to stay here in Peru, could she? Living in abject poverty, scrounging for scraps of food? She was an adult—he still couldn’t believe she was twenty-five; with her hair cut the way it was and her chest bound, she easily looked to be in her early to mid-teens—so she could leave without having to ask permission from a parent.

Feeling excitement about the fact that maybe he’d have more time to get to know the woman in his arms, Meat closed his eyes. He was getting used to the pain, or maybe it just wasn’t as bad.

As much as he enjoyed sleeping with Zara, he had to get better as fast as he could and get back to his friends so they could all go home. Gray needed to be with Allye when she had their baby. Meat would feel horrible if Gray missed it because they’d been looking for his sorry ass.

Every time Meat woke up that night, he panicked for a split second, thinking Zara had left him, but then he’d open his eyes and realize she was right where she’d been since he’d fallen asleep. Her head resting on his shoulder, her arm now lightly around his belly.

They were both sweaty, and he needed a shave and to brush his teeth, but there was no way Meat was letting her go. She felt too good next to him. Too right.





Chapter Six

Gray ran a hand through his hair in agitation. They’d moved their operation from the barrio to a nearby motel. It wasn’t exactly up to most Americans’ standards, but no one on the team cared. They were too worried about Meat.

Black had been beaten badly by the group of men who’d jumped him and Meat in the barrio. And Gray and the other mercenaries were pissed that the two Peruvian military men they’d been working with hadn’t seemed all that concerned about finding those responsible. They’d been more eager to bust in doors, scaring the shit out of the residents who lived in the poor neighborhood.

It was Ro who’d brought it up after Meat had been missing for almost two days. They’d all been exhausted after looking for their teammate for a second entire day, with no luck. The team had said their good-nights to the additional members of the Brigade who’d joined the group after Meat had disappeared, then had gathered in Gray’s motel room.

“Is it just me, or were those guys more interested in leering at the women and throwing their weight around than actually trying to talk to the residents to get information about Meat?” Ro asked.

Gray sighed in relief at his friend’s words. “Thank God it’s not just me thinking that.”

“I get wanting to make sure your authority is recognized, but it seemed they were more interested in scaring the shit out of everyone, kids included, than actually aiding the search,” Arrow agreed.

“Meat couldn’t have just disappeared,” Ball said in frustration. “Someone had to have gotten him out of there.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t see more,” Black said from the bed. They’d stuffed him with all kinds of painkillers, and he still looked extremely rough. But besides a sprained wrist and some hellacious bruises, he was going to be all right. Apparently his head was stronger than they would’ve guessed.

“Not your fault,” Gray told him. “But Ball’s right. Someone saw something, and my guess is they’re not going to tell us with our military friends hovering nearby. Not that I can blame them. This mission has stunk from the moment we landed in Peru, and I’m beginning to understand why.”

“Corruption,” Arrow concluded.

“Exactly. Which is going to make finding Meat even harder.”

“Can we ditch our escorts?” Ro asked.

Gray shrugged. “We could, but it’s probably not a good idea. It was made very clear when we entered the country that we were to stay with them at all times. I’m surprised they left us alone in this shitty motel, if I’m being honest.”

“We should go back to the barrio and start asking questions tonight under cover of darkness,” Ball said.

“As much as I want to, none of us are fluent in Spanish—which I’m going to set about changing the second I get back to the States. It’s ridiculous that between us, none of us can speak or understand it. Anyway, we could head to the barrio tonight, but I have a feeling we’d just scare the residents instead. Not only that, but we’re supposed to be working with the government. Rex asked us to do our best to cooperate and not do anything that would piss them off.”

“Which is ironic, since I suspect some of their own soldiers are working with the very people we were sent here to stop,” Black said from his place on the bed.

“Right,” Gray said. “If any of us knew Spanish, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back out there and knock on every door and find someone to talk to us. It pisses me off, but I’m afraid for the time being, we’re just going to have to play nice and wait until the morning.”

“You talk to Allye?” Arrow asked after a moment.

Gray sighed. “Yeah. She said she’s been having some pain, and the doctor said she thinks it’s a precursor to the baby coming.”