Page 131 of Zorro

“Um…define discharged.”

She sighed, walked to the door, and looked out into the hall. Joker was walking toward her like a man on fire. “He’s in here.”

“Everly, don’t?—”

“He brought reinforcements.”

“You’re a damn traitor, woman.”

The door filled with one mad CO. Joker entered like a storm cloud in boots, Buck and D-Day right behind him.

Joker marched up to the gurney, face thunderous.

“I told you to stay in that fucking bed! How is it you’re in the fucking Philippines?”

“I got on a plane,” Zorro muttered.

“You think this is funny?”

“No, sir…um…was that a direct order?” Joker’s mouth tightened. “In my defense…I was on morphine. My memory is foggy, but you said nothing about not boarding a flight. Did I miss that?”

Joker exhaled hard. “You’re part of this team. We need you back. Alive. That means you start taking care of yourself, Martinez. Do you understand me?”

Zorro straightened just slightly. “Yes, sir. Can I lay down now? I’m an idiot. I took a flight when I was wounded. What kind of people are you to let me escape?”

Joker turned to Everly, and she just shook her head at his affectionate look. “You got him?”

She gave a small nod. “I’ve got him.”

Buck said, “My sympathies.”

D-Day muttered, “May God have mercy on your soul.”

Zorro, quiet now, just reached for her hand and laced their fingers together.

Home.

It didn’t matter if it was a gurney or a battlefield or a hallway in the Philippines.

She was holding onto it, and this time, she wasn’t letting go.

Zorro’s Residence, Bonita, California

“Come on, Zorro. Get up.” He was instantly aware and ready, his morning wood giving him a jolt of pleasure just from brushing against the sheet covering his naked body. “We’re about to have a full house in an hour, and you need to shower, dress, and get that steak on the grill.”

Sunshine flowed into the room as she opened the curtains, but she glowed brighter. “I’m still recovering, Doc Sunshine,” he whined. “You should look at my wound. I’m feeling…strange. It might be infected.”

“What? It’s almost fully healed. If you did something—” She moved too close and he snagged her wrist, dragged her down to the bed. “You tricky bastard,” she squealed, but there was no heat in her tone.

He laughed as he rolled her over, already pulling at her top, getting it half off her. She pulled it down, and he went for her shorts. She wiggled. “That’s only making me harder, babe. So I’m all for it.”

He pressed his aching dick against her hips and groaned. She froze, opened her legs helplessly, her breath catching. “Oh, God, Mateo.”

“Say it again, and again, and again, querida.”

“Mateo. Mateo. Mateo.”

“Never get tired of hearing that,” he whispered. “I want you, babe. Besides, morning wood is important.”