Obsessed (The Protectors #13) - Sloane Kennedy Page 0,93

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