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"Strip," Bishop said. "Both of you."
I glanced at Matias and saw him instantly begin removing his clothes. I did the same. It wasn't until we were completely naked that Bishop seemed somewhat satisfied. I also didn't miss the fact that his eyes lingered on Matias. If I hadn't been so terrified, I most definitely would've been jealous.
"Get dressed," Bishop said with a wave of his gun.
My fingers shook violently as I hurried to get redressed.
"Let the kid go now, Bishop," Matias said, his voice even and cool.
Bishop smiled smugly and then all of a sudden, he tossed something at me. I instinctively caught it and realized it was zip ties. "Tie him up," he said. "Do it right and your kid gets to leave."
The fact that my son's life depended on my ability to work zip ties was like the cruelest of ironies.
"Just breathe," Matias said softly and then he was turning his back to me. He held his hands out behind him. When I looked down at the zip ties, I realized they were already looped so all I had to do was slip them over Matias’s hands and pull them tight. It still hurt like a son of a bitch to do it. As much as I wanted to leave them a little loose, even if only for comfort’s sake, I couldn't risk Ryan's life and I knew that Matias wouldn't want me to. I tightened the ties until I was sure they couldn't be any tighter without risking cutting off Matias’s blood supply. As soon as I turned in Bishop's direction, a second set of ties was flung at me.
"His feet too."
Matias dropped to his knees. I quickly did up his feet and then waited for the next instructions. Tears were streaking down Ryan's face, but he still had his eyes closed. Bishop suddenly pulled a wicked-looking knife from his pocket. "No!" I shouted. But as soon as I took a step forward, Bishop pressed the gun harder against Ryan's temple.
I once again froze and held my breath. Bishop laughed an ugly laugh and then he was stepping away from Ryan, finally lowering the gun just a bit. He kept his eyes on me as he moved over to where Cruz and Elliot were kneeling. With a quick swipe of the knife, he freed Elliot's hands and feet. "Up," he snapped at my older son.
Elliot stumbled to his feet. He looked between me and Cruz and then Ryan but remained where he was. He didn’t touch the gag that Bishop had left on him.
"Take the kid and go," Bishop said to Elliot as he put the gun to Cruz's head. I knew without a doubt how hard it was for Elliot to move in that moment. But he did it. He stepped away from Cruz and hurried to his little brother. I was afraid to breathe for fear that Bishop would change his mind, or worse, pull the trigger and kill Cruz right in front of us.
Elliot worked quickly to pick up Ryan. He seemed to fumble with trying to open the strap that kept Ryan buckled in the seat.
"Hurry up!" Bishop barked.
Elliot let out what sounded like a hoarse apology behind the gag and then he was gathering Ryan in his arms. He tripped as he stumbled past me and I instinctively reached out to catch both him and Ryan. It wasn't until I felt something hard and cold pressed against my hand behind Ryan's back that I realized the move hadn't been accidental at all.
"Get out!" Bishop yelled.
Elliot's eyes connected briefly with mine as he righted himself and tucked Ryan against his chest. "I love you," I managed to say to the both of them and then I was opening the door. Bishop had already tugged Cruz to his feet and was using him as a human shield so the men standing outside the door had no choice but to keep their guns lowered as Elliot rushed Ryan out of the room.
"Close it!" Bishop ordered and then he was telling me to lock it. The deadbolt sliding into place was deafening. But the cold metal pressed against the inside of my wrist was like a beacon of hope. As Elliot had been leaving the room, I'd managed to tuck what I now realized was a switchblade beneath my sleeve. I could only figure that the weapon had been stashed in the folds of Ryan’s wheelchair, though there was no way of knowing how Cruz or Elliot might have gotten it there. The details were unimportant. All I cared about was that the small blade could mean the difference between life and death for all of us.
Bishop shoved Cruz to the ground. With his hands behind his back, Cruz had no way of catching himself.
"So this was your brilliant plan?" Matias asked Bishop. Despite his feet being bound, Matias somehow managed to climb to his feet. Bishop seemed unconcerned by the move. I didn't blame him. After all, how much damage could Matias do with his hands tied behind his back and his feet bound?
