Her hair was knotted and messy, her throat and the side of her face were red. A small trickle of blood had dried at the corner of her mouth. Her shirt was torn at the top, hanging open down the center nearly to her navel. The red haze returned, a rage beyond anything he had ever felt before took hold of him. He hadn’t even been this furious when Mankel had tried to take out his team. They were warriors, trained and armed men who could fight their own battles. Marley had been trained, but she was tiny and fragile and breakable.
Staying in a crouch, Mack eased a little closer. Her breathing hitched and she strangled out his name, “Mack.” And then she launched herself into his arms, wrapping herself around him and sobbing.
Mack buried his face in her hair, reveling in the feel of her warm body against his because it was another reminder that she was still alive. He held her like that, kneeling in the cave with the dead body behind him, until her sobs subsided. He made himself a silent promise that he would get her out of this jungle alive and return her to her daughter even if he had to die doing it.
“Where are you hurt?”
Marley sniffled and leaned back. Mack held on to her, keeping her close for his own sanity.
“Not hurt really. I don’t know why I did that. Sorry.” She wiped her face, trying to dry the wet tears from her cheeks, smearing the dirt on her face and drawing his attention to her busted lip. Mack had to clamp his jaw against a rush of icy rage.
“Don’t you dare apologize. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“See what?”
“See me kill him.”
Marley’s head jerked up and fire flashed in her eyes. “Don’t be. He needed to die.”
Marley gathered her shirt together in a failed attempt to cover herself. At least she no longer seemed frightened; he could deal with her anger, not her fear.
“Let me help. The shirt won’t stay together like that.” Mack pulled out his knife, waited until Marley’s hands fell away, and then finished cutting open the fabric of her shirt. Once he’d done that, he quickly tied together the ends in a large knot between her breasts, covering them up but leaving her stomach revealed. “That will work for now. You can put your flight suit back on to cover up your exposed skin and protect you from the elements.”
Mack got to his feet and—without asking—cupped her elbows to help her stand, holding on to her until she was stable.
She pulled free from his grasp. “I can stand on my own, thank you.”
He sighed. Her prickly heat had returned. “It’s okay, Marley. You were attacked, it’s normal to be a little off-balance.”
Her chin jutted up to show him the simmering fire flickering across her face. “I’m fine.”
She contradicted that show of proud anger by glancing uncertainly at the dead man on the floor. In a short time, Marley had come to realize she valued self-sufficiency and strength and that soldier had nearly taken that away from her. If she needed to take a few jabs at Mack to recover, he didn’t mind.
“Okay, then get dressed. I spied my men about three klicks out. Let’s get the hell out of this jungle.”
