Mack stood at the top of the cliff, looking out over the vast, seemingly never-ending expanse of Congo. He had scaled the rest of the wall minutes before, leaving Marley in the safety of their cave. He needed to get to a high point to pin down their location, plus the location where his men had agreed to meet in case of a separation. After having to scatter and fight, his men would be working their way back to the pre-set meeting point. Hooking up with them was priority number one.

But he also needed some distance from Marley.

He couldn’t think straight when she was within ten feet. Those big brown eyes and perfect lips held his attention more than they should. She completely forgot her flight suit, and the form-fitting tank top and pants she had on underneath did nothing but accentuate every curve, leaving him panting like a randy teenager. Christ, his dick was getting hard again just thinking about her round ass and how wonderfully it filled his palms.

He’d taken her like an animal last night, leaving his mark on her, and then again this morning against the cave wall. And yet she didn’t despise him for it—in fact, she seemed to thrill in his touch.

It was so different to how Barbara had been. His former wife was all gentle lovemaking in the dark with the lights turned out and romance. Mack had always been afraid he’d break her somehow, so he’d handled her with kid gloves. The few women he’d had since then had been much the same.

But Marley took his rough caresses and moaned out her pleasure, leaving him fumbling around, trying to find solid ground when all he could think about was her wet heat.

Mack scanned the horizon, shading his eyes with his hand.

The thing was . . . it wasn’t just sex with Marley, mind-blowing as that was. He felt a deeper level of connection with her. He’d told her things he’d never imagined saying out loud.

And it was like opening up to her had healed some of the guilt and despair that were so deeply rooted in his soul they had become entrenched in every fiber of his being.

Until her.

Marley hadn’t looked at him with disgust or pity—she’d looked at him with understanding and compassion. She’d looked at him in a way that only someone who’d lost a loved one could.

He’d been shocked to realize she was a widow at such a young age. His initial thought had been a deadbeat dad or a divorce, not death. Part of him was glad that she didn’t have any bitterness from betrayal. She and Mack had both lost honorable and loving spouses years too early. And they both had children, Marley’s young daughter and Mack’s fully grown distant son.

They had plenty of common ground to build on when they got out of this mess. Where the hell had that thought come from? He didn’t have relationships. He didn’t even want relationships.

Mack caught a glint of light a couple of miles out on top of the trees. He squinted, wondering if maybe it had been a mirage. But then another glint flashed. And another. This was no figment of his imagination; the pattern was a code his team used. They’d wait until nightfall to make their approach.

He couldn’t wait to tell Marley that he’d found their target and he quickly descended his rappelling rope, hopping down the side of the cliff and into the mouth of the cave. “I’ve found them.”

“Mack!”

Ice-cold rage exploded through his body. There was a man on top of her, his hands pinning her to the ground as he ruthlessly tried to shove her legs apart with his knees. He took one look at Mack and scrambled off Marley, dragging her deeper into the darkness of the cave. She struggled, throwing an elbow and then a mule kick backward at her captor.

The man screamed in pain and threw her roughly to the ground. Marley grunted, and Mack heard her knees crack against the hard floor as she landed on all fours. Mack’s rifle lay propped against the edge of the cave, out of sight but too far away to do any help.

It was the soldier who’d tracked them last night.

He pulled his gun around and took aim at Mack, muttering something incomprehensible, but his intent was clear. He would kill Mack and rape Marley. Then he would kill her, too.

Mack’s heartbeat slowed and his vision focused. The bastard might be holding a gun on him, but the man was as good as dead. He just didn’t know it yet. Mack spared Marley a brief glance. She gave the slightest nod in understanding and a split second later she swept out her leg, knocking the guerrilla off balance. He fired off a round reflexively, but the bullet pinged uselessly into the cave wall as Mack charged. He shoved his shoulder into the man’s chest and took him down hard, intending to do as much damage as possible.

The soldier was stronger than expected. He recovered fast and landed a punch on Mack’s jaw. Mack returned the favor three times over, getting in successive punches and an elbow jab before he wrapped his hands around the soldier’s throat. A red haze filled his vision as the memory of Marley pinned beneath the soldier filled his mind.

The soldier gurgled and pounded against Mack’s forearms, trying to break his hold in desperation. Mack just squeezed tighter. His muscles were fueled by fury and the need to kill anyone who had tried to harm his woman.

A few seconds later, the soldier started clawing in a last-ditch attempt to draw Mack’s hands away from his neck. Then he went limp. Mack held on another second to make sure, but the would-be rapist was dead. Fucking bastard. He wanted to revive him and kill him again for daring to hurt Marley.

Marley—he searched her out. She was backed against the far wall, arms across her chest, staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. Mack looked down at his hands, still hovering near the criminal’s throat, and realized what she’d seen. He’d snapped. He’d lost control.

Again.

Shit. He couldn’t stand for her to think of him as an animal. He approached her with caution, carefully watching the rapid rise and fall of her chest and her dilated pupils, fixated on the dead man a few feet behind him.

“Marley, look at me.”

Her wide-eyed gaze lifted to his, the shock and fear in them stabbing his chest. He wanted her happiness, her lighthearted laughter and bold touch back. Had he missed something? Had that soldier already done something to violate her?

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.”