Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(53)

He sat where he was instructed. It was either sit or fall down, and the last thing he wanted to do was make himself more vulnerable.

As much as Dave hated being in this house, this prison, he wasn’t exactly upset that he’d finally get to speak to del Rio.

At least, he hoped that was what was about to happen.

He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

The door slammed open, making a loud bang as it hit the wall, and Dave jerked in his seat. The movement jarred his already aching head, but he did his best to not show in any way how badly he was hurting.

Three men entered the room. Two dressed in all black, and the third was del Rio himself. It was obvious Dave wasn’t going to be able to kill del Rio right then and there. Not outnumbered seven to one. But his time was coming. Even if Dave couldn’t be the one to pull the trigger and kill the man, he knew it would be done.

Dave had unearthed a few pictures of del Rio on the internet, but none had managed to capture the evil that seemed to ooze from the man’s very being. He wasn’t terribly tall, probably around five-eight or -nine. He had brown hair and brown eyes. His skin was dark and wrinkled. Del Rio was said to be in his early fifties, and looking at him, Dave had to agree with that assumption. He wore a pair of jeans, a holster with a pistol around his waist, and a long-sleeve, dark-red button-down shirt, and he walked with a swagger that came from years of arrogance and getting his own way.

He walked around the desk and sat in the chair. One guard stood by the door, and the other settled near the back corner of the desk, near del Rio. The four men who’d dragged Dave up the stairs stayed, all standing around his chair. The pistol was no longer being pointed at Dave’s head, but he knew without a doubt that if he made one wrong move, he’d get a bullet in his brain faster than he could lift a hand to protect himself.

With his own hands behind his head, del Rio leaned back as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Who are you, and why are you here?” del Rio asked in English.

Dave hadn’t known if the man could understand or speak English, though he’d had a hunch he could. A man didn’t come to have as much power as del Rio without knowing how to threaten people in more than one language. He wouldn’t be surprised if the asshole knew other languages as well.

It was also a bullshit question. Del Rio knew exactly who he was and why he was there, at least in part.

“I’m here to take back what you stole from me,” Dave told him bluntly, figuring the man would appreciate him getting right to the point.

Del Rio shrugged. “Your woman made me a lot of money in the past, but she is of no use to me anymore,” he said lazily. “I wasn’t concerned that you were fucking her and her friends. But now she’s brought trouble . . . and it’s time for her to disappear.”

That pissed Dave off even more. Raven was more than a means to an end, and he definitely didn’t like del Rio’s threat. “Then let me go, and we’ll leave Peru never to return,” Dave told him. “In fact, we were planning on heading out tomorrow, so if you’ll just drop me off, I can finish making my plans, and we’ll be out of here.”

Del Rio chuckled. “I don’t think so,” he said menacingly. “Especially not when you seem to have plans to take what doesn’t belong to you.”

Dave’s eyes narrowed. “The boy is more my son than you’ll ever know.”

“Here’s the thing,” del Rio said. “I’ve got plans for that boy.”

“Fuck you and your plans,” Dave bit out.

But the other man didn’t take offense. He laughed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him. “But you didn’t ask what my plans were.”

“I know all about you and your fucking plans,” Dave told him.

“I don’t think you know as much as you think you do. Do you know about the stash house I own, filled to the brim with bastard children of the whores who work for me? As far as the government knows, it’s an orphanage, and I’m an angel for those poor, unwanted children. I help find them homes where they’ll be very loved for as long as their new families want them.”

Dave’s face betrayed nothing. He refused to show an ounce of disgust toward the evil man in front of him.

“No response to that, huh?” del Rio asked. “Then how about this—I’ve decided to keep little David for myself.”

At hearing that, Dave couldn’t help but flinch slightly.

But del Rio saw, and smiled wider. “I’m going to need a successor someday. Someone to take over for me when I decide to retire. And David, with his striking blue eyes and his adorable dimple, was just too beautiful for me to give up. So I spared him from the life those other brats live. He’s gotten the best upbringing money can buy. He’ll be educated, and I’ve even allowed his mom to visit, to teach him English . . . such a handy skill to have in my line of work, don’t you think?

“But it’s time his coddling is over. He needs to grow up. He’s starting to learn that I’m in charge. Before too long, I’ll introduce him to the joys of sexual pleasure. He’ll quickly learn that doing exactly as I say will go better for him than fighting. I haven’t had my own plaything in quite a while, and I’m looking forward to grooming him to please me—and only me.”

Dave felt sick, his stomach roiling violently. Not only was del Rio planning to abuse his son, but he would groom him to be as evil as himself.