But Mack cut him off with a sharp slice of his hand in the air. “I know what you think, and I don’t blame you for it. But it’s my job to protect everyone in this group, whether you want it or not.”
“I’d like to hear what happened up there, if it’s all the same. Not saying I blame the lady, but information is power. She might’ve seen something that can help us,” Hoyt said.
Everyone turned to her and Marley recoiled. God, she should have never taken this mission. Sexy colonel or not.
She sought Mack’s comforting gaze, but his expression had fallen into that cold mask he was so proficient at utilizing. Any single one of these men as an individual was intimidating as hell, but the collective put Satan himself to shame.
So, what was she going to do? Stand here mute, like a scared little girl, or square up, like the soldier she’d been trained to be, and face them with the power of the truth?
She hadn’t done a damn thing wrong, and yet they all looked like they expected her to break into a confession that she’d worked for some man she’d never even heard of before today. What kind of insanity was that?
Hot anger flushed out the fear and Marley stopped backing away. “You are all crazy. You think I want to die? I don’t know about you, but I have a daughter to live for, and I would kill each and every one of you rather than take my own life and deprive her of her mother.”
Okay—not exactly the right thing to say, threatening to kill a group of elite operators when she only had a Beretta and one clip to defend herself. This whole fanatical situation had finally gotten to her. Her lack of reasoning robbed her mind of its ability to process thoughts logically and send them out of her mouth in a way that made any sort of coherent sense.
It didn’t help that everyone was staring at her like she was a serial killer—everyone except Riser and Mack. The hard line of Riser’s lips had lifted into a halfcocked smile once more.
Mack’s cold expression had changed too—but not in any positive direction as far as she could tell. It seemed that he was once again irritated with her.
Great, half the team wanted to kill her. Riser would probably laugh while they did it, and Mack would give them a relieved thumbs up as they finished her off.
“Look, we were at cruising altitude on autopilot. Before I knew what he was doing, Ramsey flipped off the pressure control. I blacked out right after that. When I woke up, he was gone and we were in an uncontrolled dive. I got the plane leveled out, and when I was coming back to check on y’all, I saw the bomb hidden on the other side of Ramsey’s seat.”
No one moved despite her detailed and level-headed explanation. But then again, what did she expect? The story sounded crazy to her own ears—how could she expect them to believe it?
“Sounds like something Mankel would do.” Mack scratched his beard, studying her intently.
“The bastard has always had a plan B. Look at Caroline and Nightshade,” Hunter said.
Merc seemed to bristle. “He kidnapped my wife and raised her like she was his own daughter, keeping her from her twin sister. And now that we’ve finally rescued Nightshade, Mankel kidnapped her sister. We’re on a mission to rescue Caroline now.”
“Mankel waited nearly twenty-six years to put his plan into action, plotting the whole time. I guarantee you he had the copilot plant the bomb in case the plane didn’t crash. It was his failsafe.”
The air in her lungs escaped in a whoosh. No wonder these men looked so lethal. If this Mankel guy had mistreated the people she loved that badly, she’d want to fight him to the death. So, what did it mean now that they were stuck in the middle of the Congo without resources? “Can we still make it in time to save her?”
It was Mack who spoke this time, the irritation and whatever else he’d directed toward her deflating. For the first time she saw weariness in his expression. “I hope so. According to what we found out, he’s using Caroline and her blood to create more soldiers like this guy.” Mack hooked a thumb in Reaper’s direction.
Confused, Marley said, “What does her blood have to do with making a soldier?”
“Nightshade and Caroline’s mother worked with Mankel to create a protein-binding synthetic serum to enhance a person’s physical abilities. It would give a trained operative an edge over even the best soldiers.”
“Wait, you’re telling me this guy is using Caroline’s blood to make more of him?” Marley pointed at Reaper.
“Exactly,” Mack said.
“And what does he intend to do with these soldiers?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“Sell them to the highest bidder.” Mack’s voice was as flat and hard as the man himself.
Gunfire erupted around them and Mack dove for Marley.
