Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(66)
Ball nodded at Dave, letting him know that Black was done talking, and Dave returned the gesture. He quickly led Raven out of the hut—
And stopped in his tracks at the sight that greeted them.
It looked like half the barrio was gathered in the alley outside the hut. For a second, he tensed . . . but then some of the women came forward, talking to Raven. He could see their smiles in the low light of a couple nearby campfires. When he didn’t pick up any negative or hostile vibes, and when his wife didn’t seem scared, he dropped his arm from around her waist.
She slowly walked through the group, talking quietly. Dave stayed just behind her, ready to protect her if necessary, but he needn’t have worried. The crowd that had been listening to what was going on behind the metal door was obviously happy about it.
Meat and Ro were following closely behind Dave, and most of the people, after they’d spoken with Raven, thanked the three of them as well.
Sounds of “Gracias” and “Dios los bendiga” echoed around them as they headed down the alleyway toward the barrio exit.
“They’re saying Thank you and God bless you,” Raven said quietly after they’d left the group behind.
“I figured,” Dave said with a small smile. He wanted to stop and hug her. Reassure her that they’d soon have David back with them, but there wasn’t time. Now that they had a lead on where their little boy was, he needed to mobilize the Mountain Mercenaries and make a plan.
The men and women listening to the interrogation had seemed pleased, but all it would take was one of them slipping away to inform del Rio of what had happened.
Dave had made a mistake once by not rescuing David the very day he’d learned about him. He wasn’t going to fuck up a second time.
“So we can go and get David tonight?” she asked. “Now that we know where he is?”
Dave hurried them toward the barrio’s exit and the motel. He glanced at Meat and Ro, then said, “First of all, we aren’t going anywhere. There’s no way I’d take you to that barrio.”
“But—”
Dave cut her off. “No. No buts. I know you want to be there, but I swear on my life that I will never do anything ever again to put you in danger. I have a lot of guilt for not watching over you better in Vegas, and you’re going to have to put up with my being overly protective. Second of all, you’re my wife, not a member of my team. That’s a hard line for me. What I do as the leader of the Mountain Mercenaries doesn’t touch you. Ever. I realize this makes me sound like an asshole, but I need to know you’re safe. I won’t be able to function if I’m worried about where you are and if you’re okay. I need you to stay at the motel while I do this, Raven. If David is there, I’ll bring him back to you. I promise.”
He watched as Raven struggled between the need to argue to be there for her son and her desire to give him what he needed. He was completely humbled when she took a deep breath and nodded.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” she returned.
“And to answer your earlier question, we are absolutely going to get our son tonight. I’m not leaving him in that bastard’s grasp a second longer than I have to. Meat will stay at the motel with you and make the final arrangements to get the other women to the airport. I’m more than ready to get this done and get home.”
“What about the other kids?”
“Meat will continue to do what he can to find them as well. He was close to tracking them down before we left the motel. We won’t leave them defenseless. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but there are people here in Lima who care about those kids. Meat will get the info they need to get them out and hopefully into the homes of people who will treat them right,” Dave told her.
“Good,” Raven said softly.
Dave loved how tenderhearted Raven was. She was terrified for her own child, but she still had compassion for the other kids who were still out there, lost and alone. He put his arm around Raven and held her close to his side as they quickly made their way back to the motel.
It was closing in on midnight, but Dave didn’t feel the least bit tired. Meat agreed to stay and watch over Raven and wrap up loose ends while the team headed out to hopefully recover David.
Dave knew it would take a bit of time for Gray and the others to get back from the barrio, but as soon as they arrived, they’d head back out to find David. He was taking his son back tonight.
Chapter Fourteen
Dave stood behind five of the six men he trusted with his life, and waited for the signal from Gray to move out.
It hadn’t been easy to convince Raven to stay back at the motel with Zara, the other women, and Meat. He hadn’t wanted to leave them there alone, in case del Rio knew where they were staying and decided to go after them just to be even more of an asshole.
Daniela had also shown up at the motel to lend her support. Dave liked the feisty doctor. At first he wasn’t sure what to think of her. She was a little brusque, and he wasn’t sure she liked or approved of any of them. But after getting to know her, and hearing about how her own husband and son had been killed in an uprising in a barrio, he understood where some of her standoffishness came from.
Meat had tracked down two houses that were likely holding the children del Rio claimed to be keeping captive for “adoptions” from clients. The trustworthy Peruvian teams Dave had managed to procure were planning on hitting both houses at the same time that night. He was still searching for the names and addresses of anyone who might’ve bought a child so the authorities could track them down later.