Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(24)

“With a full head of hair,” Ro added. “Complete with a white streak, just like his mama.”

Meat lowered his head and took a deep breath. Pain filled his chest, and not just from his broken ribs. “I’m sorry, man,” he said softly.

“Not your fault,” Gray said firmly.

“Funny. It feels a hell of a lot like it is,” Meat countered. “If I’d been smarter about everything, you wouldn’t have missed the birth of your son.”

“No, I shouldn’t have run after the kid,” Black said from the front passenger seat. “I fucked up by leaving my post.”

Meat shook his head. “Any one of us would’ve gone after him,” he tried to reassure his friend. He could tell Black was still beating himself up for his impulsive act.

“We didn’t even find the kid,” Black said. “We got jumped instead, and now the boy’s probably lost and scared out of his mind.”

“He’s not,” Zara said softly from her position at Meat’s feet.

Tense silence filled the car at her words. Everyone turned to stare at Zara.

She seemed to shrink in on herself for a moment before sitting up straighter and squaring her shoulders. “His mother was scared she’d lost him to del Rio forever. They were reunited once the coast was clear and have moved out of the barrio to a different location. He’s going to be a lot more careful from here on out. More aware of his surroundings, so he doesn’t get snatched up by men on del Rio’s payroll again.”

When no one responded, she went on, “I’m not saying that Mr. Gray missing the birth of his child, or that Meat and you, Mr. Black, getting beaten up was a good thing. But the distraction allowed José to hide and get back to his mother.”

Meat guessed Zara had learned about the boy when she’d gone back to talk to Mags and her other friends, while he’d still been down for the count at the doctor’s house. He was glad for the boy, but still upset that Gray hadn’t been there for Allye when she’d gone into labor.

As if he could read his mind, Gray said, “All the others were there with her. Chloe, Morgan, Harlow, and Everly. They didn’t leave her side. Allye said the hospital staff was a bit taken aback by all the people who wanted to be in the room for the birth, but none of them would budge. So Darby came into the world surrounded by his honorary aunts and lots of love. And Zed . . . it’s just Gray. Not Mr. Gray.”

“I’m thinking I’d like to have this talk as soon as possible,” Arrow said, studying Zara.

“What’s the plan to get him inside?” Black asked. “He’s small, but not that small.”

“Think he’d fit in one of our duffels?” Ball asked.

“No!” Meat said. “We’re not stuffing anyone into a fucking duffel bag.”

“I was kidding,” Ball mumbled, but Meat had a feeling he hadn’t been.

“It won’t be an issue,” Ro stated. “Our shadows don’t follow us into the parking lot. Gray can park on the back side of the motel. We’ll all get out with your friend . . . Zed, right? . . . between us. He’s so small, even if we are being watched, no one will see him. We’ll go inside and upstairs like we usually do. No problem.”

“We’ve been given two rooms. You and your friend can share with me and Ro,” Gray said. “Arrow, Black, and Ball can share the other one.”

Meat saw Zara shaking her head violently.

Without thought, he put his hand on her shoulder to calm her.

“What’s wrong?” Ball asked, obviously seeing Zara’s distress.

“If the military is paying for your rooms, they’re probably bugged,” she said.

Meat pressed his lips together. He didn’t know if Zara was being paranoid or if she had a real reason to think that. Either way, he wasn’t going to chance it. “I’ll pay for a third room when we get there,” Meat said. “You guys can take Zed upstairs. Once I get a key, we can use my room to talk.”

Arrow leaned forward from Meat’s right, studying “Zed” for another long moment, then looked back up at Meat. “It seems you have a lot to tell us.”

He nodded. “I do.”

“And you trust your friend with anything we might talk about?”

Meat nodded again. “Yes.”

He held his breath. Generally, the Mountain Mercenaries weren’t a trusting bunch. But with the addition of the women in their lives, they’d loosened up some. In their tight-knit circle, they shared almost everything. His friends might not know Zara was actually a woman, but they trusted Meat’s instincts.

Then again, Meat had a feeling Zara wasn’t fooling anyone. Arrow had a soft look in his eye that probably meant he’d figured out they weren’t harboring a teenage boy, but a girl or woman instead. How in the world she’d managed to fool so many people for so long, Meat had no idea.

He hated to think about Gray missing Darby’s birth, but Meat would apologize to his friend again later . . . and to Allye when he saw her. No matter what anyone said, Meat couldn’t help feeling that if he’d managed to fight off the mob of men a little better, they’d already be home and Gray could’ve met his son by now.

Of course, that would mean that he wouldn’t have met Zara, and she’d still be living on the streets. He was conflicted, and it was a strange feeling for Meat. The Mountain Mercenaries had had his loyalty for so long, it felt wrong to be glad things had gone down the way they had.