Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(29)

Mags closed her eyes and tentatively rested her palms on Dave’s chest. He was so warm, and she could feel his heart beating under her hand. Memories of making love with him just like this flashed through her brain before she ruthlessly cut them off.

That was a different world. A lifetime ago.

“We need to talk,” Dave said gently. “We can talk some while we walk, and tonight I want to take you back to my motel room. You can shower and sleep on a real bed. We can talk about whatever you want. I’ll tell you all about The Pit and what I’ve been doing since you were taken. You don’t need to say another damn word about what happened to you in the last ten years if you don’t want to, but I’d love to hear all about David. About his first word, his first steps, what kind of food he enjoys. I’ve missed out on so much . . . and I just want to know everything about him.”

“You still have The Pit?” Mags asked.

“Yeah. It’s kept me sane,” Dave admitted.

“Will you tell me about how you got this?” Mags asked, running a finger over the large scar on his neck.

“I’ll tell you everything and anything you want to know,” he said, his eyes confirming his sincerity.

“You have to stay hidden,” Mags told him, not able to believe she was giving in.

“I will,” Dave said confidently.

“And when we get close, you can’t walk with me.”

“Okay. But I need you to do something for me too.”

Mags’s belly tightened. “What?”

“I need you to get me David’s DNA.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“Because I need it to prove that he’s your biological son. I believe you—it’s not that. It’s just that it’ll be easier to get him a passport that way.”

“A passport? Easier?”

“Yeah, Raven. We’ve left countries on the down-low before without having the proper documentation, and we could do so with David, but since we entered the country officially, with our passports being stamped and everything, it’ll be easier to go through official channels so we don’t have to be separated from David while we travel back home. I’ve already talked to my contact, and he’s working on everything from his end, but it would speed things up if we had his DNA.”

Mags swallowed hard. “You’ve already talked to someone?”

Dave’s face gentled. “Yeah. I’m ashamed of my reaction to you telling me you had a son, but I got my head out of my ass as soon as I could.”

Once again, Mags wanted to cry, but instead she asked, “What kind of DNA? I’m not allowed to bring anything in or out of the house.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked at hearing that, but he simply asked, “What about a tissue? You could help David blow his nose and then stuff the tissue in your pocket. I doubt anyone would care about a used wad of tissue, would they?”

Mags slowly shook her head. No, they wouldn’t. It was actually genius. “I can do that.”

“Good. Are you allowed to take him outside at all?”

She nodded. “Just in the backyard. And there’s an armed guard watching us the entire time. There’s also a concrete wall around the yard, but he can go out there and play.”

“Perfect. I’ll get his picture when you take him outside, then. If possible, after he runs around a bit, sit with him in your lap, facing the wall. That way I can zoom in on his face while he’s not in motion.”

Nerves rose up within Mags once more. “If you’re caught—”

“I won’t be,” Dave said with conviction. “I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize us being able to leave the country,” he told her. “Trust me.”

“I do.”

“Do you?”

Mags swallowed and nodded.

Slowly, one of Dave’s hands rose toward her face, and he palmed her cheek. Mags leaned into his hand.

“This right here is a miracle,” Dave said softly. “I wanted to believe you were alive, but I wasn’t sure. You could’ve been killed an hour after they took you and buried somewhere in the Nevada desert. But I had a feeling, deep down, that you were alive. I dreamed about you. That you were bleeding and hurting, and you’d look me in the eyes and tell me to hurry up and find you. I’m so damn sorry I took so long. And I really didn’t even have anything to do with it. It was all Zara. I owe her more than I can ever repay. It took me ten years, but I’m here, Raven. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Mags closed her eyes, reached up, and grabbed hold of Dave’s wrist. She wanted to tell him that it might’ve been Zara who recognized her picture, but it had been Dave’s tireless work in hunting down missing women and children that led them to where they were right now. If he hadn’t formed the Mountain Mercenaries, hadn’t made the connections he had, Zara might still be living in the barrio and wouldn’t have met Meat. Wouldn’t have gone back to the States.

Everything was connected, and it truly was a miracle that out of the billions of people in the world, he’d somehow managed to find her.

How long they sat like that, her holding on to his wrist while he palmed her cheek, Mags didn’t know, but eventually the unease she felt about being astride him, at his touching her, disappeared. She felt . . . content. Safe.