Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(39)

She nodded . . . and he felt her scoot back a little to get closer to him.

Meat tightened his arm around her and closed his eyes. The floor bit into his hip, and his ribs definitely weren’t happy about sleeping on the hard surface, but too bad. If Zara felt safer down here, he’d suffer through his own aches and pains to comfort her.

A minute or two went by without either of them speaking before Zara tentatively said, “I’m not the best reader. Will you help me understand the legal stuff I’m sure the lawyer will send for me to sign?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not stupid,” she said firmly. “But because I didn’t have the chance to continue my education, there’s stuff I don’t know.”

“Of course you’re not stupid,” Meat said, appalled that anyone would think that about her. It hadn’t crossed his mind even once. She was wise beyond her years. She had street smarts that she’d gained the hard way. By necessity. “And legalese isn’t my specialty either. We can get Rex to look at it, or we’ll hire another lawyer to translate it for us.”

She gave a little huff of a laugh. “I guess I can afford to do that now, can’t I?”

Meat smiled. “Yup.”

“You know what I want to do?”

“What?”

“Read Harry Potter. I’ve seen the books in stores and the billboards advertising the series, but I haven’t ever had a chance to try to read it myself. I wasn’t interested when I was ten, for whatever reason, and I’m sure it’ll be over my head, but I want to try.”

Meat had never been so impressed with someone. And her words made it all the more clear how much she’d missed out on over the years. “I’ll send one of the guys out to find an English copy of book one tomorrow.”

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t mean right this second, just when we get to America.”

“No time like the present,” Meat told her. “We’ve got some time to kill, and believe me, you’ll probably get very bored sitting in this room with me. It’ll give you something to do other than stress about going back to Colorado and seeing your family again.”

“Do you think they’ll want to see me?” she whispered.

Meat wasn’t sure. It wasn’t as if they’d seemed to care that she was missing. But he didn’t want to say anything hurtful to Zara either. “I think they’ll be curious,” he said after a beat. “They’ll want you to prove that it’s really you, and they’ll probably have a lot of questions. So yeah, I think they’ll want to see you.”

“But will they want to see me?” she asked again.

“I don’t know,” Meat said honestly, understanding what she was asking. She’d be a curiosity. But would her grandparents really care about the person Zara was now? Would they welcome her back with open arms? He had no idea.

“Meat?”

“Yeah?”

“I’d planned on putting my own clothes back on and sneaking out tonight.”

Everything within Meat rebelled at the thought, but he forced his muscles to stay relaxed. “When I woke up and saw your bed was empty, I had a feeling that’s what you’d done,” he admitted. “Why didn’t you?”

“I was standing by the bathroom, and I looked back into the room and saw you sleeping. Your computer was on the mattress next to you, and I saw some of the trash from our dinner in the trash can. I thought about all you’ve done for me, and all that you’ve done for other women and children who have needed help . . . and I just couldn’t do it. But you should know, I still want to. I’m not sure going back is the right choice. I don’t think I’ll fit in back in America. I don’t fit in here either, but at least I know what to expect in Lima.”

“If you had left, I would’ve gone after you,” Meat admitted.

“You wouldn’t have been able to find me,” Zara confirmed with no ego. “I know the barrios too well.”

“I know.”

Meat felt Zara turn until she was on her back and looking up at him. He hadn’t moved and was still on his side. He propped his head on his hand as he stared down at her.

“Then why would you bother looking for me?”

“Because you don’t belong here. Your life was taken from you, and it wasn’t fair. Because when the adults in your life, and the Peruvian police, should’ve turned over every rock to find you fifteen years ago, they didn’t put in the effort. You’re worth the effort, Zara. And . . .” He paused, not sure he should say what he was thinking, but deciding to throw caution to the wind. “And because even though I’ve only been in your life for a few days, I know, deep in my bones, that you’re special. You’re going to do great things, Zara Layne. I just know it.”

He couldn’t read what she was thinking; she simply looked up at him without blinking.

“And,” Meat went on, “I like you, remember? You’ve snuck under my guard that I usually have up. I’ve helped rescue hundreds of women, but there’s something about you that’s different. You fascinate me, and I want to get to know you better. I want to know everything about you.”

“I’m nobody special,” she whispered.

“And that’s why you are,” Meat countered. “Most true heroes don’t think they’re anyone special either. Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King, Neil Armstrong, Anne Frank, Harriet Tubman . . . just to name a few.”