Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(22)
He punched and kicked at Ruben and his friends, feeling satisfaction with every landed blow. His shirt was covered in blood from making contact with vulnerable flesh, and he knew his knuckles were ripped to shreds, but still he didn’t stop.
He wasn’t losing the fight, but he also wasn’t gaining much ground . . . mainly because as soon as he knocked one of the punks out, another would join in the fray.
How long Dave fought, he didn’t know, but finally, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Meat, Ball, and Gray running up the alley toward him. They’d been patrolling the barrio and had likely been alerted by Zara’s phone call.
Reinforcements had arrived, and it gave Dave a renewed burst of energy.
With their arrival, the advantage quickly turned to the Mountain Mercenaries. Five minutes later, the bullies who remained standing had run off. There were several men lying unconscious in the dirt at their feet, and Gray held a semiconscious Ruben with an unbreakable grip of his biceps.
Dave heard the metal door behind him slide open, and he didn’t even bother to look back to see which of the women had been brave enough to risk it. He stalked up to Ruben, grabbed his neck in a brutal grip, and forced him to meet his gaze.
“Stay away from my woman,” Dave growled.
Zara translated his words from behind him. Dave wasn’t surprised to know it had been her who’d exited the shack. She’d probably been watching the entire time. Thank God she’d been smart enough not to come out and join in, though. Dave would’ve protected her rather than concentrate on beating the shit out of anyone who got close enough to touch him.
Ruben glared up at Dave.
“I mean it. These women are off-limits to you. Now and forever. If you even look at them cross-eyed again, you’ll regret it.”
Ruben sneered and said something in Spanish.
Zara translated. “You made a mistake today, gringo. I have power here. The second you’re gone, the women will be too. Del Rio will make sure of it.”
Dave tightened his hold on Ruben’s neck until the other man’s face turned purple. “Listen to me, and listen good,” Dave said in a low, deadly tone. “I know you think you’re a big shot here in the barrio, but I have more power than you’ll ever have. I’ve got friends all over the planet. You think you’re safe because you’ve got friends in the Peruvian military? They’re nothing compared to my friends. You’ve got a pretty comfortable life in the barrio, but I can have you and all your buddies thrown in prison with one phone call. As long as you leave my friends alone, you can continue to be the big man in your small world. But if you even look at them the wrong way, and I hear about it, you’re done.”
It took a moment for Zara to translate, but Dave saw the second his words registered with Ruben. Some of the bravado left the man. He continued to glare, but Dave could see the unease in his eyes.
“And del Rio is a coward. He hides behind people like you, relies on you to do his dirty work while he sits in his huge mansion with more money than he knows what to do with. You’re an idiot for doing his bidding. Listen hard—my men and I didn’t kill any of your friends today, but make no mistake, if we’re attacked again, we won’t hesitate to do what needs to be done. And those contacts I mentioned? They’ll make sure we stay out of prison—so make your choice carefully.”
The second Zara finished translating, Dave shoved Ruben away from him, and Gray let him go at the same time. Ruben went sprawling to the ground and stayed down for a long moment before pushing to his feet and walking away without a glance at his fallen comrades, still unconscious in the dirt.
Zara ran up to Meat and put her arms around him.
“Where are the other women?” Dave asked.
“They went out the back,” Zara said.
“Why didn’t you go too?” Meat scolded.
She glared up at him. “As if I was going to leave.”
Meat shook his head and rolled his eyes at her stubborn response.
Dave shook out his hands, ignoring the pain that coursed through them, and started walking down the alley.
“Where are you going?” Ball called out.
“To get in touch with some of my contacts,” Dave said without looking back. “The women need to get out of here. Now. The new clinic needs to happen now so Daniela can move into it, and the others can have her house. I’m sick of tiptoeing around everyone. This shit ends today—and that clinic will be up and running sooner rather than later. This isn’t why we came, but I’ll be damned if I leave Raven’s friends to fend for themselves when we’re gone.”
He tuned out the men talking behind him as they headed toward the exit to the barrio.
Raven would be gone all day, as had been her norm for the last week, but Dave was done giving her space. He needed her home. Safe. In Colorado. He’d told her that he’d stay in Peru if that was what she wanted, but that option was no longer on the table.
He wasn’t staying here, and neither was she.
She’d been on her own for way too long, but that was done. She was his wife. He loved her. They could work everything else out . . . but she had to stop hiding from him. Tonight, when she reappeared from whatever hidey-hole she disappeared to every day, he’d make sure she knew without a doubt how he felt about her, and that he wasn’t going to let her push him away anymore. They could work through whatever she was hiding.