Marley was staring up 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 knew how to 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, he had been 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.

“She’s nine now; she’s really gotten into soccer and jujitsu and she plays the guitar. So she keeps my parents pretty busy while I’m gone. They take her to her lessons and practices after school.”

“Wow, she has a full plate.”

“Yeah, if I thought for one second it was too much I’d make her quit, but Maddie thrives on all of them. She loves to play soccer, it’s a workout for energy and her best friends are on the team. The jujitsu she’s not so crazy about, but I believe she needs to know how to defend herself, so she tries hard at it and she’s getting better.”

Mack found himself curious. “Did your parents make you take jujitsu growing up?”

Marley snorted and wiped her arm across her forehead. “My dad taught us self-defense.”

Mack wiped his own forehead off. It wasn’t unbearably hot, but the ninety percent humidity in the air resulted in a constant sheen of moisture on their skin and clothes. “And what did your dad do?”

“He was a colonel in the Marines.”

Mack stopped short, taking Marley, whose hand he was still holding, to an abrupt stop. “Your dad was the Colonel Mitchell?”

A slight frown formed on Marley’s lips. “I’m not sure if he is the Colonel Mitchell, though he would probably like that. He’s the only Colonel Mitchell I’ve ever known. Why?”

“The man was a legend. He personally led his troops in multiple battles. We used to call him Madman Mitchell. Nobody messed with him.”

He was one hardass, son-of-a-bitch. Mack had seen him ream his soldiers’ asses after a screw up, leaving them with their heads hanging and their tails between their legs. Some thought he was too harsh, but Mack thought he was damn effective. He was a man who commanded respect everywhere he went, a man who fought hard for his men and for what was right no matter the cost to his personal career. He was a man Mack would follow into battle blindfolded.

“Sounds like you’ve met him then. Please don’t tell me you served together.” Heat stained her cheeks when she said that.

What would it matter to her whether or not Mack had served with her father? “No, he’d been in for a while before I joined.”

“Good.”

“Why is it good? I did work under him briefly. He was over my grade when I was just a captain.”

Her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red and she avoided his gaze. “How much longer do you think it will be before we meet your men?”

“Stop avoiding the question.” Mack tugged her closer, trying to see inside her mind.

“I’m not avoiding the question, I just don’t want to be stuck out here for another night. We should keep walking.” Marley made to pull him along, but Mack held firm.

“Why would you care whether or not I served with your dad? Are you ashamed of me?” Had he misread her? What the hell had he done to make her ashamed of him? Was she regretting their time together in the cave after all?

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I’m not ashamed of you. I know my dad would love you. You have all the qualities he admires.”

Mack felt his chest puff out with relief and pride. Any man Colonel Mitchell admired was a good soldier.

Marley continued, “You’re intelligent, deadly fast, and strong.”

Mack’s chest puffed out even more.

“And stubborn enough to argue with that tree over there.”

His pride deflated under the last blow to his ego. He wasn’t stubborn. He was steadfast—he got the job done no matter what. He was just about ready to tell her that when he caught the laughter twinkling in her eyes.

“Mack, your head looked like it was ready to float off your shoulders, I had to pull you back down to the earth.”

Mack turned around and yanked her close, wrapping an arm around her waist and anchoring her to him. Marley gasped and swallowed a sweet moan as he plunged his tongue inside her mouth, getting lost for a moment in her sweet taste and yielding body. When she squeezed his biceps and dug her nails into his skin, he knew she was putty in his hands. Mack broke the kiss and set her back, grinning at the look of dazed confusion on her face. “Let’s say you could add sex god to that list.”