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“Never mind them!” Calista yelled. “Grab the fucking door!”

But how could I leave them? How could I leave both of these men, both these loves of my life, in this hallway of death? I couldn’t!

“Mara!” Calista screamed at me. “Either get the fucking door or get out of the way! Remember what you came here to do!”

BANG! BANG, BANG!

I looked at Blondie, and then I saw my brother, barely even alive, head bandaged up because of god knows what that they did to him. And then I looked back at Wes and Matias, both still alive, but both bleeding, both holding back a wave of soldiers that they could never survive. And that fucking alarm kept blaring, kept screaming that this was it, that this was the end.

“Mara, please…” It came off Jacob’s lips like a prayer. His deep blue eyes begging me to save him.

And I broke.

I broke because I loved all three of them.

My friend.

My brother.

And the love of my life.

I truly loved all three of them with the depths of my heart. But I knew at that moment that I was only going to be able to save one of them.

Only one.

“Mara!” I heard his voice…the call of my name said like a desperate cry for salvation, cutting through all the chaos. I turned to see Wes as he fired his gun and then turned to face me. And our eyes locked. The vibrant yellowed ambers in his hazel eyes burned like melted gold, captivating me, reminding meof every passionate moment, every death-defying event, every single touch, and desperate kiss, all in one powerful gaze. “Go.”

It was all he said. One single word before he turned back to face the parade of soldiers coming down the hall. But the lines of his angular face, the look of his golden-green eyes, and the sound of his voice spoke so much more than that one word.

Go…because I need you to be saved.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t muster a single sound. And I couldn’t do it. Not this time. I couldn’t leave Wes or Matias to die.

I started to shift my weight to turn back into the fray. But before I knew what was happening, Calista reached forward, pulled the door open, and then shoved Jacob and me through it. I almost tripped as the weight of my brother’s body collided into me, throwing me into the stairwell. And then Calista slammed the door closed behind her, leaving Matias and Wes to their fates.

62: Red Light, Green Light

“What the fuck did you do?” I screamed at her. “You left them!”

“You came for your brother, Telvian,” she sneered, “and nothing else! Now’s your chance.”

“Not like this,” I countered, reaching for the door to open it, but it was locked. My eyes darted to look at the handle as I yanked on it again and then registered the black key fob next to it.Shit!I patted my body, trying to remember what I did with all those stupid keycards, but I found none.

No, no, no, no!

“It’s too late, Mara. And the longer we stand here, the higher the chances are that we’re all going to die. I’ll help you get him down the stairs and back into the yard, but then you’re on your own. Got it?”

“But Wes—”

“Wes and Matias are soldiers, de la Puente. They’resoldiers. And they’re going to move a lot faster and have a much betterchance of getting out there if they’re not constantly looking out for you!” she yelled.

“But—”

“Mara…” Jacob mumbled.

I turned to see him slumped against the wall. “Oh, Jacob,” I ran to him, trying to lift him up.

“Mara…” he mumbled again. “We’ve…got to go,” he pushed out.