She's the most famous Latina singer on the planet. You are podunk compared to her.
She turns to leave.
Hunter reaches for her arm. "Zoe."
"Don't touch her," I growl, and he releases her.
She spins and raises her eyebrows.
"Sometimes I'm a dick. I'm sorry."
She smiles. "Yeah. Sometimes I'm a diva. You're forgiven." She winks and turns again.
"Zoe."
"Hmm?"
"Will you tell me when I can go in and see Vanessa?"
"Sure. You need to suck it up and make nice with Julieta, though."
"Fine," he grumbles.
"Don't worry. I've had to do it a lot. I'll coach you on what to say."
He snorts. "Deal."
She leaves, and we watch her until she is inside the tent.
I point to the fire. "I think those pancakes are burnt."
While Ryker and Hunter make pancakes, I check the traps I set the day before. There are several rats in them, and I take them back to camp.
Zoe comes out of the tent while I'm skinning them. "What is that?"
"Jungle rat."
"Seriously? You went looking for that?"
"It has a high concentration of protein."
She scrunches her face. "That's disgusting."
"Don't knock it until you try it. I can make anything taste good."
"Okay, Country Boy."
I clench my jaw.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asks.
"No reason. Go talk to the girls about shoes or something."
She glares. "Shoes?"
I shrug. "I don't know. Sequin dresses or shoes. Whatever excites you."
Hurt crosses her face.
Why are you being a jerk?
She's calling you country boy. You are one. Deal with it.
Before I can apologize, she holds her hand up to me. "Whatever." She spins and walks away.
I focus on the rat, and Hunter storms past me and goes into the woods. I glance at the tent but don't see Vanessa.
Great. Andre's going to flip if Hunter doesn't get back here before he does.
I remove the seasoning I always take with me, sprinkle it on the pieces of meat, and poke a stick through the center of them.
Everyone crowds around the fire, eating pancakes. The women aren't huge fans of my rat, but they underestimate the importance of eating protein. At any time during a mission, something can go wrong. The guys all know this, but if you aren't trained how we are, you probably wouldn't think about it.
"That looks disgusting," Zoe spouts.
"It's a great protein. Even divas need protein."
Zoe rolls her eyes. "I'm not eating that."
And stubborn diva is back.
"But what is it?" Vanessa asks.
"Jungle rat," Ryker says.
"So gross," Zoe complains.
"How do you know?" I reply.
"Fourteen months with the cartel and lots of uncooked, nasty things thrown down the hole."
"I just put my best seasoning on this."
Zoe snorts.
I remove the rats from the stick and dice it up with my knife into twelve portions.
"Where's Hunter?" Andre asks.
I cover for him. "I asked him to go check my traps while I cooked."
"Okay. Who wants to go into town and pick up supplies for the ladies?"
Good, he isn't questioning it.
"I'm in," I volunteer.
"Me too," Axel says.
"Whoa! This is hot!" Emilia's face turns bright red.
Malin hands her water. "Dip it in the syrup. It'll counteract some of the spices."
Penelope clears her throat. "Hand me water too please."
"Little easier on the spices next time might be good," Malin says.
"It's not that hot," I insist.
"I don't think it's that hot either," Zoe says.
"See! Even the Diva is good with it."
Zoe glares at me.
"It's not that bad," Vanessa says. "Little hot but better than most of the stuff I've eaten the last eight months."
"Thank you, Vanessa." I smirk at Zoe.
She smirks back and pops her last piece of meat in her mouth.
Andre texts us a list of what to pick up. Axel and I go to leave, and Zoe stops me.
"What's up?"
"Do you think they will have lemon and honey?"
"I don't know. Why?"
"I need it for my voice."
"Why? Are you going to entertain us?" I say it teasingly, but she takes it the wrong way.
Her eyes glisten. "Nevermind." She turns.
I reach for her arm. "Hey."
"Don't touch me."
I put my hands in the air. "I didn't mean it in a nasty way."
"Forget I said anything." She storms off.
"Zoe," I call out.
Great. Back in the doghouse.
"Dirk, let's go," Axel says.
I get in the Jeep, and we make our way into town.
"What was that about?"
"She wanted lemons and honey, and I made a snarky comment about her entertaining us. She got upset."
Axel glances at me.
"What?"
"Penelope said she had to sing every night for Santigo and his thugs. She never got a break. They made her sing naked a lot of nights