Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(27)

“She’s American?” Arrow asked. Then he looked at Zara. “You’re American?”

She nodded.

“Holy shit,” Arrow mumbled, running a hand through his hair. “What are the odds?”

Zara was confused by that, and it must’ve shown on her face, because Black said, “When we were on a mission in the Dominican Republic a bit ago, we accidentally found a woman who’d been kidnapped from Georgia and was being held there.”

Zara stared at him in shock. “Really?” she whispered. “What did you do with her?”

“We took her back home, and she and Arrow fell in love. Then he went and knocked her up,” Ro said with a smile.

Zara was having a hard time processing what they were telling her. “So you guys, what . . . find lost Americans or something?”

All six men chuckled. “Not exactly,” Meat told her. “I already told you that we’ve dedicated our lives to helping women and children. Along the way, some of us have managed to luck out and find women we’ve connected with in the midst of doing our jobs.”

She looked from one man to the next. None of them were looking at her with disgust or suspicion. It was . . . weird.

“Anyway,” Meat continued, “Zara and her friends saw what was happening with me and Black. They knew the mob of men would be back any second, so they came and got me out of there, and by the time they were ready to go get Black, two of the bad guys showed back up, and they lost their window of opportunity. Zara smuggled me out of the barrio to a doctor, where I stayed until I was well enough to get back. Had a concussion bad enough to knock me flat on my ass for the first day, and my ankle was also fucked up enough that I couldn’t walk on it for a while.”

“Why didn’t you come and tell us he was safe?” Gray asked Zara, his eyes narrowing.

This was the look she’d been expecting. “Those military men you were with are on del Rio’s payroll. They regularly patrol the barrios looking for women and kids to take back to him. I didn’t want to risk the chance they’d turn on the rest of you . . . or my friends, who are still back in the barrio.”

“What more can you tell us about this del Rio guy?” Ro asked. “We know some basics, but we want to hear any intel you can give us.”

“He’s . . .” Zara wasn’t sure how to explain him. But she had to try. “He pretty much runs the sex trade in Lima. He controls and runs most of the brothels and is known for being completely ruthless. Women disappear all the time down here, and he even contracts outside the country to get foreign women too . . . whether they want to work for him or not. And he’s been branching out, snatching younger and younger girls to work for him. Boys too.” She saw the anger on the faces of the men. “He’s evil, and no one can stop him.”

“The police?” Ball asked.

Zara shook her head. “He pays them off. Same with the military. Not all of them, but enough. Many of the men you are working with get paid for bringing him kids and women from the barrios. Ones few people will care about or miss. No one but their friends and family, who don’t have enough money to fight him,” she said bitterly.

The room was silent for a while after her explanation, but it wasn’t because they didn’t believe her. At least she didn’t think so. There was an undercurrent of anger, and it was obvious the men were trying to hold their tempers.

“Anyway, Mags, my friend and someone we all look up to and respect, didn’t think it was a good idea to let you know about Meat right away, simply because you were always around one of the military men. We didn’t know if they’d retaliate against the barrio in general, or tell del Rio about some kind of resistance. We weren’t sure if you’d even believe us. Mags suspects the Brigade paid Ruben and the others to beat you up. If that little boy hadn’t run away, and you guys hadn’t followed him, they probably would’ve attempted something to draw your attention away from saving the others.”

“Damn,” Ro said, at the same time Black swore under his own breath.

“So what now?” Gray asked, looking at Meat.

“I get on my computer, find Zara’s relatives, get in touch with Rex to help with getting her papers to get the fuck out of here,” Meat said.

“One day? Two?” Arrow asked.

Meat shrugged. “As long as it takes.”

“Wait, you can’t—” Zara started.

The men either didn’t hear her or ignored her. “I’ll call Allye and tell her the good news that we found you, and let her know it might still be a few days before we’ll be home,” Gray said.

“Morgan still has a month and a half or so until she’s due, although I’m sure not having me around to go shopping for her late-night cravings is driving her crazy,” Arrow said with an indulgent smile.

“Chloe’ll make sure she’s good,” Ro told his friend with a clap of a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait!” Zara said urgently. “You don’t need to stay here with me. You should go home to your wives and girlfriends. I’ll be fine waiting here.”

“If you think we’re abandoning you, you’re wrong,” Gray said in a firm tone.

Zara frowned.

“We aren’t as naive as you might think,” Ball explained. “We knew something wasn’t right with this mission, but not to this extent, obviously. We’d already figured the men we were partnered with weren’t exactly on the up-and-up. You and your friends did your best to save Meat and Black, and we don’t take that lightly.”