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"You're not going," Matias snapped as he grabbed my arm. I hadn't even heard him move into the room.
"Yes, I am," I responded. I looked at the phone as if that were actually the man who was threatening to destroy my entire life by taking the people I cherished the most. "He wants you to choose. Between me and Cruz, right? That's the choice he wants you to make. And he wants to watch you make it. Just like he wants to watch you suffer when he hurts the one you chose."
Matias didn't answer, but I didn't really need one anyway. I yanked my pants on. As soon as I got them closed, I poked my finger against Matias’s naked chest. "You're going to choose me, do you hear me? You're going to choose me and then you're going to get my children and your brother out of there. That's it. No debate, no argument. I don't care how, but you're going to make that happen. You're going to save my children because you know that's what I need. If you love me even a little bit, you will do this for me. Do you understand me?"
I expected an argument. I was mentally and physically prepared for one. What I wasn't prepared for was for Matias to grab my arm and drag me against him as he said, "I hear you. I'm going to get them out of there and I'm going to get you out of there and when this is over, I'm going to prove to you that a little bit doesn't even begin to describe how much I love you. Do you understand me?"
Under any other circumstances, his declaration would've had me celebrating with joy. But all it did was remind me how much I was really going to lose when this all ended the way I knew it would.
Matias kissed me hard and then he disappeared into the bathroom so he could retrieve his shirt from the night before. He was tugging it on as he came back out of the bathroom. "How did this happen?" he asked Ronan.
"Not sure," the man said. "I just got the call a few minutes ago from one of my men. Bishop managed to get inside the house where Cruz and Elliot are staying with Ryan. He killed one of my guys and used a vehicle fire to distract a couple of the other men. From what they can tell, Bishop was able to get into Ryan's room through a window, but that doesn't make any sense because Cruz would've made sure all the windows and doors were locked before they went to bed."
"Ryan can open windows," I murmured. "He likes the sound of the bugs at night, so he often opens his own window. Even though he has limited mobility, he can use his hands to move the locks and lift the window enough to create a gap."
"That doesn't explain how Bishop found them!" Matias snapped impatiently. I automatically reached my hand out to him. He took it without hesitation and linked his fingers with mine. My intent had been to calm him, but I needed his strength just as badly.
"My guess is Bishop was able to track them using the communication board that Ryan uses," Ronan said. He shifted his gaze to me and asked, "That's how he called you just now, isn't it?"
I felt sick to my stomach as I nodded. Ronan had made it clear before Elliot and Cruz had left that neither could have their regular cell phones on them, just the burner phone. It hadn't even occurred to me that Ryan's communication board had a cellular connection. "Oh God, this is my fault," I whispered.
"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.
