Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(92)

“Yup, it’s me,” she said cheerfully.

“Where’s Zara?” he asked, trying desperately to force his muscles to work . . . with no luck.

“She’s hopefully at her bank right now, getting us the money we want. You should be flattered that she didn’t even hesitate to agree to our terms to get you back. You’re cute, but besides that, I have no idea what she sees in you.”

Meat wanted to say the same about Renee, but couldn’t. The drug was already taking effect, and he knew he was going to lose consciousness once more. But he had to know one thing before he passed out again. “Who’s the guy?”

“Oh, him? He’s my boyfriend.” Renee chuckled. “I know you looked into me. I’m not an idiot. But I also knew you wouldn’t find out anything about John. He’s more my fuck and drug buddy than anything else, but he’s loyal, which is something I can’t say for many men. We’ll have our money and be south of the border before anyone’s the wiser. You’ll never find us. We’re going to disappear and live happily ever after with the money stupid Zara doesn’t even want!”

Meat opened his mouth to tell her there was no way she and this John guy were going to get away with kidnapping and extortion.

Not to mention, if they were both using drugs, any money they’d get wouldn’t last more than a year. Tops.

“Me . . . ?” he asked, wanting to know as much of their plan as possible before he once more succumbed to the drug.

“If your heart doesn’t stop and your lungs keep working after all this midazolam, you’ll be just fine.”

She slapped him not so gently on the cheek, but Meat didn’t even feel it. He’d already passed out.





Chapter Twenty-Seven

Zara was as nervous as she’d ever been. She had a million dollars in the car, and she was going to the rest stop to make the drop. She’d argued with the guys about driving herself to the meeting spot, but they’d categorically refused, citing her lack of a license. So Everly was driving her. She wasn’t wearing her uniform but had a weapon on her, so the guys felt comfortable enough leaving the two of them to make their way to the meeting point on their own.

Zara hadn’t realized how heavy and bulky a million dollars would be. It wasn’t like the movies, where it all fit neatly into a duffel bag. She had three bags full of money.

Also worrying her was the fact that she still had no idea who was behind Meat’s kidnapping. She hoped it wasn’t her uncle, but honestly wouldn’t put it past him. He was more than upset with her. But was he pissed enough to hurt Meat just to extort money from her? Would whoever it was decide to keep Meat and demand more?

She’d give every last dime if she could get Meat back safely. Sometime over the last twenty-four hours, Zara had realized just how much she loved him. Irrevocably, unconditionally, and with everything she had. If he was taken from her, she’d never recover. She’d eventually been able to go on without her parents, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t survive losing Meat.

He was everything she’d ever dreamed of in a man. Patient, kind, funny, considerate. He was also bossy, a bit too stuck in his ways, and didn’t want to say or do anything that might upset her. But she could work with those last three . . . as long as he was alive to work with.

“It’s going to be okay,” Everly said as she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel impatiently.

They were stuck in slow-moving traffic around downtown Colorado Springs, and Zara wanted to scream in frustration.

She nodded, but didn’t verbally respond.

Zara’s phone ringing scared the crap out of both of them. Looking down, Zara saw that it was Renee calling. She didn’t really want to talk to her, but she clicked on the green button to answer anyway.

“Hey.”

“Hi, girl! Where are you?”

Zara frowned. “Why?”

“Just wondering. I was headed down to the Springs to see a client, and I thought I’d stop by.”

“I’m not home,” Zara told her.

“Oh. Doing anything fun?”

Zara wanted to scream. “No.”

“No need to be so short, jeez,” Renee complained.

“I’m just stressed. Sorry,” Zara said.

“You know what cures stress?” Renee asked. And without waiting for an answer, she went on, “Shopping! You should go and spend some money! You’ve got enough of it.”

Zara was done. “I have to go,” she said.

“Oh, all right. I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Zara clicked off the phone and leaned back on the headrest. “God. I hate to be a bitch, but she’s driving me crazy.”

“That was Renee, right? I could hear her side of the conversation from here.”

“Yeah.”

“Hmmm. Can you dial my phone for me?” Everly asked, telling her next who to call.

Zara was surprised, but she picked up the phone, went to Everly’s contacts, and hit the number she’d asked her to dial, putting the phone on speaker.

“This is Rex.”

“Rex, it’s Everly. Can you check the pings on someone’s phone for me?”

“Who?”