Page 84

My mind kept offering me images of the forest, the sounds of the hellhounds howling into the night, and all I could do was force them down as best as I could.

Because each image threatened to send me back in time, back to that moment, fighting for my life.

But I couldn’t fight the past…not when I was about to fight my adversaries in the present.

Focus.

I had to stay focused, or I was going to die.

“Hold up,” Jacob said, dodging into another shop.

This one, thank god, wasn’t a lingerie store.

I didn’t think I could handle another one of those.

Elegant party clothes were on display all around us.

Dresses hung on hangers, glittering as they caught the sun.

Mannequins sported tuxedos and elegant suites.

Jacob walked us back further into the store, away from the windows.

“What’s going on, de la Puente?” Geo said. “Doesn’t look like REG Command to me.”

Jacob ignored him, rummaging through his bag as he spoke. “You’re a bright one, Geo. I’ll give you that,” he said, clearly not meaning it. “In another couple of blocks, we’re going to be in the throes of Capital evacuations.”

“Are we kicking their asses so much that they’re evacuating the Capital?” Jay asked.

“Protocol,” I responded. “They always evacuate District 1 citizens first, followed by Capital officials, during any sizable threat.”

“That’s right,” Jacob confirmed. “We’re attacking the eastern border, so they’re going to shift everyone to the west side.”

“That shouldn’t impact us,” Wes said, brows pinched. “We’re approaching from the southeast.”

“Right,” Jacob replied as he pulled out his stunner from his bag and turned it on. “The traffic’s going to be moving west, so stay clear of it.” I reached into my coat and pulled out my stunner, hearing the whirring sound it made as it powered up.

“Stay clear of it?” Jay asked, brows pinched. “I don’t get it. What does this have to do with the mission?”

“Nothing,” Jacob replied matter-of-factly. “I just wanted to make sure you understood so you know what to avoid when you head back.”

“What?” Geo muttered. “I thought we were heading to the REG?”

“We are,” I responded as I looked to face my brother and our eyes met briefly before Jacob turned back to face the group.

“But you’re not,” he added. He moved so quickly, I almost missed it completely. He fired off two shots from his stunner, one hitting Geo and the other hitting Jay, sending them both collapsing to the ground.

“Hold it!” I shouted as I aimed my stunner at Wes, who had moved like a viper, retrieving his own weapon, and now had it aimed at Jacob before I caught him.

Edith’s eyes were enormous. She, too, had reached for her stunner, but never got it in time. Jacob had his pointed at her, and she slowly raised her arms in surrender. “Mara?” she called, her dark brown eyes searching me.

Wes kept his stunner fixed on my brother, while Jacob kept his fixed on Edith, and I kept mine aimed at Wes. “What the hell, de la Puente?” I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or my brother, but it didn’t really matter. Wes was mine to take care of.

“I’m sorry, Wes,” I whispered, swallowing the hurt and angst clawing at my throat. Wes slowly shifted his gaze to look at me while his body remained still as stone.

“What’s going on, Mara? Why the hell are Geo and Jay down? What the fuck is going on?”

I took a deep breath, mustering my courage.

I had to remember this was for his own good.

I couldn’t risk involving him or Edith more than they already were.

There was no telling what Charles would do.

This was the best for everyone. “Just remember what I told you, okay? No matter what happens, I care about you. I—” I faltered, afraid to admit this to him like this, triangulated between him and my brother and what was best for everyone.

But I wanted him to know. Because if I didn’t make it, I wanted him to know that I didn’t betray him…

not really. That there was something else at play, something bigger than us both.

But there was no time. No time for explanations, for truths, for the declarations of love I had failed to make to him.

I pushed back the tears that threatened to fall, and I shoved down the knot in my throat even further. I looked at Wes’s golden eyes, praying that what he saw in my face was sincerity, truth, and love. “Whatever happens, whatever they say about me…just remember, it’s not what it seems.”

It was brief. A shift in his brows, a slight parting of his lips, and a widening of his eyes as my words registered within him. And just as he was about to say something to me, I shot him…right in the heart.