One down, six to go.
The Crowe brothers nodded in unison. “We believe her.”
Ethan and Merc followed suit, as did Ranger and Aaron. Hunter was the last to give her a begrudging nod. “Okay.”
Okaywas the most noncommittal word he could’ve come up with, but at this point Mack would take what he could get. “Good, we are in agreement.”
All eight of his men nodded again and Mack relaxed. He didn’t want to admit it, but their opinion of Marley mattered to him. They were his family.
He wanted to put his arm around Marley and pull her close, but the defiant set to her shoulders told him she wouldn’t welcome his touch in front of his men. She had too much pride, but that was a good thing. She’d need some stubbornness to deal with his crew, and if they were going to have a future together she’d be dealing with them for a long time.
Hunter and Ranger James were the most suspicious of their bunch, so it didn’t surprise him that they’d been last to voice their grudging approval. The others were slightly more trusting. Merc didn’t really have an opinion about anything except killing, which he enjoyed. And Reaper—
“Where is Reaper?”
Merc finally spoke up. “We lost him in the gunfight. Figured he’d show up with you two.”
“We haven’t seen anyone before now. Do you think the soldiers got him?” They’d have to track down the guerrilla camp and rescue Reaper. Crap. That would put them another two to three days, at least, behind schedule.
Hoyt shook his head. “Jared and I tracked them back to their camp to make sure they didn’t get any of you. Reaper wasn’t there.”
Shit.
“He’s going after his team alone.” Mack paced across the small opening in front of his men. “I knew we couldn’t trust that scary bastard.”
And that didn’t rule out the possibility that Reaper would warn Mankel of their location in the jungle. Dammit. “I shouldn’t have let him come.”
Merc crossed his arms over his massive chest, towering above each and every man around him. “He won’t warn Mankel. He’s going after his team. It’s exactly what I would do.”
Mack paused in his pacing to stare at Merc. He was the one with the closest connection to Reaper. “I hope you’re right. But we have to operate from here forward under the assumption that Mankel knows we are still alive.”
Hunter pulled out a large topographic map and spread it out on the ground. “Then we need to plot a course out of here ASAP. This is our current location.” Hunter pointed to a spot on the map. There was nothing but trees and mountains for miles around them. It would take them days to walk out of this place.
“This looks like the fastest route out, but it’s pretty rough terrain.” Hunter glanced up at Marley.
Every man here could handle rough terrain, but Marley might not. She cast a questioning look in Mack’s direction and then hesitantly approached the group, kneeling across from Hunter over the map. Mack crowded in close, needing to be close to her.
“I plotted the flight path to Cameroon. There’s a small airport here.” Marley touched a point on the map about ten klicks from their location.
“There’s nothing marked,” Mack said, frowning.
“It wouldn’t be marked. It’s a relatively new airport set up by the CIA. Gives them easier access to the locals.”
Mack had never heard of an airport in this jungle. He searched Marley’s expression, but she’d gone blank, completely unreadable. Her emotions always showed on her face . . .
The back of Mack’s neck tingled.
Hunter quickly plotted the route from their current location to the one Marley had indicated. “That’s doable. We could get there in a day and a half, tops. We can contact Agent K when we get there and get a ride out of this place pronto.” Hunter gave Marley a begrudging nod. “Good idea, Captain.”
Marley got to her feet and brushed her hands down her legs, not meeting Hunter’s gaze when she answered. “Thank you. Just doing my job.”
Mack studied the map again. He had also studied their flight path before leaving. Why wouldn’t he have ever seen or heard anything about this secret airport? His neck tingled again, and he scrubbed his hand over the spot, trying to get that nagging feeling to go away.
Everyone else seemed to accept the idea without hesitation. Maybe he should do the same. Marley had probably studied the flight path more than he had, since she was, after all, the pilot. She might be privy to special information.
“What’s everyone standing around for? Let’s roll out.” Riser hefted his backpack onto his shoulders. Mack gave himself an internal shake. If it hadn’t been for Marley’s quick thinking on the plane, his entire team would be dead. She was good at her job. She was thorough. He could trust her.
Maybe his instincts were firing off about Reaper . . . “Let’s go.”
His men filed out in a single line with Marley at their rear and Mack right behind her. She kept pace with his men without complaint, and they were moving fast, much faster than Mack had pushed her.
