Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(30)

It had been ten years since she’d felt this way, and she didn’t want to move. Ever.

“What time do you usually leave?” Dave asked after a while.

“Before the sun comes up,” she whispered.

“Then we should get going.”

Her eyes flew open, and she looked around. The interior of the hut was lighter than it had been when she’d woken up to find Dave behind her.

“Don’t panic,” he told her, steadying her with a hand at her waist. “We’ll get there in time. Relax.”

Nodding, Mags still climbed off him. He stood, reached for something in his pocket, and held it out. She couldn’t make out what it was and didn’t reach for it.

“It’s a protein bar. I’ve got a couple of them. I heard you say that bastard doesn’t allow you to eat while you’re there. That’s fucking wrong, so I grabbed some of these to help tide you over. You can eat a couple while we’re on our way.”

It was such a little thing, but the longer Mags spent around Dave, the more she remembered that was just how he was. He was always doing things like that. Little things that a lot of people wouldn’t think twice about. But it seemed over the last ten years, his respectfulness and politeness had morphed into uber-protectiveness and caveman tendencies. She smiled slightly. She couldn’t deny it felt good.

She’d spent years in hell, relying on no one, trusting almost no one, bearing the burden of doing what she thought was best for her son all by herself. Knowing that Dave had not only heard what she’d said about her visits with David but had done something to try to make her life easier felt amazing.

She took the food and nodded in thanks, not able to put into words what was going through her head.

Dave nodded toward the protein bar and waited. She realized that he wasn’t going to go anywhere until she’d eaten. She ripped open the snack. The smell of chocolate and peanut butter wafted up to her nose, and her mouth automatically started watering. She’d eaten some very good meals over the last week . . . Dave and his team had taken very good care of her as far as meals went. But after taking a bite, she closed her eyes and was surprised at how much she enjoyed the protein bar.

She hadn’t eaten a lot of health food ten years ago, and for some reason, she’d expected the protein bar to be awful. Dry and tasteless. But whatever was in this one was anything but. It was like eating a candy bar.

She opened her eyes to see a look she’d never seen on her husband’s face before.

Sorrow and . . . pride?

Mags didn’t know what that was about. The sadness she understood; she was pretty pathetic. But there was no way he could be proud of her for anything she’d done in the time they’d been apart. All she’d managed was to tread water and keep from sinking below the stormy sea that had become her existence.

After she’d finished the protein bar, Dave stuffed the wrapper in one of the pockets on his black cargo pants, and they headed out the door. Mags hadn’t realized that Ro was outside, and it was obvious he’d spent the night on the hard dirt, just as Dave had been doing. Her husband briefly stopped to thank Ro for staying the night and to tell him what their plans were.

“It’s Raven’s day to visit David, and I’m going with her to do recon. We’ll be back this afternoon.”

Ro nodded. “Okay. We’re going to meet with Daniela about the logistics of moving the clinic to a bigger building. We’ll take care of that and keep watch over the women here. Once you figure out what the situation is with David, we can have a chat about our next steps to get us all out of here.”

“Everything good with Chloe?” Dave asked.

“Yeah. Just missin’ her.”

Dave clapped a hand on Ro’s shoulder. “I know. With any luck, we’ll be out of here sooner rather than later.”

“Wasn’t complaining,” Ro noted. “Be careful today. Don’t let anyone see you lurking around the house. If they know somethin’s up, they could tighten security, and that’s one problem we don’t need.”

“I won’t. Later.”

“Later.”

It was obvious between last night and now, Dave’s friends had been informed about David. Mags should’ve been upset about that, especially after having to keep the secret for so long, but at the moment, she couldn’t care about anything other than getting to her son.

The interaction between Ro and Dave was interesting. She knew her husband was in charge of the other men as far as the group went. But she didn’t know how those dynamics worked. Dave had never been in the military, and she wasn’t sure why they willingly followed his lead. But all she saw between Ro and Dave was respect. The kind that didn’t come from brute force or intimidation, like she witnessed every day from del Rio’s men.

Not for the first time, Mags really understood that what Dave had said was right. He wasn’t the same man he’d been.

He’d always been protective of her, but now he was even more so. He didn’t touch her as they walked, but his gaze was constantly moving from side to side, as if looking for danger. When they got to the sidewalk outside the barrio, he insisted she walk next to the wall, instead of the street. He put out an arm to keep anyone passing from touching her. And when a bicycle came toward them a little too fast, he stepped forward and put himself between her and the rider.