Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(57)

A sound brought him out of his fog of anger. Dave looked in the direction it was coming from and saw a lone headlight coming toward the dump. A motorcycle or scooter.

Smiling, Dave reached down and picked up what probably used to be a pipe from a kitchen sink, as well as the bent knife he’d spotted earlier. He moved as quickly and silently as possible away from where he’d woken up and hid behind a pile of rotting garbage. He no longer even smelled the stench. He was completely focused on the man coming toward the dump.

The man parked the large scooter—and Dave immediately recognized him. It was the guard who’d looked so gleeful when his buddy was shocking him, the one who’d sliced his neck.

Furious, he knew he could easily end this man’s life right here and now and not feel an ounce of remorse . . . but he wouldn’t. Dave was no killer.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t hurt the man the same way he’d hurt him.

He shifted his grip on the knife, envisioning exactly what he was about to do. Dave didn’t know why the man had returned, possibly to make sure he was dead, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He had a chance to get some revenge, and hopefully a way out of the trash dump. He also had no idea where the other guard was or if he’d be joining his friend to finish the job they should’ve done earlier.

The man went straight to the spot where he and his friend had left Dave earlier that afternoon. When he didn’t find him, he growled something angrily in Spanish.

Dave quickly snuck up behind him and wrapped an arm around the smaller man’s throat before he even realized he wasn’t alone.

“Surprise, asshole,” Dave hissed, not caring that the man couldn’t understand.

The guard struggled in his grip, but Dave wasn’t about to let the man get the upper hand. He pressed his knife to the guy’s throat and quickly slashed him from ear to ear.

Del Rio’s man screamed and thrashed in his grip, making the cut deeper than Dave had planned. He’d just wanted to scare the man, to give him a scar that would forever remind him of the American he should’ve killed, but hadn’t. The man’s hands flew to his throat even as Dave spun him around. Before he could defend himself, Dave planted a hard fist in his face. He went down like a rock.

The man lay unconscious on the same pile of shit and trash that he’d left Dave in earlier. Quickly searching his pockets, Dave took what little money he found, along with the keys to the scooter. Then he stood, spat on the man, and turned his back without a second glance. He wasn’t too worried about the guy. If he bled out, he bled out . . . he wasn’t his concern. Only his wife and child mattered now.

Dave had no idea where he was, or how in the hell to get back to the motel, but he’d figure it out. The sky was already lightening, and the longer it took him to get back to Raven, and to get to David, the more danger they were all in.

Dave had a bad feeling he’d awoken the beast, and there was a possibility del Rio had already moved his son. The thought made his blood go cold, but it only strengthened his resolve. No one fucked with the leader of the Mountain Mercenaries. No one.



Mags was nervous. It was now morning, and there was still no sign of Dave. But it was time for her to go see her son.

Dave’s team was planning a morning raid on the house where David was being held. She wasn’t thrilled that her son would probably be traumatized by essentially being kidnapped from the home he’d lived in his entire life, but getting him away from del Rio was vital.

Today wasn’t one of her scheduled days to visit David. She was going to knock on the door with the ruse that she had been informed by someone in the barrio that del Rio had demanded her presence at the house. When the door was opened for her, the team would storm the house and rescue her son.

They were all stuffed into the remaining minivan, all seven of them, and Black had just finished telling her to act as if nothing was wrong and do whatever she could not to raise any suspicion. The team could probably get into the house even if the door wasn’t opened for her, but it would take longer, and del Rio’s goons inside could use that time to hurt David.

“Any questions?” Black asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

“Okay, just stay calm. You and David will be fine. I swear,” he said.

Mags appreciated his reassurance. They were obviously tense and looked dangerous as hell, but she felt safe around them. For a second, she wished she could stay in the van, but then she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. David would be scared to death if she wasn’t there and he was grabbed by strange men. She had to keep him calm.

“I’ve got this,” she said, more to herself than the others, but of course they all heard her anyway.

“Damn straight.”

“Of course you do.”

“Fuck yeah.”

Mags couldn’t help but smile at their responses. She liked these men. They were a little rough around the edges, but they obviously loved their girlfriends and wives and weren’t afraid to do what had to be done in order to keep those who were more vulnerable safe.

She climbed out of the van and headed the half mile down the street toward the house David lived in. She knew her husband’s friends were following her at a safe and discreet distance. It made her feel not so alone and bolstered her courage. She could do this. She was doing this. She’d been complacent for far too long. It was time to take her life back, and that of her son while she was at it. Worry for her husband still hammered at the back of her head, but at the moment, she had to concentrate on David. She hated having to choose, but knew he’d also tell her to put David first.