"Eager to start the day's events?" Bishop asked in amusement.
"You know me, Bishop. When I know what I want, I take it. You wanted me to choose. Fine, I choose Cruz."
Although I didn't really know what Matias was up to, when Bishop looked at me in surprise, I did my best to look heartbroken. The second he turned his attention back to Matias, I slipped my hand into my sleeve and tried to work the switchblade open so the knife would be at the ready.
"What? Does that surprise you?" Matias asked. "Did you actually think I'd choose a fuck over my own blood? I would've thought you learned that lesson two years ago when I chose Cruz over you."
Bishop let out a rough laugh, but it was filled more with uncertainty than anything else.
"That's what this is about, isn't it?" Matias asked. "How many times did you lose out to me, Bishop? Our one and only fuck was on my terms, I didn't even have to express an interest in the job you wanted before the Army handed it to me, and then with your first act of subordination, I was poised to throw you in lockup for the rest of your days. I was thinking that hatred drove your obsession with me, but if that were true, you would've tried putting me down a long time ago. Your first chance to come after me and instead of lying in wait, you once again use my little brother to lure me out. Were you hoping I'd somehow make a different choice this time? That maybe I'd go for the guy I was fucking"—Matias looked pointedly at me for a moment before returning his attention to Bishop—"instead of the brother you lost out to the first time around?"
I knew that everything Matias was saying about me was absolute crap, but he’d thrown Bishop for a loop. It was clear in the way the man kept looking between me and Cruz. I did my best to play the devastated lover. In between, I continued to fiddle with the switchblade to try and get it open, but with one hand, it was beyond tricky.
"No," Bishop said slowly. "You're a good fuck, I'll give you that. So that explains his"—Bishop jabbed the gun in my direction—"lovey-dovey shit all over the internet, but that look in your eyes when you were looking at him…" Bishop shook his head and then suddenly his gun was trained on me. "You can't fake that shit."
I saw it happening in the same moment that Matias shouted. Bishop's finger closed in on the trigger. The gun blast was deafening, but I still managed to watch the events play out in what seemed like slow motion before me. As soon as Bishop started to pull the trigger, Cruz chose that moment to kick out with his legs, catching Bishop in the knee. As the man's leg buckled, Matias's entire body slammed into him and the men hit the floor hard. I expected to feel some kind of blow when the bullet hit me, but there was nothing.
Because the bullet never hit me.
It sailed over my shoulder and lodged in the wall behind me.
I watched in horror as Matias tried to use his body to hold Bishop down, but when the gun went off again, Matias groaned and Cruz shouted. It was the blood on Matias’s white shirt that finally got me moving.
The fingers that had been shaking from the moment I’d stepped into that room were suddenly as calm as if I were taking an evening stroll. I pulled the switchblade from beneath my sleeve at the same time that I stepped forward. Bishop was in the process of trying to aim his gun at Matias's chest. There wasn't even a moment's hesitation on my part as I flipped the blade open and dropped to my knees by Bishop’s head. Cruz was doing his best to get to the pair, but I knew he wouldn't make it in time.
Not that it would've mattered, because I already knew what I had to and would do. The fucker was trying to take my Matias from me. He'd terrorized my little boy and he'd beaten Elliot. He’d come close to stealing Cruz’s life two years ago and ending Matias’s in the process. This was done.
With that thought in mind, I grabbed the handle of the blade with both hands and plunged the knife down, not really aiming at any one spot in particular. Whatever piece of him I got, it would be enough. I'd make sure of it.
My aim ended up being better than I ever could have planned it. The blade sank deep into his throat. Blood spurted everywhere as Bishop let out a muted howl that quickly turned into heavy, wet gurgles. I didn't know if he was drowning in his own blood or if he was losing it too quickly for that to happen. I didn't care. I did nothing more than climb to my feet and kick the gun away from his hand. I was already stepping over the man's dying body to get to Matias when the door to the room burst open. I ignored all the chaos that followed and focused on my man.
"Matias, stay with me," I insisted as I fell to my knees and cradled him against my chest. The position was awkward because his hands were still tied behind his back. As the blood on his shirt continued to make it more red than white, panic began to take over. "Matias, open your eyes," I practically yelled when he dared to close them for a moment.
"No yelling, sweetheart," Matias murmured as his head lolled against my chest. "Gun burst my eardrum, I think."
The fact that he was talking to me had me crying in relief. I managed a wet laugh as I said, "It kind of put a hole in you too."
"Matias! Matias!" Cruz called. A moment later, he was there at our side. Someone had cut his hands and feet loose. I was glad to see that he wasn't seriously injured.
"No yelling," Matias growled, sounding much more like himself.
"Fuck," Cruz responded, his voice mixed with relief and fear. He quickly ripped Matias’s shirt as another man cut the zip ties. I heard someone calling Ronan's name, but it wasn't until the man who I'd learned was a surgeon appeared at Matias's side that I took in a breath. "Looks like a flesh wound, right?" Cruz asked Ronan.
Ronan examined the wound on Matias’s side for several long seconds and then finally nodded. "He'll need stitches but expect him to be his charming self in no time."
I let out a cry of relief as I dropped my head to Matias’s. I was sure I heard him say something in protest to Ronan about his attitude, but I didn't care what it was. I began to sob uncontrollably as the adrenaline rush consumed me.
"Hey, hey," Matias said gently as one bloodied hand came up to cradle the back of my neck. "It's over, sweetheart. It's finally over."
I shook my head and carefully pressed a kiss to his mouth. I smiled when he eagerly kissed me back.
"Not over, Matias," I said softly. "It's only just beginning."
Epilogue
Matias
FOUR MONTHS LATER
"Jesus fucking Christ!" Sam shouted when I stepped from the shadows along the fence line. I found myself smiling despite the string of curses that continued to fall from his lips.
"I figured you were pulling a Steve Martin," I said.
"A what?" Sam asked.
"You know, that part from the movie we watched the other night where the guy spent the whole reception keeping himself busy so he wouldn't have to watch his daughter leave with her new husband?"
Sam crossed his arms, a sure sign I was in trouble.
Good. That was exactly why I'd followed my man outside. I'd heard that weddings made some people crazy, but this particular one was having a pretty harrowing effect on my guy. I couldn't really blame him, of course, because anyone who watched their oldest get married would likely be just as emotional. Hell, as Cruz and Elliot had said their vows to one another, I’d found myself tearing up. It had caused me to actually shirk my duties as best man when it had come time to hand Cruz the ring he’d gotten Elliot.