"This is not your fault," Matias said angrily. "When this is over, you can put the blame where it belongs. On me. That's it. Do you hear me?"
"Every single one of us can claim responsibility for this," Ronan said. "I should've realized the communication board was a potential way for Bishop to track them. Just like I should've planned for them to come under possible attack. But I assumed Bishop would come after you two."
"Just tell me how we’re going to get my children and Cruz back," I said.
"By giving Bishop what he wants," Matias said.
"Me," I said with a nod.
"No, not you," Matias responded. "Me."
Chapter 29
Matias
I knew nothing about this mission would be easy. First off, I couldn't even think of it as a mission. Not like the ones from my past, anyway. Missions like that required a certain lack of emotion and there was no place for fear when it came to that kind of operation.
I was failing on both levels. I was beyond terrified for my brother, Elliot, and of course little Ryan. The idea that all three of them were in mortal danger because of me was making it hard to process any kind of information. In the Army, strategy had come as naturally to me as breathing. But this wasn't the Army and the three people inside the small cabin on the outskirts of Yellowstone National Park weren’t just friendlies in need of rescue. They were my family. Each and every one of them.
Although the cabin was remote, it was easy to see how Bishop had managed to get into the place. There were multiple footpaths leading up to the back of the cabin and there was plenty of brush where he could've hidden in wait for the operative he'd ended up taking out. The young man he'd murdered in cold blood had been new to the team and had been charged with driving Sam's van when Elliot and Cruz had taken Ryan out and about throughout the day. After killing the driver, Bishop had set the van on fire about a hundred yards from the cabin. By the time Ronan’s men had returned to the cabin and entered it to do a routine search, Bishop had already been inside and had overpowered Cruz and Elliot with next to no effort since all he’d had to do was threaten Ryan's life.
That was where things stood now. My brother, his lover, and Sam's younger son were in a windowless room in the cabin. The only communication we had with Bishop was through the board on Ryan's wheelchair. There was no roof access or any other way to get in the room except through the door. Which meant there would be no element of surprise. I’d figured as much as we’d made the trip to the cabin. We’d taken Ronan's jet, so it had only taken us an hour or so to reach our destination, but it had still been the longest hour of my entire life.
Sam was managing to keep it together, but he hadn't said more than a couple of words here and there. I'd hoped that by the time we reached the cabin that we’d come up with some kind of plan where I wouldn't have to put Sam in danger, but the more Ronan's men briefed us, the more I knew there was really only one option. Sam and I would both have to go in. My hope was that I could convince Bishop that he didn't need anyone but me in that room with him.
I went to Sam where he was sitting in the back seat of the SUV we’d been using as our makeshift command center. He was clinging to the phone that was our only access to our family members. I reached out to brush my fingers over Sam's temple. "It's time, baby," I murmured.
Sam's moves were stiff and slow as he released his grip on the phone and handed it to me. I dialed the last number that had called into the phone and waited.
"Hi honey, are you home yet?" Bishop asked, his voice almost giddy.
The fact that the man could be so casual about the whole thing told me he'd gone off the deep end. I couldn't help but wonder if it'd been the pictures of me appearing to be happy or if it was the fact that I'd been happy with Sam that had set him off.
"Let the kid go," I said.
"Did you bring me what I wanted?" Bishop asked.
"I'm here," Sam said before I could respond. "Please, please just let Ryan go. He has nothing to do with this."
"I'll let the little cripple go as soon as you two lovebirds keep your end of the deal."
I wanted to punch something. No, not something, Bishop. I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze until the death he carried in his eyes was the real thing.
"We’re coming in," I said. I tossed the phone aside because I knew we wouldn't need it anymore. I reached for Sam's hand, though all I really wanted to do was lock him in the car where I knew he’d be safe. I hated having to put him in danger in order to get the rest of our family out of it, but I had no choice. I needed to not let that sense of helplessness feed into my actions. I couldn't be Matias, the man Sam saw me as. I needed to be Matias, the effective killer who had nothing to lose.
"When we get in there, don't say a word. If I say drop, you drop to the ground. If I say run, you don't look back. Do you understand me?" I said to Sam. I expected him to argue, but all he did was nod his head.
I pulled him to a stop and forced him to look at me. I grabbed his chin and said, "Tell me you’re here with me one hundred percent, Sam. I am not losing you today. I need to know that you're in this with me."
Something finally sparked to life in Sam's eyes. He nodded quickly and said, "I'm here, Matias. If you say drop, I drop. If you say run, I run. I trust you to end this for good. To save our family."
I breathed a sigh of relief and then kissed him hard before taking his hand again and leading him to the cabin. We were surrounded by Ronan's men, but I knew it didn't matter. Bishop wasn't planning to leave this house alive. The question was, who would he be taking with him? If I had my way, it wouldn't be any of us. While I might not have had a healthy fear of dying when I'd been in the Army, everything had changed when I'd laid eyes on the man who was willingly walking into hell with me. Like I’d told Cruz, I might not have known what the fuck love was, but I knew that whatever it was, Sam was it for me. Even if I wasn't deserving of him, he still belonged to me and I to him. He’d made his choice last night and I'd made mine the moment I'd stepped out of the shadows in his backyard.
Once we reached the cabin, I forced myself to release Sam's hand and focused on steadying my breathing. I was glad when my instincts took over as we entered the building. I took note of all the entry and exit points as well as different items I could use as a weapon if need be. There hadn't been any point to try and sneak a weapon in on our person because the first thing Bishop would do would be to make sure we were unarmed. But if I could get him out into the open part of the cabin, at least I'd have some items at my disposal that could slow him down and give everyone else a chance to escape.
Once we reached the back room where Bishop was keeping my brother and Sam's sons, I used the last few seconds we had to try and cast out the fear and helplessness I was feeling. I would've loved to have held Sam for those few moments, but I needed to try and quiet my mind. It was like Sam had said, I had a tendency to feel too much and let it get bottled up. That emotion often translated to anger, but I couldn't afford that in this situation. I needed to keep a cool head. I needed to be able to identify any opportunity, no matter how fleeting, to end all of this.