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I cleared my throat and looked away. Plates and glasses materialized on the table as Xavier and Nira made round trips between the kitchen and the dining room.
“Since you hate how busy I am,” I said, “You’ll be glad to know that has changed recently.” I was being sarcastic.
“What do you mean?”
“The MSA dumped me.”
He inhaled deeply, exhaled, and shook his head. Over my shoulder, he locked eyes with his wife.
“Kids, go wash your hands,” Kara said, before sitting down next to me.
It took me five minutes to tell them the whole story. There wasn’t much to tell. I left all emotions out and focused on the facts.
“They’ve done it again,” Kara said. In her voice, I heard anger mixed with sadness. “First Goliath, now you.”
My brother had worked for Monster Security Agency, too. He hadn’t botched his last job, though. On the contrary, he’d done it so well and put himself in so much danger that he’d lost his left leg. The MSA let him go, because what were they supposed to do with him in a wheelchair? They covered his medical bills but didn’t do more than that for him and his family.
It was a job that came with high risks, and we all knew that.
It was the only job I knew how to do.
“Let’s eat,” Kara said when she noticed the kids had stopped just outside of the dining room to listen to us. She gave them a smile and motioned for them to join us. “Come on. There’s no reason to be sad. Everything will be fine.”
I shook my head as I stared at the food on my plate. I didn’t feel worthy of it, but Kara had made it for me especially, so I ate and asked for seconds. Xavier and Nira started telling me about what they were learning in kindergarten, and their lightheartedness shifted the energy at the table. We ended up laughing and having the best time I remembered us having in months.
After lunch, the kids wanted to play outside, and Kara let them. She made herself busy while Goliath and I talked, listening and chiming in when she noticed the conversation was in danger of taking a depressive turn.
“Mason, you don’t have to worry about us,” she said at some point. “We’re doing okay.”
“You’re burning through your savings,” I said.
She shrugged. “Xavier and Nira are old enough now that I can go back to work.” Before marrying my brother and becoming a stay-at-home mom, Kara had worked in sales. “And Goliath will find something, too. It’s a little harder, but not impossible.”
At least he hadn’t been blacklisted.
I rubbed a hand over my face, not knowing what to say. I felt so embarrassed that when my phone vibrated in my pocket,I was relieved I could take a break and step outside. I excused myself and went through the back door, into the yard, where the kids were playing. My relief turned into anger when I saw my boss’s name on the screen.
“What?” I barked into the phone.
“Mason. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“You are.”
“I’ll keep this brief, then. I know we haven’t parted ways on the best of terms, but a job just came in, and you’re the only one who can do it.”
Chapter Two
Maya
As soon as I opened my eyes, a pain like I’d never felt before exploded between my temples. My vision was blurry. I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of what was happening to me. I was surrounded by darkness, I was cold, so stiff that I could barely move, and the pain started seeping through all the muscles in my body. I was lying on the floor, with just a thin mattress to protect me from the rough cement. My shoulders were stiff, and when I tried moving my arms, I realized I was restricted. I felt the bite of metal on my wrists, and panic gripped my chest.
I was cuffed.
Gathering all the strength I could muster, I rolled onto my side and pulled at my restraints. It didn’t take me long to realize that the chain was bolted to the floor, a few feet from where my head rested on the old, smelly mattress. I groaned, my head spinning, but I had to push through the panic. Now that I was awake, I couldn’t just lie here and accept this. Whatever this was.
I knew what it was. I’d been kidnapped.
I sat up even though every bone in my body protested, tucked my legs under me, and looked around the room. I couldn’t distinguish much, and it wasn’t just because it was dark and there were no windows. There wasn’t much to distinguish. The only objects in the room seemed to be the mattress I was lying on – no pillow and no blanket – and a bucket in a corner. It was within reach, so I stretched toward it, the chains that held my hands tied rattling. I grabbed the bucket and stared into it. It was empty.
