18
Marley was staringup at him with such open trust, Mack would rather stab himself in the chest than let her down. What would a future between them look like?
He wasn’t a young man. He had a grown son who wanted nothing to do with him and a job that had already destroyed the one other relationship he’d had in his life. The Special Forces hadn’t changed in the past ten years. He’d still be gone on missions with no contact with the outside world – a situation that wasn’t exactly conducive to building the budding bond between him and Marley.
Except he’d been toying with the idea of retiring after he killed Mankel.
He’d put in over twenty years and sacrificed everything in his personal life for the military. Maybe it was time for him to slow down, back off and learn to relax a little. If only he knewhowto relax. He tried to picture a normal life but the only images popping in his mind were of hallmark commercials and he’d seen enough warfare in his life to know that shit was made up.
Hell, he’d seen enough damage with his first wife and son to know that. Just thinking about going through any kind of personal hell like that again made him cringe. He’d abandoned Barb and his son and look where that had gotten him. A dead wife and a son who pretended like Mack didn’t exist.
He’d failed at his most important mission.
So he’d given up on personal relationships of any kind – dogs, cats, people. He’d consciously put that world behind him and focused on the only thing he was good at – killing assholes around the world who wanted to terrorize his country.
Despite knowing all of this, Marley made him want to try again. When he’d stood on that cliff this morning, hehadbeen able to picture a future with her, kid and all. The thought should terrify him. He’d screwed up with his son in a completely irreparable way, what the hell would he do with a little girl?
What if he talked too harshly to her and made her cry? Mack snorted at the thought, if her daughter was anything like Marley she’d tell him to get bent. And he would love it.
Instead of leading the way, which would mean giving Marley his back, he threaded his fingers through hers and pulled her along with him, wanting to keep this connection between them. Needing to feel her soft skin.
At this rate he’d be proposing before sundown. Barbara had always said he couldn’t live without someone taking care of him. Mack stumbled, caught off guard by the thought. To his surprise, he didn’t feel the sucker punch of pain and guilt that usually accompanied thoughts of Barbara.
“Tell me about your daughter,” he said, squeezing Marley’s hand.
“Maddie?”
“Maddie and Marley? They go together.” Mack pushed aside a long leaf the size of his entire body so that Marley could step around it.
“Her official name is Madison, but Maddie fits her personality. I’m partial, but she’s perfect.”
There was a note of sadness mixed in with Marley’s voice. “I’m going to get you back to her. I promise.”
“I know you will.”
They continued their trek in silence for the next thirty minutes or so, fighting vegetation that was so thick in places Mack had to take the knife from Marley to cut their way through. Strange animals he’d never seen or heard of watched them from the trees and bushes. He spied a tiny river in the distance that they’d have to cross en route to his team. Mack had water purification tablets, and he planned to refill their supply. Maybe he could even catch a fish.
His earlier estimate to arrive before nightfall had been based on his ability to travel fast and alone.
From Marley’s stubborn jaw set, she wouldn’t admit when she was too exhausted to keep going, so he’d have to force her to stop. Her courage and strength amazed him. Most women would be in hysterics now, blubbering and sobbing or screaming every time the bushes moved next to them. She kept her chin up, knife in hand, ready for an attack. She wasn’t a hindrance after all. No, Marley Mitchell was an asset.
“Mack, thank you.”
She kept walking, her eyes straight ahead, her soft hand in his.
“For what?”
“For saving me back there, in the cave, if you hadn’t been there, that guy would have—” her voice cracked.
The rage from earlier returned instantly, that red haze clouding his vision again. If he had arrived even a minute later…He should’ve known better than to leave her alone. Damn, he wanted to go back and kill that bastard again.
“Mack?”
He realized he had never answered her. Idiot. Mack cleared his throat and said, “You’re welcome.”
They plodded along in silence again, only this time it held an awkwardness, not an easy peace, prompting Mack to try to fill the gap. “So tell me more about Maddie. How old is she? What does she like to do?”
Marley emitted a loving glow when she started talking about her daughter. A mother’s love was so deep and true, so beautiful in and of itself.
