He had allowed his full weight and gravity to do the job.Clifton ran across the room, gripped his son around the thighs with both arms and hoisted him up. Somehow wrenched-ripped-tore the bar free and lowered Ray onto the carpet. He scrabbled at the noose with both hands, unmindful of the pain to his fingers as he worked it loose from where it had embedded into flesh.Using CPR and breathing into Ray’s mouth, Clifton was in a state of panic. He needed help. Would have to leave his son and use the phone to call 911. After working on Ray for a minute he looked around and saw his son’s cell on the dresser. Made the call and left the phone on the floor on speaker as he continued compressions and spoke to the operator.The ambulance arrived within ten minutes. The paramedics took over from Clifton and used a defibrillator to shock Ray’s heart into starting up again.“He’s alive,” one of the paramedics said.Clifton got shakily up from his knees, staggered over to the bed and sat on the edge of it, trembling and crying. “Will he be okay?” he asked.“If you found him in time and kept enough oxygen flowing to his brain and heart, then he has a good chance of making a full recovery, sir.” Jerry Corbin said as he worked on Ray. “But we won’t know exactly how he is till we get him to the hospital for treatment and tests.”Clifton contemplated what had taken place. Ray had survived attempted suicide, but could be brain dead or in a condition that would leave him with no quality of life worth spit.Five minutes later Clifton was on board the ambulance, holding his son’s limp hand as the vehicle headed at speed for the Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs.Henry sat next to Kate on the sofa. “Here’s what’s goin’ to happen,” he said. “You tell us where Logan is, and we tie you up and leave. How does that sound?”Kate blinked away tears and made eye contact with the man. “I think that you plan on killing me, whatever I tell you,” she said. “Who are you?”Henry smiled again. “I’m Henry, and my associate is Benjamin, but his friends call him Bunny, due to the size of his ears. And now that we all know each other, I suggest you start talkin’, before I lose my temper.”“I have no idea where Logan is,” Kate said. “He got a ride out of town this morning. I don’t even know if he plans on coming back.”Bunny made a performance out of drawing his gun from the shoulder holster. He then retrieved a suppressor from a pocket of his Duster and screwed it on to the Glock’s muzzle and aimed the weapon at Kate’s stomach.“Bunny is low on patience,” Henry said. “He’ll gut shoot you if you play dumb.”“Please, don’t. If I knew where he was I’d tell you,” Kate said, a little ashamed to be pleading with the two thugs.Henry reached out and grasped her right breast. Dug his fingers in deep and twisted hard. Kate moaned against the pain and tried to pull away from him, but his hand was like a vise.“Last chance, bitch,” Henry said as he held the short blade of the box cutter up to within an inch of Kate’s left eye.
