Page 62 of Resist

And in that moment, the rest of the world fluttered away. The voices disappeared, the chaos fell into the background, and all I could see—all I couldfeel—was Wes. I felt his hand supporting my back, felt the heat of his body so close to mine, and felt the gentle brush as our noses touched when I shifted to face him. The warmth of his breath was on me, the heat of his body engulfed me, and suddenly…

It all came crashing back.

34: Hell Games

“SILENCE,” Giza shouted, causing me to jump back from Wes as the room of sneering faces came crashing back into my reality. In all the months that I had known Giza, I had never seen him lose his composure before. The look on his face screamed disappointment as he stepped forward. “Now, I understand your sentiments, your confusion of why we would ask you to engage in this operation. Butthatis none of your concern. You all are soldiers who have pledged allegiance to this nation. You all are the best of the best. And youwilldo your jobs and respect the decisions made by your commanding officers. Do you understand?”

I was pretty sure the question was rhetorical, and clearly everyone else did too, since they all kept their mouths shut. I trembled, remnants of the panic attack that threatened to consume me not but a minute ago. I’d felt panic before, but never like that. Never something so intensely overwhelming. But Wes…he…

“So,” Giza began again, “let me try this again. We need two volunteers.”

Crickets.

Nada.

Nothing.

You could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium. Until Wes spoke…

“Listen up,” he said, voice deep as he stepped forward, taking center stage. “You all know me. And I get that none of you want to do this. That’s fair. But we need this man,” he said as he pointed at Jacob’s picture. “This is the former general of the REG, and he’s the First Son. If he’sanythinglike me or my brother, then he’s been groomed from day one to become the future leader of Telvia.”

He paused only for a moment, eyes scanning the crowd. “Imagine what he knows? Imagine what information he can give us? This man knowseverything. Do you hear me?Everything. Every alley, every backdoor entrance, every Telvian military strategy, every secret operation.Everything!And he’s on our side now. He’s on our side because of her,” he emphasized, pointing at me and sending all eyes my way. This time, however, their eyes weren’t angry or filled with disdain. They were curious, engaged, calculating. “Because ofher, Jacob de la Puente is dissenting from Telvia, and Raúl knows it. He’s ordering the execution of his own fucking son because he’s scared. He knows that if we get our hands on this man, he’s fucking toast. So if you want to win this war, if you want the constant threat of a Telvian attack to be over, then it’s time to man up and help us bring Jacob de la Puente home.”

“Orwomanup, thank you very much.” I looked out into the crowd and instantly smiled. Edith stood up, a wicked grin on her face as she stepped out of her row and sauntered down the aisle toward us. “A dangerous, secret ops mission. Low chance ofsurvival. Sounds like my kind of circus. And since no one else has found their testicles yet,” she declared, arms opened wide as she surveyed the crowd, “then you can count me in. I’ll help bring that sexy ass home,” she declared with a purr.

Oh my god…Of course, she had to add that last piece, because this girl found anything with two legs and a penis to be hot and sexy. Heat bloomed across my face. Edith may not have been talking about me, but that was my brother up there. And it was definitely embarrassing, but Edith just about skipped as she twirled around to face the crowd on the right side of me, bumping my shoulder. I mouthedthank you, and she winked in return.

Giza stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Excellent, Miss Le. Your faction thanks you.” She saluted him in response. Giza redirected his attention to the auditorium. “We need one more. Who else volunteers?” Everyone averted their gazes, turning in their seats to see if any of their comrades were going to volunteer. But the room stayed quiet.

“I’ll volunteer,” a male voice called out. I looked around, trying to figure out who it was, scanning up the rows of people until my sight caught movement at the top by the double doors. My jaw unhinged as he stepped into the aisle, hands in his pockets. A kaleidoscope of emotions swirled within me as time stood still. Because this was the last person I would ever expect to volunteer on a rescue mission for my brother. A person I thought was gone from my life for good.

But I was wrong.

Because the second to volunteer was Matias.

I didn’t know what to feel. I didn’t know if I should be happy or angry, confused, or relieved. All I knew was that watching Matias walk down that aisle, deep brown eyes set on me, I felt…everything. Everything cascaded within me.

Matias made it to the front, stopping in front of Wes as their gazes locked. It was only a few seconds, but those seconds felt like they stretched for eternity. Hard, intense eyes. Firm lines etched across their faces. Brows dipped into delicate V’s. And then it was gone, so fast that I wasn’t sure if anyone else caught it. Matias brought his attention back to me and walked past Wes like he was nothing more than a potted plant. I felt the fervor of his eyes on me as he swept by and took his place on the other side of Edith.

“Very good,” Giza said. Melancholy and pride warred on his face as he surveyed the four of us. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that it would be the four of you going into this.” He hesitated, rubbing his chin as he searched for words. I thought I caught a glimmer of moisture in his eyes before he cleared his throat and nodded his head in resolution. Giza faced the room again. “You are all dismissed. Return to your assigned duties.”

The sound of chairs scraping along the ground shattered the silence as Giza looked at us once more. “Time is not our friend, soldiers. We’ll need to begin training immediately.” Lifting his wrist, he gazed at his tab, and then back at us. “Take a seat. The rest of the team should be here any minute. We’ll review the rest of the mission parameters and discuss the training schedule.” With that, he left us and walked back to Bynes and Krous.

Then it got weird.

Wes crossed the couple of feet separating us just as Matias moved toward me. The result being that both men came face-to-face once more, locking eyes in one of those testosterone-filled, macho stare downs. If eyes could generate electricity, they’d be powering the whole effing place, because something was happening, and I had no freaking clue what it was or why. None of us moved as crackling tension filled the space, its intensity palpable.

Thank god for Edith. She broke the silence, slipping herself between them and pushing them both back. “All of you might be down for standing around like mannequins, but I’m tired of standing. And Iknowwe’re about to get worked like a plow horse during harvest. So pardon me as I take this girl,” she grabbed my arm and looped it around hers, “and move us to the chairs. But you boys, play nice,” she added.

Gratitude was not nearly a strong enough word for what I felt toward Edith at that moment, because the awkwardness waspainful. She pulled me along, leading me down the aisle to the second row. Just as we sat down, the double doors opened, startling both of us. I whipped around to see who it was and was immediately filled with apprehension.

An older man walked in, dressed in the same clothing as everyone else. He wasn’t the problem. The problem was the girl with the perfect blonde bun and standard uniform that complemented and accentuated every curve of her body, which was so not fair. I knew this girl, and I was sincerely hoping she was in the wrong place.

“Harper, Haeflinger,” Bynes called out. “Have a seat,” she said, pointing toward us.

Oh no…no, no, no. Not her!

“Well, crap,” Edith moaned. “No offense, Mara, but if I’d known Calista was going to be on this thing, there’s no way in hell I would have volunteered.” I buried my face in my hands. This couldn’t be happening.

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