Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(95)

Zara paced impatiently. Allye, Chloe, and Harlow were all watching her, clearly concerned. Morgan was dozing on the couch, and both Darby and Calinda were fast asleep in a portable crib on the floor. Everly had called in the cavalry and stayed at Meat’s house with her until the other women had arrived, then she’d driven off to go help look for Meat.

Zara had called Rex four times, but he didn’t have anything else to report, other than he was “working on it.” Ball had called shortly after she’d gotten home, giving her the bad news that, just when they’d been ready to take off with Renee and John—to force them to confess where they’d left Meat—the police had arrived. Someone had seen Renee pull her gun and called the cops.

So now Renee and John were in the custody of the police . . . so using more creative ways to get them to talk was out.

The fact of the matter was, Meat was as lost as Zara had once been . . . if he was even still alive.

And that was what was so hard about this. He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t. She hadn’t told him how much he meant to her. That she loved him.

Zara didn’t want to think about the statistics. About how people disappeared all the time, their bodies buried in the wilderness surrounding the city and never found. There were literally millions of acres where John and Renee could’ve dumped Meat. It was a depressing thought, but Zara vowed to never stop looking.

She’d do whatever it took. She had the money. She’d hire private detectives, scent dogs . . . she’d hike every inch of the wilderness if it meant finding Meat.

She’d gone past tired hours ago, now she was simply running on fumes. It was five o’clock in the morning, nearly twelve hours since the scene at the rest stop.

“Please stop pacing and come sit down,” Allye begged.

Zara shook her head. She had too much to do to relax. Too many people to contact, too many lists she was making in her head to even try to sleep.

“The guys’ll find him,” Chloe reassured her.

Zara nodded absently.

She didn’t see the worried looks the three women shot each other.

Zara appreciated that they were there. That they wanted to help. She’d been so stupid to not be able to see through Renee’s fake friendship to the evil underneath. She knew Meat had doubted her sincerity, but Zara hadn’t heeded his concerns.

Another thirty minutes crawled by, and Zara felt as if she was going to go out of her mind.

When they heard a vehicle approaching the house, all four women turned their heads toward the front door.

“Are we expecting one of the guys?” Chloe asked.

“No. Gray would’ve texted or called if someone was coming here,” Allye said.

“Is the alarm on?” Harlow asked as she stood and walked over to the crib, as if to protect the sleeping babies with just her body.

“It’s on,” Zara reassured her friends as she walked toward the front door. She peered out the small window next to the door and frowned as a beat-up old pickup slowly drove into view. It was weaving back and forth, as if the driver were drunk.

Meat’s house wasn’t exactly on the beaten path, and she couldn’t think of anyone who would accidentally drive all the way down the long, winding dirt driveway by mistake.

After turning off the alarm, Zara opened the front door. She heard Chloe on the phone, probably talking to Ro, and she felt both Allye and Harlow come up alongside her.

These were the kind of friends she wanted. The kind who wouldn’t hesitate to stand by her side no matter what she faced.

Zara flicked on the outside floodlights and waited for whoever was in the truck to get out and tell them what he or she was doing there.

Nothing could prepare her for who she saw when the driver’s door opened.

“Meat!” she shouted, sprinting for the truck.

His face was white as a sheet, and his upper body was swaying back and forth as he continued to sit behind the wheel.

“Zara . . . ,” he said, reaching for her with one hand, not making any attempt to get out of the truck.

She grabbed hold of his face and forced him to look at her. His arm went around her waist, and he held her as close to him as possible while she stood on the ground and he sat in the truck.

“You’re okay?” he slurred. “Not hurt?”

“No. I’m fine. You’re the one who’s hurt.”

“It was Renee,” he said, struggling to keep his eyes open.

“I know. We know. What’s wrong? Where’s all the blood coming from?”

“Gunshot. Through and through. Drugged me. Midazolam. Hard to stay awake,” Meat said.

“You drove here? From where?” Allye asked from beside them.

Meat shrugged his one good shoulder. “Middle of fucking nowhere. Somewhere along Rampart Range Road.”

“Shit, he’s lucky he didn’t kill himself driving on that road in his condition,” Harlow breathed.

Zara didn’t care what condition Meat was in. He was here. In her arms and alive. “I love you!” she blurted.

“Love you too,” Meat mumbled. “Wanna see that matching bra-and-panty set,” he said, before his eyes closed and he went limp in her arms.

Chloe ran outside and informed them that the guys were on their way and would be there soon.

Zara stood next to the truck, holding Meat steady with help from her friends.