Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(10)
“She’ll always be my Raven,” Dave argued. “And it doesn’t surprise me that she helped you—that’s the kind of person she is. But it’s been ten years, Zara. You can understand better than anyone how badly I need to see her for myself. To touch her.”
“I’m not asking you to wait days,” Zara said. “Just a couple hours or so. Let me go in, talk with my friends, tell them how wonderful you all are. Ease the way a bit.”
“We could go shopping in the meantime,” Meat suggested. “Not to bribe them, but I’m guessing there are things they could use.”
Zara nodded eagerly. “That would be awesome. I can make a list. But . . . Ruben and his cronies raid the shacks all the time. Anything we get for them will have to be easily hidden, so don’t go overboard.”
Dave did his best to control his impatience. The thing he liked least about sending the Mountain Mercenaries on missions was the lack of control he had over so many aspects. Even though he wasn’t a soldier, he hated simply sitting around waiting to hear whether the mission was a success or not. He could do all the research he wanted before they left, but once they were on the scene, unless they required information or help from one of his contacts, he could do little but wait to hear about the outcome.
That was kind of how he felt right now. He didn’t want to wait. He wanted to see Raven again with his own two eyes. His skin was crawling, he was sweating madly, and he felt as though if he didn’t see her right this second, he would literally implode.
But he also knew Zara was correct. They couldn’t all just show up out of the blue. Seven huge men would stick out like a sore thumb in the barrio. They’d also scare the women, and the last thing he wanted was to force more hurt on his wife.
“Fine. But I need you to bring something to her for me. I’m guessing she’ll be skeptical, possibly won’t even believe that I’m really here.” Dave reached for his wallet and pulled out a squished penny. He’d carried it with him every day for ten years. He and Raven had gotten it while they’d been in Las Vegas. Right after, she’d put a twenty into a slot machine and won a thousand bucks. She’d laughed and said it was all because of the penny. That it was their lucky penny now.
He handed it to Zara, and she looked down, inspecting it, then back up at him. “I’ll make sure she gets it,” she said softly.
They got out of the minivan, waiting for Black, Ro, Ball, and Gray to exit theirs before trooping into the lobby of the run-down motel. After Dave checked them into several rooms, Arrow said, “We should wait until dusk. We might be less conspicuous.”
Dave wanted to protest. Wanted to tell his team that they were going to put their shit in their rooms and come right back down so they could get on with it, but he knew Arrow was right.
He wanted to believe that Raven would take one look at him and beg him to take her home. Hopefully that would be the case, no matter what Zara suggested. He wanted to be on his way back out of the country as soon as possible.
The very thought of seeing Raven, of putting his arms around her again, was overwhelming. The day she’d disappeared, Dave had lost a part of himself. He’d gone crazy for a while. Crazy with grief and anger. He wanted to be calm now. He was closer to his wife than he’d been for years, but all he could feel was renewed anger that she’d been taken from him, and throat-clenching nervousness about seeing her.
As they all filed out of the lobby to go to their rooms and prepare for the trip to the barrio late in the afternoon, Dave couldn’t help but be apprehensive. It felt as if the longer he waited to see Raven, the greater the chance she’d simply disappear into a puff of smoke once again.
Zara headed out of the motel a few hours later. She was walking a block or so in front of Meat, but she knew he was behind her, watching and making sure she was safe. She’d known she wouldn’t talk him into letting her go to the barrio by herself, but she’d been able to talk him into following her at a distance.
When she and Meat had gotten to their room, she’d convinced him that it would be a good idea to head to the barrio even earlier than they’d discussed with Dave. They both knew how anxious the other man was to see Mags, and it was going to be almost impossible to hold him back if he accompanied her to the barrio for the first time.
Meat wasn’t happy about deceiving the leader of the Mountain Mercenaries, but all things considered, he agreed it was a good plan.
Zara couldn’t help remembering, however, how badly Meat had been hurt the last time he’d been in the barrio. She didn’t quite blend in as well as she used to herself, but she had no doubt that if someone harassed her, Meat would be at her side in a heartbeat. He would never allow her to head into potential danger alone. She wanted to be mad about that, insist she could do this; after all, she’d wandered the streets of the barrios for fifteen years all by herself. But she knew that wouldn’t make one bit of difference to Meat. And she loved him all the more for it.
Praying he would stick to the shadows and remain unnoticed, she turned her thoughts to Mags. She felt bad for Dave. She really did. But she had to think about her friend too. No way would she do anything that would cause the other woman emotional pain. She’d been through way too much already. While Mags was smart and empathetic, there was also a deep well of pain she kept hidden from the world. Zara recognized it because she’d harbored similar pain. But what caused Mags’s suffering, specifically, Zara didn’t know. She’d never felt comfortable asking.