Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(42)

Zara looked from Meat’s scowl back to Gray. She glanced in front of her and saw Arrow and Ball gazing back at her from between the seats. Across the aisle, Black was looking in her direction, and she had both Gray’s and Ro’s undivided attention from behind her as well.

She was surrounded by men who could certainly protect themselves with no problem, and who she was pretty sure would do the same for her. And they believed her. Not once had any of them expressed any doubt that she was exactly who she said she was. It was unbelievable, and it made her want to cry . . . even though she never cried.

“Ball and I will make sure everyone knows there may be a press conference at a later date, but for right now, Zara just needs some time to acclimate to her new situation,” Gray said.

The pilot made an announcement that they were nearing the gate and to please not remove their seat belts until the plane had come to a complete stop and the seat belt light had been turned off. Zara turned back around to face forward and looked over at Meat. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her.

“You okay?” he asked quietly. “Because if you’d rather, I’ll call Rex and tell him to figure out a way to get you out of here without having to see any reporters.”

Zara swallowed hard. He meant that. She could tell. “I’m okay,” she said quietly. “I’m not ready to talk to anyone yet, but I can manage to walk by them. I think.”

“Strong as fuck,” he muttered, then moved his hand until he’d intertwined his fingers with hers.

Zara had no idea what was to come in the next ten minutes, but she knew Meat would be by her side . . . and somehow that made it less scary.

After the airplane door was opened, Zara sat quietly while the rest of the passengers filed out. Then Meat stood, and she grabbed her small backpack with her Harry Potter book and the snacks Meat had packed for her, just in case she got hungry. She wondered briefly what would happen with her suitcase, but figured Gray or one of the others would take care of it for her.

Ro and Ball went first and quickly disappeared in the crowd once they were off the plane. They were going to make sure a car was waiting for them, as Rex had promised. Meat had dropped her hand when they’d gotten up from their seats, and she missed the feeling of his large hand around hers. She didn’t like being the center of attention at the best of times, and knew walking out in front of all the cameras was going to suck.

“You’ll stay between us no matter what,” Gray told her. “If anyone asks, we’ll say we’re your bodyguards. All you have to do is walk, okay?”

Zara nodded. She felt even tinier when the four men surrounded her. She almost wished they could hide her in the suitcase like they had when they’d left the motel in Lima, but she knew she’d have to face the press sooner or later and she’d only be delaying the inevitable. Meat was behind her, and every now and then she felt his hand rest on her back to help steer her, since she couldn’t really see where she was going with Arrow at her front.

Once they started to approach the security area between the airline gates and those who didn’t have tickets, they began to walk faster. Zara’s heart pounded in her chest, and she did her best to look confident and sure of herself, when inside she just wanted to run and hide and not deal with this.

The second the reporters saw her, the noise in the small airport became almost deafening. Reporters yelled out questions, crowding in on them until Black, Meat, Gray, and Arrow were literally pressed up against her.

Are you really Zara Layne?

Why did you wait so long to come forward?

Do you know how much money you’re worth?

Did you see your parents get killed?

Why did you stay hidden for so long?

Who helped you hide?

Were you raped?

What happened fifteen years ago?

Zara flinched as the questions kept coming. They were offensive as well as ignorant. It wasn’t as if she’d been hiding. She would’ve loved for someone to find her and get her out of the barrio all those years ago.

And for someone to flat-out ask if she’d seen her parents get murdered? What kind of question was that?

Someone near them pushed forward a little too hard, and Black stumbled, knocking into her. Zara would’ve fallen sideways, but Meat’s hand was there to steady her. When she was walking normally again, he didn’t take his hand from her waist. Zara did her best to keep the frown off her face, but she wasn’t sure how well she’d succeeded. She couldn’t do anything other than look at the floor and hold on to her backpack for dear life.

After what was probably two minutes—that seemed like an hour—the doors to the airport swooshed open, and they were outside. The air was chillier and drier than Zara was used to, and it felt both strange and wonderful at the same time. A black SUV was waiting at the curb, and Arrow didn’t hesitate. He wrenched open the door and scooted into the back seat. Zara was hustled inside after him, with Meat close at her heels. Ro was already in the front passenger seat, and the second the door was shut behind Meat, the driver took off, almost running over a cameraman who had stood in front of the car to get one last shot of Zara.

“You okay?” Meat asked.

Zara nodded, her mouth too dry to speak.

“That wasn’t too bad,” Ro said after a beat.

Zara stared at him in disbelief.

He turned around and chuckled at the look on her face. “Remind me to tell you about the press conference my Chloe had to participate in one of these days.”