Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(46)

Mags’s eyes widened. “You did?”

Dave nodded. “Yup. But he just laughed and pledged to put half a million dollars toward renewing the effort to find missing children. Remarry me, Raven. Please.”

“Yes.” There was nothing else she could’ve said.

Dave reached for her hand and gently slipped the ring on her finger.

“When did you get this?” she asked.

“Yesterday, when you were with David.”

Mags couldn’t take her eyes off the diamond. It was simple. Not flashy in any way. It was probably only half a carat or so, set low in a traditional setting. She looked into Dave’s brown eyes. “I love you,” she whispered. “I never thought I’d get a chance to say that to you again.”

Dave got up off his knee and sat next to her on the bench once more. He lifted one arm, then hesitated.

Doing something she hadn’t done in years, Mags leaned forward and put both her arms around him. She put her head on his chest and held on as tightly as she could. She felt Dave return the embrace, and instead of making her feel trapped and panicky, his arms felt nothing but comforting.

She had the hopeful thought that maybe, just maybe, with her husband, she’d be able to enjoy being intimate with a man again. Not today. And not tomorrow. But maybe someday.

“I love you so much, Raven. I know this is a miracle, and I swear I’ll never take you or our love for granted.”

She hugged him harder, then looked up. “When can we go home to Colorado?” she asked.

A look of frustration flashed across his face before he wiped it clean. “I’m not sure. David’s passport is taking longer than it should to process, and the last thing we want is to tip del Rio off and have him or the police and military he’s paid off on our tail until we can leave. I’d like to send you home with Zara and—”

“No,” Mags said emphatically, straightening and glaring at him.

“But—”

“I am not leaving without David,” she told him.

Dave sighed. “I figured that would be your response,” he said without seeming too upset.

“If you knew, why’d you even suggest it?” she asked.

“Because I hoped. I want you as far away from del Rio as possible, where you’ll be safe.”

“I wasn’t safe in Vegas,” Mags pointed out.

“Touché,” Dave said.

“So what’s the plan? I know you’ve been talking with your friends about it. Arguing about it.”

Dave looked away from her then, and Mags felt uneasy for the first time.

“We’re probably going to have to storm the house he’s in. I know, I know,” he said quickly when Mags opened her mouth to protest. “It’s not ideal. The last thing I want to do is scare David, but del Rio isn’t going to let us just stroll in and take him out of there. He’s got a lot of people guarding him and the house, and he’s spent a lot of money over the years raising him. He’s not going to want to lose his investment.”

Mags hated thinking about her son that way, but she knew Dave was right. Del Rio had already started trying to indoctrinate her son, telling him that children obeyed adults no matter what they said, taking pictures. It was only a matter of time until he did the unthinkable.

“You just need to know that I’m doing everything I can to get us all out of here as soon as possible. And now that we’ve got his birth certificate, I’m hoping things will happen much faster. If all goes well, we’ll be headed back to Colorado as a family soon.”

“And if all doesn’t go well?” Mags asked.

“Then you and David will still be headed back to Colorado.”

“Don’t you do anything that will get you hurt or in trouble,” she said, glaring at him. “I can’t go back without you.”

Dave put his hands on her shoulders and turned her more toward him. “You can and you will. I need you safe, Raven. You and our son.”

“And I need you,” Mags shot back. “Getting yourself killed isn’t the answer here.”

“I’m not going to die,” Dave said calmly. “I’m a hard son of a bitch to kill.”

Mags’s eyes flickered to the scar on his neck before she met his gaze again. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“I promise,” he said immediately. “Stupid would be starting an international incident and getting myself and the rest of the Mountain Mercenaries thrown into a Peruvian prison. Not gonna happen.”

Mags couldn’t even imagine that. She leaned forward slowly and rested her forehead on Dave’s chest. Her hands gripped his huge biceps as she said, “I can’t have found you again, only to lose you so soon.”

“You won’t,” he promised. “Now, come on, we need to get back to the motel to meet the guys. We’re having a celebratory dinner tonight.”

“We are?” Mags asked, letting Dave help her up. They started walking toward where he’d parked the minivan earlier, and he nodded.

“Yup.”

“For what?”

“Our reengagement, my becoming a father, you being rescued, Gabriella coming back to the States with us, the imminent rescue of our son, the reuniting of the other women with their families, the purchase of the new clinic, and just life in general.”