ball and stay there!"
"No," Zara told him, "you wouldn't. You'd sit in the corner, cry for ten minutes, and then go back at them. It's what you do, Jason. Right now, you're doing it. But that's the thing. We all see our problems as less than everyone else's because we think we're not as important. We convince ourselves there's no other option because someone else has it worse, and you know what? Maybe that's true, but if it makes us keep standing back up, then it's kinda a good thing."
Braden just clasped Jason's shoulder. "But we got each other's backs, and that makes it easier. Trust me, man, you're not alone. Kinda the whole reason we're doing this shit. No one should ever be alone. Not in the digital age."
Chapter 8
It took Jason all night just to get Dez's information in chronological order. He finally crawled into bed long after Zara had given up. She still rolled over to wrap her arms around him without waking. Down the hall, he could hear the soft sounds of Braden and Rhaven in their room. The rhythmical thump proved it was definitely not G-rated, but it made him fall asleep with a smile on his face. It seemed some good had come out of this nightmare, and that made it a little easier to accept.
The next morning, he woke up and was right back at work. This time, he was trying to identify the number of assailants. By name, there should be nine. He needed to get a description of each one and a timeline for that specific guy worked out. Jason had just made a folder for each of the player's in Dez's nightmare when a plate appeared at his elbow. Looking up, Jason found Zara with a rather smug look on her face.
"Bacon, eggs, toast - and it's not ruined."
The eggs were scrambled, though, which made him chuckle. "I'll make a wife of you yet," he joked.
She smacked him lightly on the back of his head. "See if I'm ever nice to you again. Oh, I'm going to the store with Rhaven in a bit. We need groceries if we're going to be crashing at their place for however long. Figure I can expand their taste buds while we're here."
"Mm." He leaned back and lifted his face to her. "I'm going to be a grouch all day."
"I know," she assured him, bending to give him a kiss. "So, this is me telling you that we got this. Don't worry about me. My outfit-mate and I are going to have a great girl's weekend. Might even have lunch with Kate next week."
"Keep your phone with you," he begged.
She nodded. "And send an X if anything is weird, at any time. Promise. Now eat that before it's cold." And she wandered back out.
Jason was used to working in whatever room he was given. That was nothing new. Sometimes it was a storage room. Others, an actual office. This? It was nice, and having his woman wander in to break his train of thought was the best part. She kept his thoughts from turning too dark, and yet she always made him feel like it was actually ok for him to get immersed in what he was doing.
In other words, she was perfect. When they'd met, he'd just been trying to help. Never would he have guessed that a woman like her would end up with a guy like him. Zara was beautiful. The kind that men couldn't get enough of, with the attitude to back it up. She was sensual and gentle, but not delicate. No, not by a long shot.
She was also his rock.
Not once had she looked down on him for being weak. If anything, she lifted him up and told him he was her hero. Twice now he'd saved her life, but that wasn't why she loved him. He'd made sure of it. No, this woman cared about him because she was just that amazing. She said that he listened to her and didn't make her feel broken, but between the two of them, she was actually more stable. Not that it mattered, because they worked.
And now he had to do his real work. One by one, he identified the descriptions, paired them with one of their criminal names - which were surprisingly dorky. If he had to guess, he'd say the group had used a random generator so there were no personal ties to their color-animal name. A layer