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“ S hit!” Wes growled. “We got to go now ! Hang on!”

No sooner did he call out his warning, I felt both of us glide down the rope, my hair flying up into the air around me as I became weightless.

I screamed, closing my eyes as my fingers curled tighter around the fabric and straps of Wes’s uniform.

My heart squeezed as adrenaline coursed through my body, and all I could do was pray we didn’t die.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sound of gunfire was sharp and loud but was drowned out by the whirring sound of the air rushing past my ears—a perfect audio representation of how my stomach felt. I chanced opening my eyes as I felt us come to a stop and looked around. We still had rope left, but not much.

“Calling in REG support. We need back up at Admin One. I repeat, back up at Admin One.”

Another gunshot whizzed by me, causing me to shift my weight instinctually to get out of the way.

“We’re in deep shit,” Wes grated out. He looked down to the left of him just as I looked up, and our eyes met. I saw it. I saw exactly what I was afraid of on full display in those captivating hazel eyes.

“We’re going to die, aren’t we?” It wasn’t a real question.

I knew it was the truth, and it was my fault.

Because I didn’t listen to Sasha. I didn’t listen to her and heed her warning that this was a suicide mission.

I was so focused on saving Jacob, on finding out where they held him prisoner, that I didn’t listen to her wisdom.

And worst of all, I hadn’t just sentenced myself to death, but I had sentenced Wes to death too.

Because I hadn’t listened to him either.

When he said we had to go, I stayed. And now we were both going to pay the price for my stubbornness and stupidity.

Wes opened his mouth to say something, but then closed his lips.

His eyes flickered, several emotions passing through them—regret, frustration, hurt, and something else.

And they hardened as Wes took in a deep breath, his lips pressing firmly together as his jaw set in a hard line.

“I said I was going to get you out of here. That’s still the plan. ”

“But—”

BANG! BANG!

“FUCK!” Wes screamed out as my face was splattered with thick, wet droplets of moisture. His grip loosened, and we went sliding down the length of rope in a free fall. I screamed but flung out my right hand and grabbed the rope as my left gripped firmly onto Wes’s tactical belt.

And I’m so glad I did.

My arm wrapped around the length of rope as Wes’s body went flying past me, and then—

SNAP!

My left arm screamed out in searing pain, tentacles of burning sensations clawing up my shoulder and into my neck and back.

But I held on…I held on with all the strength I could muster, curling my fingers on both hands until I felt my nails digging into my flesh.

I clung to the rope with one hand while gripping Wes’s tactical belt with the other.

“Wes!” I screamed, but it was no use. He was dead weight in my arms, dangling by the belt buckled around his waist. I screamed his name out again, my eyes searching his body and seeing the glistening of thick, red fluid on his uniform.

Oh my god…is he dead?

“No…NO! Wes, please wake up!” My breath came in rapid pants as panic seized my soul. With my arms stretched out in opposite directions, my body felt like it was being torn apart. We were going to die. This was it. We were done for.

“Wes!” I screamed again. “Wes, please! I can’t—”

My grip on the rope slipped, and I felt the braided fibers slide through my palm, burning the skin as it went.

“Shit!” I clamped my hand down harder, finding myself at the end of the rope.

I looked around desperately, trying to figure a way out of this mess, but with my hands occupied, I couldn’t think of anything I could do.

And then, I saw it. Wes’s eyes fluttered once, twice, and then they opened.

Oh, thank god!

“Wes!”

“Ugh…shit,” he grumbled deep in his throat.

“Wes,” I yelled at him again, trying to get his attention.

I knew he was hurt. I could still feel the blood on my face, but he was alive.

That was all that mattered. He was alive, and we were still in a shit-ton of trouble.

“Jesus, listen to me!” His eyes fluttered again as he moved around, causing my fingers to ache and lose their grip.

“Wes, stop moving! I’m going to lose you! ”

BANG! BANG!

That got his attention.

Wes’s eyes flew wide open, the sound of the bullets whizzing past us bringing him back into the present moment. “Fuck!” He reached upwards and grabbed my arm, relieving some of the pressure on my hand, but the weight of his body still pulled on my own. “Mara, we’ve got to jump.”

“ What? Are you crazy?”

He looked past me, back up the side of the building, before looking back at me. “Let go!”

“But we’ll die!”

“We’re going to die anyway if we stay here!” His eyes were feverish, burning bright as he urged me to condemn us to our deaths.

“Oh my god,” the words escaped me as I looked up, watching the officers reloading their weapons and then back down at the ground past Wes. Maybe we could survive the fall? Crap . Who was I kidding? We were in such deep—

“On the count of three, I want you to let go,” he shouted back up at me. “Remember what I said—land on the balls of your feet and then roll into the landing, just like we trained, okay?”

“We trained being thrown, not free falling from an effing building, Wes!”

“It’s the same thing—”

“It is NOT the same thing!”

BANG!

I screamed again, the bullet flying past, startling me. That was close. Way too freaking close!

“Mara!” I looked back at Wes, and our eyes met.

His hazel eyes bewitched me as they always had, holding me prisoner.

And with a firm, deep voice that screamed sincerity, he said, “Trust me.” My breath caught in my chest as I inhaled, feeling my heart squeeze in fear.

And then I nodded. Wes looked down at the ground before looking back up at me. “One…”

One.

“Two…”

Two.

“Thr—”

And then the rope snapped.