The rest of his team stayed fanned out to a few feet away, constantly scanning their environment, eyes aligned with the sights on their rifles, but he could tell from their stances they were all listening to her story. Hoyt's capture and torture had hit them all on a deep level. Special Forces operatives were closer than family. The team brought them together-as did the knowledge that each and every one of them would actively give up his life to save a teammate.
Marley drew in a breath, the sound of the air pulling through her lips sort of wobbly. "No. He made it long enough to get his living will in order. One day he asked me to look out for his wife and make sure she was okay. I thought he was just asking me as a friend, you know? That he figured a female officer could talk to her a bit more easily than one of our male counterparts. But after I left that day, he stole a scalpel and killed himself."
The air in the jungle weighed on the entire team like a three-ton elephant. Hoyt had come close to doing the same damn thing, and if it hadn't been for Hunter and Ranger's sister, Hayden James, he would have.
Chill bumps covered Mack's arms. Just the thought of losing one of his teammates made him physically ill. And the thought about what Hoyt's older brother, Jared, would have to endure if Hoyt gave in to his demons . . .
Fuck, he was glad he had one tough-ass crew. Mack cleared his throat of the gravel that seemed to have grown there. "I'm sorry."
Marley shrugged casually, but there was nothing casual about her expression or the pain in her eyes. "It happens, unfortunately. I just wish he had been strong enough to fight through it."
There was a rustling of leaves, so faint Mack's trained ears barely detected it. Hoyt stood not two feet from them.
5
Hoyt's powerful legs filled Marley's vision and she took a big gulp of air. Why had she thought it was a good idea to relate her friend's story, even indirectly, to a man who was going through a similar experience?
She couldn't blame him if he cursed her right now-she actually wished he would. If the raw, acid-like pain blazing from Hoyt's blue eyes gave any indication of what he thought about her, she'd be better off crawling under the nearest rock and never coming out, living with the snakes and insects where she belonged.
Hoyt cleared his throat, the sound as rough as the man. "Sorry to hear about your friend."
Marley rocked back on her heels. Stammering out, "I-I-I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories. It's just that . . ." Shut up before you say something even stupider.
Hoyt's entire face twisted in a grimace-no, wait-was that a smile? "It's okay, my fiancée tells me it helps to talk about it, so don't worry. I know what I look like, but I don't bite."
He'd just cracked a joke about his torture. Wow. His strength amazed her. Her friend had caved to the pressure and pain, yet here stood a clearly scarred man willing to poke fun at his scars, "You don't look like you would bite."
"I think I'm going to like you, Mitchell." And with that, Hoyt turned to Mack. "There are two mountains to the north, and it looks like the land dips to a lower elevation just past them and off to the west. Give me a map."
Marley did her best to squeeze into the smallest size she could make herself. She'd much rather have Hoyt on her side than against her, and for that much she could be glad. But the killer look Mack had shot her before turning to his men clearly stated he knew exactly what she'd been thinking. Then again, Marley was beginning to realize Mack always looked angry about something. Maybe that was just a permanent expression for him-resting asshole face.
Geez, as soon as she found her copilot, she would kill him. If this hadn't happened, she'd probably be on the phone with her baby girl right now, talking about her flight, because Maddie always liked to hear details. Her father said Marley had been the exact same way at Maddie's age. Inquisitive to a fault.
Her phone. She'd forgotten about putting it in her pocket! Marley quietly dug the cell from her pocket, hands shaking. If she could get a call out they'd be safe.
She tapped the power button and nothing happened. She tried again, and again. The screen bleeped green and then went black. After one more attempt, the phone wouldn't turn on. With a frustrated sigh, she dropped her dead phone into her pocket.
"I think we can make it to Boga within twenty-four hours if we move now," Hoyt said. The team was studying a large topographical map they'd spread out on the ground.
Marley scooted closer, wanting to hear exactly what kind of decisions they were making. She studied the terrain of the jungle, tracking where her flight path was supposed to have brought them. Boga was close to the border of Uganda, but she hadn't heard of any military outposts anywhere near that town.