Page 65 of Zorro

A voice broke in, female, steady, sharp. “Drew.” D-Day winced. Zorro turned and saw Helen approaching. Her tone was soft, but no less firm. “It’s time for you to change for dinner.”

D-Day growled under his breath. “She’s leading him around by his dick.”

Helen didn’t raise her voice. She stepped into his space, palm resting gently over his heart.

“He’s had your back, now you’ll have his. Stop acting like you don’t understand what he’s going through.”

D-Day closed his eyes, exhaled through his nose, then nodded once. “Z…I just—” He had to wonder if his face looked like D-Day’s when Zorro looked at Everly.

Zorro chuckled. “I know where your heart is, D. It’s your mouth that’s getting on my nerves.”

D flipped him off, muttering something that sounded like I hate feelings, and stomped away.

Helen stayed.

For a long beat, she just looked at Zorro. Then she stepped in and wrapped her arms around him, holding tight. “This whole team thinks you handle rejection well.” Her voice was low. “But no one is immune. Not even you.” She pulled back, her gaze steady. “What we do takes a toll. But don’t drown, Mateo. It’s easy to do. I know.”

Zorro swallowed hard.

“Being enough,” she said, “is not something you have to prove. You can’t fix everything. Sometimes people need to handle their own mending. My husband did and I let him because that brought him to me fully as his own man.” Her voice dropped. “That was worth it, the waiting, the agonizing, and when he was ready, he told me everything.” She nudged him gently. “You understand?”

Zorro’s throat felt too tight to speak. He looked away, nodded once.

“My husband is being a butt because he cares about you.”

He let out a choked laugh. “I know. That’s why I haven’t decked him.”

She smiled.

“But Helen…” His voice cracked just slightly. “I care about her.”

Helen nodded. “I know. So don’t give up.” She paused. “I didn’t give up on Drew.”

Everly stood with her back against the door. Again, she was eavesdropping and it wasn’t right. But she couldn’t help herself. D-Day was wrong. She hadn’t cut Zorro loose. She was trying to process everything that had happened in what felt like a single breathless span of days.

Her heart clenched at Zorro’s voice. I care about her.

God.

She wanted to throw the door open and rush into his arms, lean into him. But she wouldn’t let him fix this. That wasn’t for him to do. That was for her to deal with. But when this was over, she wanted that comfort he would provide without expecting anything in return. She knew that about him now. After the baby, after all his quiet, selfless acts, but most of all, after that phone call to his mom.

He was good. Not just kind. Not just brave.

Good.

But in her current state of mind, going to him now would only be unfair to him, and to herself.

If she didn’t do this perfectly, or at least ethically, then she wouldn’t just fail him….

She’d betray the version of herself that had fought so hard to survive Rob.

She had to work through this. She would never dishonor Zorro by giving him a heart still tangled in someone else’s memory. It wasn’t grief she felt anymore. No. She wasn’t going to give in to any petty, base emotions here. No rage. No resentment.

Rob had been her terrible mistake. Her mistake. What could she give Zorro while still handling the fallout from her marriage that was never what she pretended it to be? If she couldn’t be accountable for her compliance in her own downfall, then she wouldn’t be worthy of Mateo Martinez. She gasped softly, and she wanted to be worthy of such a man. Only the honorable things would do here, and it was a tangle to unravel.

She needed to break it down.

Rob hadn’t betrayed her. He was never committed to her in the first place. It was her perception of his betrayal that she had to face and own. Rob had never loved her. It was her fucked up view of love that made her desperate for a connection. Rob hadn’t respected her, her work, her contributions, or her dedication. He had used her, and she had let him because of something missing inside herself. That’s what it all boiled down to.

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