26
It tookevery single ounce of Marley’s willpower to remain silent. She wanted so badly to touch Riser and ask him what he thought was going on. Was Mack safe? What about his teammates? The man this Jack Mankel had sent to kill them had to be deadly. At least he would be if this Mankel had one iota of a brain cell in his evil head. Marley had already known Mack’s team was efficient and deadly, but they seemed to move like deadly ghouls through the night. She couldn’t imagine anyone surviving a coordinated attack by these men.
And thank God for that. Maddie’s life depended on them.
Marley shivered, her fear a real-live monster eating at her insides. She couldn’t think about her daughter now. The threat to Maddie stole her breath and her ability to think. Marley needed her wits about her; she would need to be aware in case their ambush failed and they were attacked.
Whether Mack liked it or not, she’d be going in to help if she sensed they were failing.
Riser put his hand on her forearm and Marley jumped, biting her tongue to keep from crying out in surprise. She had dug so deep into her own thoughts—dark thoughts about Mack coming to harm, about someone hurting Maddie—she’d lost touch with reality. Riser gave her a questioning thumbs-up, asking her if she was okay.
Marley nodded and hugged her knees tighter to her chest. Of course, she wasn’t okay. Maybe she’d never be.
What she wouldn’t give to go back twenty-four hours and redo her decision to keep the threat from Mack. She should’ve told him about the text immediately. She should have told him everything.
And she had. Only she’d been a day too late. Men like Mack Grey didn’t forgive betrayals like that. Ever. They certainly didn’t forgive people who risked the lives of their men.
Did that mean she should just give up? Mack was her first chance at a happy relationship in years. He had a child of his own; he should have a little compassion and understanding for her plight. Jack Mankel threatened her daughter’s life. How could Mack not understand her confusion and terror?
The fact that Marley had even considered leading them blindly into a trap made her stomach churn, but part of her had known all along that she would ultimately wind up telling him the truth.
There was a brushing sound, and Marley lifted her head to see Mack—as if she’d summoned him. Only he was dragging a man out of a nearby bush. He shoved him toward the same tree trunk Marley had been leaning on and she quickly scrambled out of the way.
There was a feral gleam in Mack’s eyes as he held his knife to the man’s throat. And she thought he was cold before? Now Mack appeared to be more deadly than any other living, breathing human being. The other man was close enough that they were practically touching. She saw a line of blood trickle from his neck as Mack pressed his blade closer to his skin. Marley shivered.
The sweet, caring man she’d come to know was gone and a surge of guilt mixed in with her fear because she knew part of it was her fault.
“You’re going to tell me exactly where that bastard is hiding.” Every single muscle down Mack’s arm popped; another trickle of blood escaped from beneath the blade. The man’s eyes widened fractionally, but he kept his lips firmly closed.
Not good.
Mack snarled, yanked the blade from the man’s throat, and shoved it deep into his thigh. Marley gasped with shock. She’d known denying Mack an answer was stupid, but this? The man gurgled and screamed and grabbed his leg. “Bastard!”
With the same amount of incendiary heat as before, Mack ripped the blade from the man’s leg, pulling out another scream of pain from him, and then pressed the knife back to his throat. Teeth bared, he asked, “Where is he?”
“Tanzania. On the south side of the big lake.”
That’s near where the men had originally planned to drop. Mankel had been so confident he’d take out Mack’s team that he hadn’t bothered to move. For a smart man, he was really dumb. Even Marley realized Mack’s team was nearly unstoppable.
“And the girl?” Mack’s harsh words yanked Marley back to the here and now.
Marley scrambled, ignoring the hate that spewed in her direction from Mack as she shoved up beside the villain. “Where is she? Do you have her? You better not have hurt her, or I swear to God I’ll kill you myself.” Marley shook with the urge to do him harm, barely able to restrain herself.
The man’s eyes darted back and forth between Mack and Marley, his eyes filling with confusion, fear, and then recognition. Oh, Christ, they did have Maddie. Bile rushed up her throat so fast she had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from puking.
The man licked his lips, covered in dirt and blood, and said, “The blonde? She’s subterranean. Haven’t seen her since they brought her in. We’re not allowed below first floor.”
A dizzying wave crushed her, making the task of staying upright on her knees nearly impossible. “Subterranean?”
For the first time in hours, Mack’s gaze softened. “He’s talking about the girl we were sent to rescue. Caroline. They have an underground bunker.”
Relief rushed through Marley’s veins and she swayed, not caring if anyone here saw her weakness. Oh, God, did that mean Maddie was safe? What about this poor girl, Caroline? Was Mankel still taking her blood? Would he do it until she died?
She had to ask again. “What about Maddie? What about my daughter?”
“Don’t know anything about a kid, lady. Just here to kill grown men. Don’t do children.” The man’s words were punctuated by an honest sincerity. Marley grabbed a hold of it and held on tight. She wanted his words to be true more than she wanted to breathe. Mack gave her a nod and she collapsed back onto her heels.
“Now, if you want to live, you radio your boss and tell him that you got us.” Mack kept the blade pressed against the man’s neck. The assassin swallowed, and tears pricked his eyes when the blade dug into his Adam’s apple.
