Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(87)

Dave walked up, shook her dad’s hand, and turned David to face them. “Champ, this is your grandmama and grandpapa.”

His eyes were wide. He looked at them, then at his mom, then back at Dave. “Really?”

“Really,” Dave reassured him.

David squirmed in his arms, and Dave leaned over to put him down. David ran right up to Justine and put his arms around her waist. He rested his head on her belly and said, “I’ve always wanted a grandmama!”

Mags saw her mom cry fresh tears at her son’s embrace. Then David let go and moved to stand in front of her dad. He looked up at him and smiled. “Hi! I’m David.”

“Hi, David. Did you have a good flight?”

It was the right thing to ask.

David nodded happily. “Yes! I’ve never been in a plane. I could almost reach out and touch the clouds! And the mountains looked so tiny, and we flew over the ocean! And I got to eat pretzels, and Mr. Meat even brought me some arroz con pollo to eat, and Mamá had her favorite, pollo empanada. Papá and our friends all ate hamburgers. And when we landed, the plane was going so fast. Zoooooom!” He made a swooshing motion with his hand to demonstrate exactly how fast he thought they’d been going.

Mags watched as her dad crouched down in front of him. “Yeah? That fast?”

David nodded. Then he tilted his head and looked at his new grandpapa closely. “Mamá got lost. Then she had me, and Papá found us.”

“Yes, he did. And I can never thank him enough for that,” her dad said, his voice breaking.

Then, as if David had just needed to say the words out loud to his new grandparents and have them verified, he nodded and turned back to Dave.

Her husband leaned down and picked him back up.

“Someday I’m gonna have arms like tree trunks, just like my papá,” David declared loud enough for everyone around them to hear.

Everyone chuckled, and Mags leaned into Dave, putting her arm around his waist. She looked around at all the people smiling at her and relaxed. She’d imagined what this would feel like so many times, but had no idea how soul-deep amazing it would actually be.

She was finally home. And nothing had ever felt better.



That night, after going to Gray and Allye’s house for an impromptu welcome-home party, and after David fell asleep on the way to the apartment in the new car seat Meat had purchased, and after Raven and David had inspected his apartment from top to bottom, and after they’d all piled into the king-size bed in the master bedroom, Dave watched his wife and son sleep.

For the first time in ten years, he felt as if he could finally breathe. He knew where his wife was. She was right here. Next to him. She wasn’t a victim. No way. She was a survivor. She’d gone through experiences that had broken others. She’d been battered and beaten and stomped into the dirt time and time again. But she’d risen each and every time, stronger and more determined to survive anything and everything del Rio and his followers had thrown at her.

Not wanting to leave them for even a second, but knowing he had one more thing to do before he could finally let go of the rage and hatred he had in his heart for the man who’d taken what didn’t belong to him, what he had no right to take, Dave silently slipped out of bed, careful not to jostle either his wife or son.

He picked up an untraceable satellite phone he’d received from one of his contacts in the FBI and padded out of his bedroom. He walked over to the balcony and opened the sliding glass door. He could see Pikes Peak from his apartment, and usually the view soothed him. He couldn’t see it in the night sky, but even if he could, he wouldn’t have paid it any attention tonight.

He dialed a number he’d committed to memory a year or so ago and held the phone up to his ear.

“Silverstone Towing. How can I help you?”

“This is Rex. I have a job for you.”

“Rex! We haven’t heard from you in a while. Everything all right?”

“I found my wife,” Dave told the man on the other end of the line.

“Seriously? That’s fucking awesome!” The man paused, then asked, “Assuming this job has to do with that?”

“You’d assume right. Job’s in Peru. Lima, to be exact. That going to be a problem?” Dave asked.

“You know it’s not. Send over the details. We’ll take a look and see what we can do.”

“’Preciate it. And . . . I need you to make it hurt.”

The other man’s voice dropped. “Raven’s gonna be all right?”

“Eventually. But I need him to pay.”

“Done.”

“I owe you,” Dave told the man on the other end of the phone.

“Nope. This one’s on the house. Payback for all the times you’ve helped those who couldn’t help themselves.”

“Thanks.”

“If you’re ever in the Indianapolis area . . . and need a tow . . . we wouldn’t mind if you stopped by the shop.”

Dave chuckled. “Will do. Thanks.”

“Happy for ya, Rex. Seriously. We’ll take care of this. You just go live your life the way you haven’t been able to for the last ten years. All right?”

“I will. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Dave clicked off the phone and sighed. He felt not even a hint of guilt. In fact, his shoulders felt ten times lighter after making the call. He went back into his apartment and locked the sliding glass door behind him. Then he slipped into his bedroom and smiled at seeing his family still sleeping soundly. He climbed under the sheet and snuggled up against his wife’s back. She didn’t move, which showed exactly how tiring the last few days had been.