Mercy and Mayhem Men of Mercy(80)
No. Mack Grey wouldn't want her at all.
Marley bowed over the bed, the guilt weighing her. She'd been allowed to touch his fire and revel in heaven with him, and then she thrown it away. She couldn't even look at herself in the mirror. She should've told him that first night. She should have trusted him. Now she'd never have the chance again.
After John, she'd never thought she'd love again, but Mack had marched right in and made her realize exactly how wrong she'd been. She could love again. She loved Mack.
And she'd destroyed him.
Someone cleared their throat behind Marley and she jumped and spun, scrubbing the back of her hand over her eyes to erase the evidence of her tears. "Riser, you should have knocked."
He approached her with caution, his gaze searching hers and then settling on Mack, out cold in the tiny hospital bed. "Your transport is here to take you to the airport."
Her heart lurched in her chest and her fingers instinctively tightened around Mack's. There was a part of her, the brave part, that urged her to stay until Mack awoke. Maybe if she explained her reasons one more time. Maybe if she pleaded he would understand. Maybe hell would freeze over.
Men like Mack didn't forgive, no matter what the reason.
"I can tell the driver to take a hike and come back after Mack wakes up, if that's what you want." Riser squatted in front of her, the understanding in his eyes piercing her like a hot blade.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
"The way I see it, everybody makes mistakes. You did the right thing in the end and that's all that matters."
"The right thing would've been to tell him the first time I got the text."
Riser shrugged. "Maybe you needed some time to decide if you could trust us with your daughter's life."
Marley turned back to Mack, Riser's words pummeled her shields, leaving her with nothing but a vulnerable ache she couldn't contain. "Mack doesn't see it that way. The rest of your team won't either."
She didn't have to turn to know Riser stood up. She could feel him behind her. "The rest of the team feels the same way I do, and if you hang around long enough, you might find out Mack changed his mind too."
A surge of hope sprang up so fast her body jerked. Would he? Could there be a chance of a future between them?
Marley thought back to the last couple of days and how Mack had looked at her like she was nothing. There'd been no anger, no hate, and no disgust.
He looked at her like she was a stranger.
The image was enough to last her for a lifetime of pain. Uncaring that Riser watched her every move, Marley lifted Mack's hand to her lips before lightly settling it back down on the bed. "You're wrong Riser," she said in a dead-end voice. "I've been around men like Mack my whole life. Men like him don't forgive and they never forget."
Gathering up what shreds of pride she had left, Marley lifted her chin and headed towards the door.
"You're wrong Marley."
She paused with her hand on the door handle. "Tell him thank you for saving my life and for saving my daughter."
Marley rushed from the room, head down as she strode from the hospital. Her entire body was numb – everything except her chest – it ached with such pain she could barely breathe. Leaving meant giving up on her dream of being with Mack. It meant she accepted her lifetime of loneliness; God wouldn't give her another chance at a soul mate.
Her life with John had been destroyed by an IED in another country.
But she'd been the one to destroy her chance with Mack. She'd pulled the trigger with her lie and detonated a trust-shattering bomb on their tenuous relationship.
A black four-door sedan was parked near the entryway. The man got out of the driver side and rushed around to open the door. "Captain Mitchell?"
"Take me to the airport," Marley squeezed through her constricted throat and slid into the car. The driver shut the door and they drove off, before she knew it she was on a small charter plane flying home.
Alone. Like she would be forever.
31
Mac fought through groggy tendrils of sleep, blinking under the bright florescent lighting overhead. Where was he? What happened?
He tried to remember but couldn't, his mind felt sluggish, his body hot and numb. What the fuck was going on?
"About time you woke up." Riser pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down, a small smile on his lips that did nothing to hide the concern in his gaze.
"What happened?"
"You were shot and stabbed. We were at Mankel's compound. Ring a bell?"