Kraken
Early morning light slips through the narrow window of my room.
The compound sits quiet after the violence of last night.
I wake with Tia curled tight against my chest. Her soft breathing brushes warm across my neck.
The covers are gone. One of her legs drapes over mine.
That ridiculous pineapple sleep shirt has ridden up enough to bare a strip of smooth skin at her hip.
Vanilla and coconut cling to her hair and skin.
I stay perfectly still and savor the feel of her.
My cock strains hard against my boxers where her thigh presses close.
I breathe through the raw need. I ease my arm from around her waist, careful not to wake her.
She makes a soft sound and shifts into the warm spot I leave behind.
I pull the blanket higher around her shoulders and watch her settle again.
The sight claws at every primal instinct I own.
I want to crawl back in and pin her down.
Claim her until the only name she remembers is mine. Instead I force myself to the door.
I slip out quietly into the hall. The prospect I left on watch last night straightens when he sees me.
I keep moving down the corridor to the room Tia used before.
The door stands unlocked. I push inside.
The spider plant sits on the small table near the window where she left it.
Kevin. She named the fucking thing Kevin and talks to it like it can answer back.
I grab the pot careful with the leaves. I carry it back to my room and set it on the nightstand right beside her side of the bed.
The tentacles on her cartoon backpack seem to watch me from the floor.
She’ll wake to something familiar. Something that pulls that smile across her face.
The thought settles me more than it should.
I head into the bathroom and strip fast. Cold water pounds over my skin in the shower but it does nothing to kill the heat she left in my blood.
I dress in fresh jeans and a black shirt.
My cut slides over my shoulders last. The worn fabric feels heavier this morning.
Weighted with every threat circling my club and the woman asleep in my bed.
I lace my boots tight and step back into the room.
Tia still sleeps deep. Her hair fans messy across my pillow.
One sock peeks out from under the blanket.
I brush a strand from her cheek. My fingers linger on her soft skin. Then I force myself out again.
The prospect stands ready outside my door. "Prez."
"Stay right here," I order. "Tia doesn’t leave this room until I return. No one goes in. No one speaks to her. You come find me the second she wakes. Understand?"
He nods quick. "Yes, Prez. I got it."
I leave him guarding her and walk toward the operations room.
The compound stirs slow around me. Brothers nod respect as I pass.
Tension still rides thick in the air from the breach.
Blood dried on the ground outside. We lost no patched members but the message from whoever it was cut deep.
I push through the operations room door.
Mace and Ghost already wait at the main console.
Screens glow blue with perimeter feeds and shipment logs.
Bitter coffee sits in the pot near the wall.
I pour a cup and join them at the table.
"Talk," I say. "Who were the men we put down last night?"
Mace rubs a hand over his beard. His eyes look bloodshot but sharp. "We ran prints and faces through every contact we got. Cartel. Straight Miami crew. Low level soldiers but connected to the bigger families."
Ghost leans against the edge of the table. Arms crossed tight over his chest. "Weapons were clean. Movement coordinated. They hit our blind spots like they studied them."
Cartel. The word lands heavy in my gut. Finn's cousin in Miami sits too fucking close to this. Ties that suddenly look like threads yanking our shipment into the dark. I set my coffee down hard enough to slosh liquid over the rim. “Anyone find Finn yet?”
Mace nods once. "Teams already watching his spots. But Prez the compound feels compromised. That breach came from inside the wire. Cameras dropped too clean. Someone fed them our exact patterns."
Ghost shifts his weight. "We need to scatter until we cut the rot out. Split up. Harder for them to hit us all at once."
I stare at the feeds. The west perimeter still shows fresh scars from last night's fight. My mind turns to Tia asleep down the hall. Kevin waiting on the nightstand beside her. She trusts me to keep her breathing. I won’t let her become a target in my club's war.
"Send every man to the Miami compound. Full lockdown there.
The neighbors owe us favors. Make the move look clean. "
Mace raises an eyebrow. "All of us?"
I meet his eyes steady. "All the patched and prospects head to Miami by tonight. I take Tia somewhere else. Somewhere no one finds us. Not even you two."
Ghost studies me for a long beat. He doesn’t argue. Smart. Mace opens his mouth then shuts it again. He knows my tone leaves no room for questions.
"This stays between us," I warn. "The club rolls out looking like the whole operation shifts north. I handle her protection separately. No leaks. No trails."
Mace exhales through his nose. "You sure about going dark alone with her?"
"She stays with me." The words come raw and final. "No one touches her. I make damn sure of it."
They both nod. Orders start rolling out quiet and efficient.
Brothers will pack light. Engines will roar toward Miami before the sun drops.
I stay rooted at the console longer. I review the logs with them.
Timestamps on the lost shipment. Deleted message threads pulled from phones.
Every piece circles tighter around Finn and his Cartel connections.
The rot inside my club runs deeper than I want to admit.
Mace pulls up another layer of feeds. "Miami confirms space. Secure wing ready for the full crew."
"Good. Lock it in. Full relocation." I straighten and roll my shoulders. The cut feels tight across my back. "I’ve got my own route for Tia."
Ghost meets my stare. Silent understanding passes between us. He knows what it means when I go this quiet.