Tia
The SUV bounces hard over uneven ground as we pull into a small airfield near the water.
My wrists burn from the zip ties cutting into my skin.
Every breath feels too shallow. My heart hammers so loud it drowns out the engine.
The two men beside me laugh and joke in Spanish like this is just another night for them.
One of them keeps staring at me with hungry eyes that make my skin crawl.
I press myself smaller against the seat and try not to shake visibly.
The vehicle stops in front of a large hangar.
Floodlights glare down from tall poles casting harsh shadows across cracked concrete.
Armed guards patrol the perimeter. Rifles slung over shoulders.
Tattoos visible even in the poor light. They look nothing like Kraken’s men.
These are colder. Meaner. Organized in a way that screams cartel.
The doors open. Rough hands drag me out. My feet stumble on the gravel. Cool night air hits my bare arms and raises goosebumps. The smell of saltwater and diesel fuel and something metallic hangs heavy around us. I twist my head trying to see everything at once. More guards. More guns. No escape.
"Move," one of them barks. He shoves me forward through a side door.
Inside the hangar the air feels thicker. Dim overhead lights buzz faintly. Crates stack high along the walls. The floor feels sticky under my flip flops. I hear voices echoing from deeper inside. Then I see him.
Dad.
He sits tied to a metal chair in the center of an open space. His face looks swollen and bruised. Blood crusts at the corner of his mouth. One eye is nearly shut. His clothes are torn and dirty. But he’s alive. His head lifts when he hears the commotion. His good eye widens when he spots me.
"Tia!" His voice cracks rough and desperate.
I tear free from the guard’s grip and run to him. My tied hands make it awkward but I don’t care. I drop to my knees in front of his chair and press my face against him. Tears spill hot down my cheeks. "Dad. Oh god Dad. Are you okay? They hurt you. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault."
His body feels warm but trembling slightly. He leans his head down against mine as much as the ropes allow. "Shh kiddo. Not your fault. Never your fault. You okay? Did they touch you?"
I shake my head against him. Sobs choke my throat. "I’m fine. Just scared. Kraken’s coming. He’ll find us. He promised."
One of the cartel men laughs loud behind me. The tall one from the SUV. He walks over slow with a smug grin on his face. A pistol hangs loose in his hand. "Touching family reunion. But you’re wrong, little girl. This was always about you."
I turn my head just enough to glare at him while keeping my cheek pressed to Dad’s chest. "What are you talking about?"
He crouches down so we’re eye level. His breath smells like cigarettes and mint gum.
"You work in data analysis. Little signals. Patterns. Blips in the streams. You started noticing things you shouldn’t have.
Shipments. Routes. Money flows. Our money.
Our operations. You flagged anomalies that made our bosses nervous.
So we watched you. Then we used your father to draw out the biker trash.
But you... you were always the real target. "
Dad tenses against me. "Leave her out of this. She’s just a kid doing her job."
The man stands and laughs again. The sound bounces off the metal walls.
Several guards chuckle with him. "She’s not a kid anymore.
She’s the reason we lost two major shipments last month.
Her little reports nearly exposed a whole network.
It’s why we took the Royal Bastard’s shipment instead.
Now she’s insurance. When the president comes running we’ll use her to make him kneel.
Kill two birds. Then we take everything. "
I feel sick. My mind races back to the weird signals at work.
The patterns that felt off. The ones I mentioned in passing to my supervisor.
I thought it was nothing. Corporate stuff.
Boring data glitches. Not this. Not cartel shipments and biker wars.
Not my father beaten and tied up because of something I saw.
"I didn’t know," I whisper. Tears keep falling. "I was just doing my job. Please let him go. Take me instead. He has nothing to do with any of this."
The tall man shakes his head. "Too late for that. Both of you stay right here until Kraken delivers himself. Then the real fun begins."
He nods to the guards. They haul me up and tie me to a chair a few feet from Dad. The plastic digs deeper into my wrists. My ankle throbs from the earlier scuffle. I look at Dad through blurry eyes. His face looks so broken but his expression stays fierce.
"Stay strong kiddo," he says quietly. "Kraken will come. That boy doesn’t know how to fail."
I nod even though fear claws at my insides.
The warehouse feels colder now. Distant voices echo.
Guns click as guards check weapons. The smell of oil and rust and sweat makes my stomach turn.
I focus on Dad’s face. On the love in his swollen eyes.
On the faint hope that Kraken’s already tearing the city apart to find us.
Minutes stretch into what feels like hours.
My shoulders ache from the awkward position.
My mouth feels dry. Every small sound makes me jump.
A guard walks past and smirks at me. Another brings water and holds the bottle to my lips like I’m an animal.
I drink because I have to. The liquid tastes metallic.
Dad keeps talking to me in low whispers when the guards aren’t paying attention.
Stories from when I was little. How I named my first goldfish after a cartoon character.
How proud he was the day I graduated. He tells me he loves me.
That none of this is my fault. That we’ll get through this together.
I cry quietly. The tears fall onto my lap.
I think about Kraken. His stormy eyes. The way he held me after we made love.
The way he brought Kevin to my bedside so I wouldn’t wake up alone.
He’s coming. I know it. But the waiting feels endless.
The fear feels alive. Like it has teeth and it’s slowly chewing through my hope.
The tall cartel man returns eventually. He drags a metal chair over and sits across from us. His smile never reaches his eyes. "Your biker should be here soon. We left plenty of breadcrumbs. When he arrives you get to watch what happens to men who think they can own these streets."
I lift my chin even though my voice shakes. "He’ll kill you. All of you. And I’ll smile while he does it."
The man laughs again. Loud and mocking. Several guards join in. The sound fills the hangar and wraps around my fear until it feels suffocating.
I close my eyes and picture Kraken’s face. His voice in my ear. The way he said I was his. I hold onto that. Onto the memory of his arms around me. Onto the promise he made.
He’s coming.
He has to be coming.
Right? Oh god, please let him come.