Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(89)

Raven pulled back and turned to stare at Dave. “Oh my God . . . is it true? Is he really dead? Are we really free?”

Dave pulled his wife against his side, thankful that she no longer flinched when he moved too fast or when he hugged her. “If it’s on the news, it’s got to be true,” he told her.

“I can’t believe it. I . . . intellectually, I knew I was safe here. I mean, he’s all the way down there in Peru, and I’m here, but a part of me couldn’t relax. He got to me when I was in Vegas. I wasn’t sure if he was so pissed we got away that he wouldn’t send someone to grab me and David again. But . . . if it’s really true . . . we can truly relax! You don’t think someone else would come up here to get revenge, do you?” she asked, her voice quivering just a bit.

“No way, sweetheart. As the lady on the news said, everyone is going to be way too busy trying to cover their asses or to rise to the top of the pile to worry about you. Or me. Or David.” He kissed her temple. “And you’re right. We’re free. Free to live our lives the way we should’ve been doing for the last ten years. To be happy. To watch our son grow and thrive. To hang out with our friends and laugh about the silliest things.”

He was ready to console Raven if she cried, but he shouldn’t have been surprised when she sat up next to him with a radiant smile. Not a tear in sight. “I know it’s wrong to celebrate the death of another human being, but I don’t care. Do we have any ice cream left, or did David eat it all tonight?”

Dave smiled back. “I may or may not have hidden a pint in the back of the freezer so he wouldn’t find it and beg to have ‘one more scoop.’”

Raven laughed, the sound so carefree. “You know our son well.”

Dave’s heart felt as if it was going to burst. “Yes, I do,” he agreed. Then he stood and pulled Raven to her feet next to him. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and they walked to the kitchen together. He pulled out the pint of double chocolate chunk with caramel swirl, his wife’s current favorite, while she got two spoons. They headed out to the balcony, and Dave pulled her onto his lap.

They were both lost in their own thoughts as they took turns dipping into the ice cream container and gazing up at the stars.

“Thank you for not giving up trying to find me,” Raven said after a long moment.

“Thank you for not giving up,” Dave retorted.

Later, after they’d finished the ice cream, they headed to the master bedroom and, as they had every night for the last two months, got ready for bed, then snuggled together under the covers.

“Dave?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“I’m not ready right now, but . . . one night, I’m gonna want you to make love to me.”

Once again, Dave felt as if his heart was gonna bust out of his chest. He was so proud of his wife. She was the bravest and strongest person he’d ever met in his life.

He didn’t want to belittle her bravery by telling her he didn’t need sex. So he simply said, “All right, love.”





Three Months after Returning Home


Dave sat at a table in the back room of The Pit and looked at the men of Mountain Mercenaries. They’d asked if they could meet with him, and of course he’d agreed. He enjoyed sitting here with them rather than talking to them on the phone anonymously, as he’d done before they’d found out he was their handler, Rex.

Like the no-nonsense man he was, Gray cleared his throat and got to the point. “We’ve been discussing it for a while, and we’d like to see if you’d consider having the Mountain Mercenaries only take on domestic cases from this point forward.”

The request was blunt, and not entirely unexpected.

Dave knew his team extremely well. He’d been observing and leading them for years now. He’d sensed a change in their priorities, starting when Gray had first met Allye. He hadn’t been entirely pleased with the change, worried that it would hinder a rescue mission for his wife, if he ever found her. But after seeing for himself how dangerous things could be in overseas missions, he’d changed his mind.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know his men faced danger on every mission, but it was more than bullets and putting their lives on the line. It was dealing with language barriers, corruption, and even the threat of being thrown into some murky foreign prison with the key thrown away.

And they all had families to worry about now. Women and children who were counting on them and who loved them. The entire team had taken off the three months since they’d returned from Peru, and Dave had seen the difference it made in his men. They’d been more relaxed. Laughed more. Were less stressed.

Black had informed everyone that Harlow was pregnant, and both Meat and Arrow had gotten married. Calinda and Darby were growing like weeds, and at least once a day, one or more of the group stopped into The Pit to say hello to Raven and to talk.

Looking around at his men, Dave said, “Maybe it’s time to retire the Mountain Mercenaries.”

As if planned, all six men emphatically disagreed.

“No!”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Absolutely not!”

“We can’t disband!”

“What the fuck?”

“That’s not what we want!”