Camden came back in the room and put his finger to his mouth, motioning for us all to be quiet. Then he pointed at the bed and nodded.
I didn’t think I could move my legs. The terror was too great. I heard a knock at the door. Someone tried to turn the knob. I was going to die.
But somehow I did it. I got on my knees on one side of the bed while Camden did the same on the other. We both flattened out and then squeezed in sideways, barely making it. The broken coils of the mattress pulled at my hair but I ignored the pain.
We were both under the bed, side by side. We wiggled as far back as we could go until our feet touched the wall. We tucked our limbs up against us just as Javier called out, “Housekeeping” from outside the door.
I held my breath and waited. Uncle Jim got off the bed, the mattress rising in front of us by a bit. I could see his legs, mid-calf to his dusty Timberland boots as he walked over to the door and opened it.
“What the hell is this?” Javier asked, his voice collected but with a sliver of annoyance poking through. His sleek leather shoes entered the room followed by Raul’s and Alex’s. I could. Not. Breathe.
“I don’t know what happened,” Uncle Jim said. He was trying to stay calm but his words trembled. “They came and then they left right away. I think they were suspicious, I don’t know why.”
“They what?” Javier seethed quietly. “They were here? And you let them go?”
Though I couldn’t see above his shins, I could tell he was coiling up like a snake. Seeking the right moment to strike.
“I…I don’t know what happened,” Uncle Jim went on. “I’ll try again. It was that McQueen kid; he didn’t want Ellie to be here.”
“Mmhmm,” Javier mused. It looked like he turned around to look at the others. His shoes came forward and walked, step by step, over to the bed. Over to us.
Camden’s fingers wrapped around mine as we held our arms as close to each other as possible. We were worse than sitting ducks. There was nothing to prevent Javier from dropping to the floor and peering under the bed. He could fire the gun underneath. He could shoot the mattress. We had no way of escape. Even with Camden’s gun, it didn’t look like we’d make it out of here alive.
He stopped right in front of us. I could see the grains in the leather of his brown shoes, see a speck of grey lint on his black cashmere socks. His feet turned as if he was looking around. Now his heels were facing us, inches away. I didn’t dare breathe and I couldn’t if I wanted to.
“Do you still want the money?” Javier asked delicately.
“Of course I do,” Uncle Jim said. “But I don’t know what happened. I don’t know why they left. I’ll try better next time. I need the money, you know I do.”
“You say they believed your story?”
“Ellie believes everything I tell her,” he said with a hint of sadness. Another kick to my gut.
“You know you’re not a very good uncle, leading her on like this,” Javier mused softly. “The poor girl put all her trust in you and you’re breaking it. Believe me, I’ve done it to her before. She can’t seem to catch a break.”
I could hear my uncle swallow hard. “Ellie made my life very difficult.”
“Oh, she made my life difficult too,” he agreed. “But I enjoyed every minute of it.”
I knew he was smiling. I could feel it.
“You promised me you wouldn’t hurt her,” Uncle Jim said. “When I bring her to you, you’ll promise, right?”
Javier chuckled. “I don’t break my promises.” He slowly started walking toward the door. With each step my heart rate slowed. He stopped and turned slightly. “Unfortunately, I once promised to kill any man who’d hurt her. You’re here, aren’t you? The damage is done.”
Javier moved. A gun with a silencer went off. There was a wealth of tension as my world slowed down. My eyes were glued to the legs in front of the bed. Uncle Jim’s staggered to the right a step.
Then he fell down to the floor hard, right in front of us. A bullet wound in his head.
I opened my mouth to scream but Camden’s hand was suddenly over my mouth, holding it in. I bit down on his fingers, I couldn’t help it. I had to bite or I’d reveal us in seconds. He kept his fingers there, letting me, until the scream was swallowed up inside.
“Such a shame,” Javier said to Raul and Alex. They left the room and closed the door behind them. I remained frozen in place, unable to look away from my uncle’s dead face, the tiny droplet of blood that was slowly making its way down his forehead, the way his eyes stayed open, caught in utter remorse. They stared at me, burning their way into my brain, an image that promised to never go away.
After we heard the car start and drive off, Camden got out from under the bed. He tore the bedspread off and quickly covered my uncle up with it. It didn’t matter. I could still feel his dead eyes on me.
Camden’s legs went over to the window. “Ellie, we have to go now. They’ll be back. Ellie?”