24
Marley kneeled at his feet, tears streaking down her face, her eyes wide and pleading, the picture of a tormented mother. And he didn’t believe one fucking word coming out of her mouth.
“Get off me.”
A blinding rage fueled by indescribable hurt ripped through his body, making him feel like his spinal cord was being ripped in half. He’d trusted her. He’d saved her life. And the whole time she’d been playing him like a fool.
“I should have listened to my men. I was blinded by a pair of nice tits and a round ass.” Mack’s throat closed off like a vice, making it impossible to get out another word, so he just shook his head, the phone burning a hole through his palm.
“Mack, please. He’s threatening Maddie, just look at the phone.”
His fingers flinched reflexively and nearly crushed the phone in his hand. Mack took a deep breath, trying to force himself to calm down, but the oxygen only fueled the fire burning through his veins.
“You are good, I’ll give you that. You played the mommy bit to perfection. You’re not even in the Air Force, are you?” Mankel must’ve trained her for a long time to earn such blind devotion from her. Her act hadn’t cracked, not once. Tears continued to pour straight down her face and his stomach roiled. “Let go of me before I put a fucking gun to your head.” He’d never harm her like that, but he wanted her to feel just a little bit of the pain he did. The raw acid she had poured over what little bit of his soul he had left.
“You wouldn’t do that.” There was a thread of worry in her voice.
“You might’ve fooled me, but I wasn’t acting, Marley. You should have noticed by now; I don’t have a problem with killing people I don’t care about.”
Marley flinched and his heart clenched in response. Dammit. Even though the truth had finally slapped him over the head with a ten-pound hammer, he still had concern for her feelings. He was more fucked up than he’d thought.
“You don’t mean that. Just look at the phone. I . . . I was coming to tell you about the messages. To ask for your help.”
Mack squatted, forcing Marley’s arms off his calf muscles. She just clung to his ankles instead. The fury in his veins turned to ice and he slipped a finger under her chin, holding her face a few inches from his. “I wouldn’t help you if you were on fire right now. You are dead to me.”
A fresh wave of tears spilled over her eyes and Mack had to clench his jaw to keep from swiping a thumb over her cheek to wipe them away. He needed to get away from this woman; he had to clear his head. She’d so completely distracted him, he’d been ready to go off mission and drive her back to her daughter himself. And Mack had thought he had Mankel figured out after all this time. He’d never seen her coming.
“I don’t care about me,” Marley said in a soft voice. “Just my daughter. You have to save her.”
Her words gave him the briefest pause before he shut off his reaction. Another lie. She was going to fly this one out until the end. Mack put his hands on his knees and stood, that little movement using all his energy. “Get away from me. You’re safer with the men than you are with me.”
“Mack, please. Look at the messages. You’ll see.”
“I said, let go.” He didn’t shout or yell—his voice actually got softer with every word. But if she didn’t get away from him right now he might actually snap. He’d never been so close to committing violence toward a woman in his life, but no matter how badly she’d hurt him, he’d still rather chop off his own hand than harm her physically.
Marley’s arms dropped from his ankles and she let her head fall to the earth, her quiet sobs rending the night air. Every whimper, every crack in her voice was another knife to his heart.
He gave her his back, unable to stare at her like that, inconsolable, without lifting her into his arms. God, he was so stupid. This is why he hadn’t been in a relationship since Barbara. His emotions were a tool to be used against him. Marley was a means of revenge.
But a niggling doubt had wiggled its way into his thoughts. What if she was telling the truth? Mankel wasn’t above using someone’s child against them as leverage. Maybe he should look at the phone . . .
Mack heard a rustling behind him and spun to see Marley making a run for it into the jungle. With a feral smile he launched after her, his legs pumping with adrenaline as he closed the distance between them within seconds. He threw her to the ground beneath him. Marley fought wild and hard, coming at him with a right hook, which he blocked easily, and then a left. That one glanced off his chin, but he twisted her arms over her head and shoved his knees between hers so she couldn’t get in a kick to his groin. An almost animal-like ferocity filled his being. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
Marley tossed her head from side to side, avoiding his gaze and bucking up, trying to toss him off her. The movement only brought her heat into contact with his crotch. His cock got hard instantly, his treacherous body still responding to her.
Marley froze, her eyes going wide.
“That’s right, honey, keep struggling. It feels good.”
Marley’s nostrils flared, she heaved, and then all at once her body seemed to deflate beneath his in surrender. Fresh tears in her eyes, she turned her head, robbing him of her gaze.
Mack’s hard-on disappeared instantly at the sight of her tears. Dammit. What the hell was wrong with him? She’d hurt him and he should want to hurt her back. The sight of her tears should give him joy, not anguish.
Angry at himself, Mack shoved up from the ground and yanked her up with him, keeping her hands caged in one of his, her cell phone was still gripped in the other. “Try that again and I’ll hogtie you.”
He waited on her answer but none came; she just continued to keep her face averted and her shoulders slumped. Mack turned, intending to drag her back to camp, but Marley began struggling again, wildly trying to yank away from his arms.
He easily subdued her, squeezing her wrists until she cried out and stopped. “What the hell is wrong with you? You lost. Your only hope of surviving this trip is my mercy—and every time you fight me that mercy dies just a little bit more.”
