Mack Grey stared in grim silence at the dark blue door. He’d never been more afraid to go knock on a door than he was at that moment. This was different than a midnight raid and the fear of a bullet flying into his chest. He wasn’t afraid of bullets.

He was terrified of losing Marley.

What if she said no? What if she got in his face and yelled at him to leave? Worse, what if she opened the door and looked right through him?

He wiped away a stray bead of sweat working its way down his collar. Seven days. It had taken him seven agonizing days to get here. The first time he tried to leave the hospital, his nurse had nicked him with a cocktail strong enough to knock out an elephant. He’d woken up twenty-four hours later, disoriented and searching for her. She’d haunted his dreams and tortured his days, and he’d had nothing more than a deck of cards and the rotating circus of his team to keep him distracted, but none of it had worked. He’d even broken down and called his son for the first time in years. Mack had never expected him to answer the phone, but Cooper had and they’d had a long conversation and made a plan to meet up later for dinner.

If he hadn’t been so hell bent on getting back to her, he would have asked for more drugs. At least when he was unconscious he didn’t have to feel. His wounds were nothing compared to the torture every time he thought about that hurt look in Marley’s eyes.

And he had been the one to put it there.

What he wouldn’t give to travel back in time and take those words back. Why had it been so hard for him to accept her excuse?

How could he expect her to forgive him? God, he was stupid for having come here. She had to hate him. He hated himself.

He should leave, save them both the uncomfortable embarrassment of her turning him away. But then, that would be the coward’s way out, and Mack was not a coward. He never had been and he never would be.

Mack stepped off the grass and onto the sidewalk, each step harder than the one before. When he finally reached the door, he almost turned tail and ran, but he sucked up his strength and knocked.

It was all of about ten seconds later before the door was jerked open and a gray-haired man with brown eyes the same shade as Marley’s stood there.

“Colonel Mitchell?”

The man’s look turned from open curiosity to a cold-pressed anger. “Why are you here?”

Mack swallowed past the lump in his throat before he could answer, “For her.”

He half expected the colonel to slam the door in his face. But he didn’t. “What took you so long?”

Mack spread his feet shoulder width apart and clasped his hands behind his back. The colonel was just as hard as Mack remembered. “I don’t know if you remember me, sir –“

“I remember you, all right. But apparently, you didn’t turn out to be the man I thought you would.”

Mack couldn’t help but flinch, the words hit their target true. “I won’t insult you by offering excuses. You have a right to be pissed. I would. I got here as soon as was humanly possible.”

The colonel leaned forward and his eyes narrowed. “You’re right, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about you or your worthless excuse. All I know is you hurt my daughter.”

“Yes, sir, I did. And that’s why I’m here. I have to apologize, I have to ask for forgiveness.”

“You think I’m going to let you within ten feet of her? Son, you’re lucky I’ve left you breathing this long. If you’ve got any brains in between those two ears holding up the sides of your head, you’ll march your ass off my property right now.”

Mack took a deep breath, and kept his feet planted firmly. He wasn’t ready to give up yet. He wouldn’t give up until he at least laid eyes on her and assured himself she was okay. “With all due respect sir, I have to hear that from Marley first.”

A little girl came running around the corner and latched herself around the colonel’s right leg. “Who is it grandpa?”

She was a spitting image of Marley, with bright blue eyes staring up at him with open curiosity.

“He’s nobody baby. Go on out back.”

“But mama said to come get you.” Maddie lifted up on her tippy toes and bounced back onto her heels, keeping her arm latched firmly in place.

Mack felt the first smile touch his lips since the jungle. She had as much spirit as her mother.

“Maddie Marie, you listen about as well as this fella does,” the colonel said with a sigh and scooped her up into his arms.

Faced with part of what he’d given up, Mack’s chest locked down tight. He’d never thought he wanted to be a father again, not after he screwed up so bad the first time around. But that little bundle of brown hair and blue eyes could have been his second chance at getting it right. “Sir –“

“Dad, the steaks are going to burn if you don’t get back out there.” Marley came around the corner and skidded to a stop a couple of feet behind her dad. Her gaze locked onto his and she stumbled back a step.

He watched in silence as Marley visibly got control of her emotions before she came the last couple of feet to the door. “What are you doing here?”

It took Mack a second to process her words. He’d braced himself for the impact of her anger and was completely unprepared for the innocent question. “I didn’t really give the doctors much choice.”

She looked at his side, which was covered by a black pullover. It still burned like a bitch but he didn’t care, he couldn’t have waited another second to lay eyes on her beautiful face.

“Stubborn man.”

“Not denying it.”

He saw the uncertainty on her face, felt the tug in his heart. He wanted to replace that look with happiness, but damned if he knew what to say with her dad staring bullet holes through his head and her daughter watching every move he made. Mack cleared his throat, hoping the colonel would take his hint and give them some privacy. But he wasn’t having any kind of luck in that department.

“Dad, do you mind taking Maddie out back?” Marley saved him the embarrassment.

“Yes, I do,” her dad said flatly.

“Dad,” Marley drug the word out with a hint of annoyance in her voice, “I’m a big girl.”

The colonel’s response was a grunt and a death stare at Mack. “You do anything to make her mope around this house again and there’ll be no place on this Earth you’ll be able to hide from me.” The colonel took Maddie and left.

A long stretch of awkward silence followed him. Mack shuffled from foot to foot, trying to find the right thing to say.

He’d driven there in such a rush, he hadn’t really given it enough thought and planning. Hell, he was a pro at planning missions, identifying the target’s weak points and attacking. Marley turned all that upside down; she left him tongue-tied and uncertain.

“Mack, why are you here?” Marley asked in a soft voice.

This was the moment of truth. A thousand excuses sprang to mind, but it didn’t feel right. He wasn’t a flowery kind of guy, although if she made him, he would go down on his knees and beg. “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes immediately filled with tears and Mack could have kicked himself for being such an insensitive jackass. Yeah, he was blunt, but she deserved better.

“You’re sorry?” The hesitancy in her tone took him down a whole other level.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being a fool. All I could see was my own anger, but you were right. You made the right decision. You couldn’t have known me long enough to trust me, not with that beautiful little girl I just saw. Hell, I’m kinda mad at you for telling me in the end, now. She’s too precious to take a risk on.”

Marley shook her head almost violently, tears tracking down her cheeks. It took all his willpower not to snatch her into his arms and comfort her. “Dammit, Marley. Stop crying.” Every fresh drop was another knife to his chest. “You’re ripping my heart in two.”

“You’re asking me for forgiveness? You didn’t do anything wrong, Mack. I was the one who withheld the truth. I lied to you. I thought about putting your men in danger.” Her voice broke. “About putting you in danger.”

Forget giving her space. He didn’t care if she stuck a knife in his gut, he had to hold her. Mack pulled her to him and locked his arms around her. He’d let go if she tried to fight his hold, but she didn’t. She caved in his arms.

“Will you forgive me Marley? I swear to God I’ll never hurt you like that again. Ever.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Mack.” She circled her arms around his neck and pulled him to her, her warm breath a heavenly caress on his skin.

“I love you.” He’d been so scared to say the words, hadn’t said them to anybody since his wife died, but with Marley it just felt damn good.

She sucked in a deep breath and squeezed him, the fierceness of her hold sending a shock of pain through his wound and Mack couldn’t hold in the grunt of pain.

She released him and instantly slapped a hand over her mouth with wide eyes. “Mack, I hurt you.”

He yanked her right back into his arms, burying his face in her soft silky hair. “Only when you let go. Promise me you’ll never let go again.”

“I promise.”

Mack tangled his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck and tugged her head back. “Good, because I’m never letting you go again.” He crushed his mouth over hers with all the hungry desperation that he’d been building up since the compound. Marley moaned and twined her arms around his neck, meeting him with just as much fierce hunger.

“Mommy, what are you doing?”

Mack released her so fast she stumbled and he had to grab her arm to keep her up right. Embarrassment heated his cheeks. What the hell?

Marley smiled at her daughter. “Maddie, come here. I want you to meet my friend.”

Maddie approached, gradually this time, eyeing him with unease. She stopped right beside her mother, planted her hands on her hips and glared. “Grandpa says you’re a real ass.”

“Maddie!” Marley gasped.

A huge grin spread across Mack’s face. The girl had as much spunk as her mother. “Well now, I’m hoping to change that.” Mack squatted down in front of Maddie and then glanced up at Marley. “Do you think your mommy would like if I took you and her out for ice cream?”

Maddie’s anger disappeared. “Mommy, can we? Can we?”

“I would love to, but you have to put your shoes on first, sweet pea.

Maddie took off without a backwards glance.

Mack slowly stood, waiting for Marley this time.

She didn’t disappoint either. “You sure do know the way into a girl’s heart.”

He grabbed her hand, needing to touch her. “Are you saying I have a place in your heart?”

“You do. You have all of it.”

THE END

Caroline Cotter fought her way through the grog and pried open her eyes, Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline playing on autorepeat somewhere in the room. Every time she woke, it was to his voice, but there was nothing sweet about her situation.

“She’s awake, General.”

Voices floated in and out of her conscious, strange figures in white lab coats and thick glasses. Caroline tried to move her arms, but they’d been strapped to the narrow hospital style bed, not that she enough strength to actually move.

She could barely lift her head.

Holding her eyes open took all her energy.

But it was worth the effort when a familiar figure appeared next to her, his uniform blurry at first, and then zooming into sharp contrast. She tried to speak, but her tongue felt heavy and dry, too thick to move. All she managed was a low moan. General Rainer, her spurned ex-fiancee.

Oh, God.

He smoothed a rough hand down her head and cheek, sending a shock of near pain at the abrasive contact on her sensitive skin. No one had touched her since she’d been here. The agony of the forced contact was more than she could process. He shouldn’t be touching her. Why was he here?

Why was she here?

Finally he drew his hand back to his side, letting it rest next to his snugly fitting uniform. “She seems really out of it.”

Another voice, this one was somehow familiar although Caroline couldn’t put a name to the soft feminine tone, “We’re keeping her heavily sedated. Her body can regenerate the blood and nutrients she needs better that way.”

“Ah, not what I expected but,” Rainer stroked his smooth chin and she could practically feel his gaze boring into her, “effective none the less. I’ve been informed you’ve hit a snag in the experiment.”

There was a slight pause and then the female spoke again, from somewhere behind Rainer. “Not a snag, sir. The subject can only give so much blood at one time without killing incurring death. We test each batch as quickly and efficiently as possible but so far all tests have failed. There is something we’re missing.”

“Something inside her,” Rainer gestured to Caroline.

She had no idea what they were talking about but a growing sense of dread enveloped her entire body.

“Yes, sir,” the female answered.

“How much blood have you taken?”

“More than we should.”

“Take more,” Rainer snapped out. “I’m on the clock. I need results.”

“Sir-“

Shuffling sounded somewhere in the room and then Rainer spoke, “If you don’t get me what I need then I’ll find someone who will. Do you understand?”

The female made a choking sound. Caroline focused all her energy on turning her head. Rainer had his hand around the female doctor’s throat, a deadly burning in his gaze. Caroline tried to call out for help, but again, only a moan penetrated her lips.

“Yes, sir,” the doctor croaked out.

Rainer released her instantly and smoothed out his uniform before turning back to Caroline. “This little beauty holds the key to my future. I don’t care if you have to put her on death’s door as long as you can bring her back. I need results. Now.”

He leaned down, and a face she’d once considered kind and almost fatherly was now contorted with malevolence. Her insides shrunk, instinctively straining away from the obvious predator. He wanted to cause her pain.

And there wasn’t anything she could do to escape.

His finger stroked her lips and dark terror gripped her insides. No! This couldn’t be happening.

“I tried to do this the easy way by marrying you. You chose the hard way.” Rainer straightened and turned to the doctor. “She can handle more. Get a new batch running, now. I want your report on my desk by morning.”

Rainer strode away, reaching out to crank the radio volume up just before he left the room. The lyrics pulsed through her veins, surrounded her mind and sucked her conscious. She could barely keep her eyes open.

“I’m sorry, Caroline. I didn’t want to do this again so soon,” the doctor held up a long needle. She stuck it into the large IV embedded in Caroline’s arm.

“No…”

“It will be okay.” The doctor’s hand smoothed down Caroline’s face, closing her eyes. “Just relax, you won’t feel a thing.”