Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(54)

They’d all known del Rio was evil, that he used and abused both women and children, but this was too much.

Not going to happen. No fucking way.

“I see this kind of thing isn’t your kink, which is neither here nor there,” del Rio continued with a smirk. “For a long time, I simply took what I wanted . . . workers for my compound here, but also children to sell to the more discerning buyer. But I’ve found it’s much easier to snatch women than children. People care more about the little ones. But then I realized that I had my own baby factory right here under my roof! It’s been more profitable than you could ever imagine.”

“I can pay,” Dave told the man. “Whatever you want. For the boy.”

“Weren’t you listening?” del Rio asked coldly. “I don’t want your money. I want the boy. He’ll be my plaything, then my successor. I’m going to train him to be even more ruthless than I am. He’ll eventually take over my empire, and the del Rio name will be spoken with fear and reverence for decades to come.”

“Why?” Dave asked in disgust. “Why do this? There are plenty of women who are actually willing to work in the sex trade. The women you keep locked up here have families who love them. They had lives before you so ruthlessly tore them away from everything they know.”

“Because I can,” del Rio said simply. “Because women are slime. They’ll open their legs to anyone as long as it gets them what they want. Money, food, prestige. They’re nothing. Men are superior in every way, and women need to learn that.”

Dave had no response. The man sitting so calmly in front of him was insane. Not only that, but he didn’t have a compassionate bone in his body.

“I’m not going to let you take my successor, my son, away from me,” del Rio finished, lifting his chin.

Dave saw the subtle signal to one of the men standing behind him, but before he could do a damn thing about it, a stun gun was thrust into his side.

Letting out a loud shout, Dave couldn’t control his muscles. He fell off the chair onto the floor, and still the man held the device against him. Electrical currents ran through his body, and all Dave could do was convulse on the expensive carpet.

Del Rio stood, the chair he’d been in creaking with his movements, and approached as Dave writhed in pain at his feet. He couldn’t defend himself. Couldn’t do anything but watch as del Rio said something to the guards. Then, without a backward glance, the most notorious and evil sex trafficker Dave had ever run across turned and left the library, his two bodyguards following without any kind of expression on their faces.

The men who’d grabbed him from his car on the street spoke among themselves, then looked down at him. One pulled out a knife, and Dave shuddered as it gleamed in the bright lights of the room.

Dave closed his eyes as one man pressed the Taser against his body again, rendering him physically unable to protect himself.

The other man pulled Dave’s head back, exposing his neck.

Refusing to shut his eyes, Dave glared at the man closest to him, even as he fought against the paralyzing effects of the current flowing through his body.

He thought about Raven. How upset she’d be when he never returned to pick her up.

Del Rio was the devil incarnate. And Dave was just a man. A desperate man who’d wanted to do whatever it took to ease the agony in his woman’s eyes . . . but now he’d never get the chance.



Dave had no idea what time it was when consciousness returned. He was lying in what he assumed to be the trunk of a car. Lifting a hand, he touched his neck and winced when he felt wetness there.

But he was alive. Whatever had happened while he’d been unconscious hadn’t been lethal. Either the men were incompetent, or they planned to torture him further when they reached their destination.

The car slowed, then stopped, and Dave shut his eyes, deciding to gather as much information about his situation as he could before he acted. A stench unlike anything he’d ever smelled before wafted to his nostrils, but he didn’t move or otherwise react.

The lid of the trunk lifted, and he listened as two men talked in Spanish. After a couple minutes, Dave felt hands on him. He kept his body limp, making his deadweight difficult to move. The men grunted and swore as they did their best to lift him out of the trunk of the car. He kept his muscles loose and managed to hold back a groan when they finally just pulled him over the lip of the trunk and let gravity do the rest of the work. His head hit the ground hard when he rolled out of the car.

There was more discussion between the men, then they each grabbed hold of one of his ankles and attempted to drag him somewhere. The ground he was being towed over was bumpy and damp. It smelled like a combination of rotting flesh and human feces. But still he didn’t move.

With one last grunt from one of the men, they let go of his ankles, and his legs fell limply to the ground once more. Dave was preparing to leap up and fight . . .

But nothing happened.

When it sounded like the men were moving away, Dave risked opening his eyes to a squint to check out his situation.

If the men were going back to the car to get a weapon or something, he’d have to move . . . but he hesitated. He wanted to jump up and attack them, then steal the car, but he felt light-headed and sick, probably from loss of blood and the way they’d pumped him full of electrical current.

As he debated if he had the strength for a sneak attack, Dave watched in disbelief as they started the car and drove away.