Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(40)

Meat brought his free hand up and gently brushed her hair off her forehead. He couldn’t see her very clearly, as it was the middle of the night, but dim light coming from a lamppost in the parking lot outside the window was enough to just make her out. He recalled how smooth her skin had been after her shower. Washing the dirt and grime off had made her literally glow, and he couldn’t help but touch her now.

“I’m a true believer that everything happens for a reason. I don’t know what the reason was behind your parents’ being killed. Or you having to live the kind of life you’ve lived up until now. But I do know one thing—you’ve already done great things.”

She shook her head. “No, I haven’t.”

“What about that woman at Daniela’s? You probably saved both her life and the life of her baby. And those little kids who you stopped to talk to when we were on our way back to the barrio? And me . . . you and your friends saved me. I’m sure there are hundreds of other lives you’ve touched down here, and I have no doubt you’ll do the same once we get back to Colorado.”

Zara didn’t say anything, simply turned back on her side in front of him. Meat relaxed against her once more. Neither said a word for a long while, until finally she asked, “Were you really going to come after me?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

They didn’t speak again. And it wasn’t until Meat felt her body completely relax and heard her long, slow breaths, indicating she’d fallen asleep, that he allowed himself to close his own eyes.

He’d come close to losing her tonight. They both knew it. He knew she was strong enough to endure what was to come, but he hoped she’d figure it out somewhere along the way as well.





Chapter Fourteen

Three days later, Zara sat nervously in her seat next to Meat as they made their descent into Colorado Springs Airport. It had taken two days for Rex to get an American passport delivered to their motel. She had no idea what kind of strings he’d had to pull in order to get it done, but he had.

She’d learned a bit more about the mysterious handler for the Mountain Mercenaries, and although he’d piqued her interest, she was too busy thinking about other things to give him too much thought.

He’d told her the first thing she had to do when she got to Colorado was provide a DNA sample to prove she was the missing Zara Layne. She’d been surprised that she hadn’t needed to do it to get her passport, but apparently Rex had some magic and managed to get the documents without that vital proof. She wasn’t going to question it.

Meat had been in touch with the lawyer in charge of her trust fund, and the man had been understandably shocked. He’d refused to give any specifics to Meat, Rex, or Zara until he received proof beyond a reasonable doubt that she was who she claimed to be.

Arrow had done an amazing job of picking out clothes for her, and after he’d badgered her into telling him what she liked and didn’t like from the first batch, he’d gone out and purchased a suitcase and clothes to fill it. She now had enough jeans, long-and short-sleeve T-shirts, underwear, bras, and socks to last her for years if she’d still been on the streets.

She’d also learned that Arrow thought he was some sort of comedian, because most of the T-shirts he’d purchased were the type tourists would buy. Shirts that said I LOVE PERU and one that had a llama on it, with a man dressed in traditional Incan garb, with the word PERU in big letters beneath them. Zara had never seen a llama in her life, and after she’d told Arrow, he’d merely smiled.

In fact, all the guys had been amazingly wonderful. Meat had obviously told Gray about her desire to read Harry Potter, because he’d shown up the day after her admission with a brand-new paperback copy of the first book in the series. Zara hadn’t held a brand-new book since she was ten. The pages were crisp, and the cover was pristine. It was very hard reading for her, but she was doing her best to stick with it, and when Meat had seen her struggling, he’d offered to help explain any word she didn’t know.

Zara had learned all about the women waiting back in Colorado . . . and was intimidated as hell by them. While the guys hadn’t shared any specific details about their ordeals, it was obvious they’d each gone through hell. Zara wasn’t so sure about meeting Everly, in particular. Police officers weren’t high on her list of people she liked to associate with, but she couldn’t imagine that Ball would be with someone who was corrupt, like almost all the cops she’d known down in Lima, so she’d do her best to give her the benefit of the doubt. Gray couldn’t wait to meet his son for the first time, and Zara had heard so much about baby Darby that even she was anxious to meet the little guy.

But the person she most wanted to meet was Morgan. Her story seemed the most like her own, and Zara had so many questions for her.

When they’d left Lima, she’d been concerned about how in the world they were going to get her past the soldiers who were “looking after” Meat’s team. The Brigade members stationed outside the motel had taken to parking in the lot, near the team’s van. Maybe suspicious that the men hadn’t left Lima immediately after finding Meat.

Whatever the reason, the team could no longer have just waltzed out of the motel with Zara. The Brigade would’ve noticed a strange woman with them. And they would’ve asked questions. Lots of questions. And while she hadn’t been doing anything wrong, she’d still wanted to avoid the military at all costs.