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“I’m still fine,” Carlos says as he answers his phone, smiling at his fiancé’s predictability. It’s his first day back on shift since he was kidnapped and overdosed, and TK has called every hour on the hour to check on him. It’s sweet and has become sort of a game at this point, even if it is a little past the hour mark this time. “You’re late,” he teases, his smile widening as he anticipates the sassy comeback.
But TK doesn’t respond.
“Babe?” Carlos feels his amusement transition to worry as he presses the phone tighter against his ear, listening. TK is breathing in that shallow way that often indicates pain or fear...or both. "TK. What’s wrong?"
The continued silence on the other end of the line points to trouble. The kind of trouble that makes people dial 911, then leave the line open for the dispatcher to hear what's happening even if the caller is unable to communicate.
“TK.”
Carlos is on his feet, heading toward the ext. He’s been on desk duty all morning, but now he’s heading home. Heading back to where he left TK only a few hours ago.
Carlos can still picture him standing in the doorway of the loft, sleepy but insistent that he send Carlos off with a smoothie and a few dozen good luck kisses.
TK was fine then.
And he was fine when he last called Carlos.
But he’s not fine now.
“TK. Are you hurt?”
That’s the first possibility that comes to mind.
(It’s always the first possibility that comes to mind.)
But illness is also a possibility since TK gets sick quicker than anyone Carlos has ever known. He’ll literally be fine one minute and spiking a fever the next.
And then there’s the possibility of…
Carlos shakes his head, refusing to go down that road. He knows TK has been stressed with everything going on between them, but he believes in his fiancé’s recovery. TK wouldn’t use, and if he felt the need to, he would call Cooper or go to a meeting.
“TK.” Carlos bypasses the elevator as he heads for the stairs. “Baby. Please answer me.”
If TK could, he would.
Carlos knows that.
Which makes this prolonged silence even more concerning, even more panic-inducing.
“TK.”
"TK."
Carlos halts mid-stride as an unfamiliar voice echoes his fiancé's name.
"We talked about this," the stranger continues. "No." There's a distinct thump followed by a grunt. "Phone calls." Another thump, another grunt.
Whoever is with TK is kicking the shit out of him to further make their point; boot against ribcage if Carlos had to guess, implying TK is on the floor. Most likely bound. Probably gagged. And definitely injured, though not by accident. This – whatever this is – is intentional. Some faceless, nameless asshole is deliberately hurting TK.
"Hey!" Carlos yells, his hand aching from how tightly he's gripping the phone. He doesn't know if the stranger can hear him, but he's desperate to distract, desperate to prevent another attack on his defenseless fiancé. "Hey!"
There's muffled movement as the stranger lifts TK's phone.
"Carlos Reyes."
Carlos arches an eyebrow. He knows he’s listed as “Papi” in TK’s contacts, so how –
The stranger hums a laugh. Arrogant, amused. "You're wondering how I know your name. And why I have your fiancé."
He’s not wrong.
But the primary question in this moment is location. Because Carlos can’t rescue TK or kick this stranger’s ass if he doesn’t know where they are.
The stranger laughs again. “You're the police officer," he taunts. "Figure it out."
After that, the line goes dead, and when Carlos tries to call back, the phone has either been turned off or destroyed.
“Fuck!”
“Officer?” Ty eyes Carlos as they pass in the stairwell. He doesn’t know this patrolman very well, but he knows Carlos’s reputation. And his outburst combined with his frantic behavior seems out of character. “Everything okay?”
“No! Somebody has TK.”
Ty frowns. There’s only person he knows by that name. “Captain Strand’s son?”
“Yes!”
“Who? Where?”
“I don’t know.” But Carlos intends to find out. He sidesteps Ty, glaring when the man stops him from descending another flight of stairs. “Sergeant…”
Ty twitches a smile at the warning in Carlos’s tone. He likes this kid. “Wherever you’re going, you’ll need backup.”
“Fine. Just don’t get in my way.”
Ty nods his understanding and follows Carlos out to the parking lot. En route to the loft, he requests his team to track the location of TK’s phone while Carlos calls Owen, alerting him to the unfolding situation.
Ten minutes later, they’re meeting up in a different parking lot. Carlos expected TK’s dad to join them, but the additional officers are a surprise.
Ty shrugs when Carlos looks at him. “You can never have too much backup.”
Carlos knows that’s true, though he doesn’t think they’ll run into trouble here. Trouble has already come and gone, taking TK with it. But this is TK’s last known location, so they’ll start here while they wait for Ty’s team to complete the GPS mapping on TK’s number.
Once upstairs, they find the loft empty but not undisturbed. There are clear signs of a struggle, and Carlos is staring at the blood smeared across the floor between the couch and the kitchen when the call comes.
Owen doesn’t recognize the number but answers it anyway.
“Howdy, Strand. Remember me?”
“That’s him.” Carlos has heard this voice only once before, but he knows it. “He has TK.”
Owen shows no outward reaction, though his heart is pounding. The guy on the screen does look vaguely familiar, but why would he want to harm TK?
“Mikey?”
The guy blinks when Ty calls his name, then smiles as Ty appears beside Owen.
“Well, if it isn’t the OG himself. Sergeant O’Brien. It’s good to see you.”
Ty can’t say the same.
“Today’s a big day for your nephew.”
Ty narrows his eyes. What’s that supposed to mean? “You know Andy?”
“I do,” Mikey confirms. “And after today, everyone in Austin will, too. Hell, everyone in the nation.” He grins. “The wheels on the bus go boom, boom, boom!”
Ty exchanges a look with Owen as Mikey laughs maniacally.
“But that’s not why I’m calling. Is, um…is Carlos there? I’d call him myself, but I’d have to turn TK’s phone back on to get the number, and I know y’all are tracing it, so…”
“How did you get this number?”
“Honor Dogs.”
Owen nods. Of course.
“Look. I know y’all are at the loft. I can see all the fancy stuff in the background, so if Carlos could join the chat, that’d be great.”
“I’m here,” Carlos says, stepping into frame. “Where’s TK?”
Mikey smiles before disappearing from view. The phone becomes unsteady as he either mounts it or props it against something, then slowly pans to the right until TK is revealed.
The instant relief – he’s alive! – is followed by horror and anger as Carlos takes in TK’s appearance. He’s bound and gagged just as Carlos had suspected. And although Carlos knew TK didn’t go without a fight, it’s still shocking to see him so beaten and bloody. TK’s shirt is ripped at the collar, and he looks both terrified and defiant as he lays on the floor, curled on his side as he glares up at Mikey.
“I can’t tell you how happy I was when I discovered you had a son who was both Jewish and gay.” Mikey is talking to Owen again, his smile morphing into something so twisted, so sick. He’s enjoying this. “Two things I fucking hate.” He backhands TK, laughing when TK cries out around the gag shoved in his mouth…then laughing again when he sees the effect it has on Owen and Carlos. “But when I found out he’s also engaged to a cop…another thing I fucking hate…I just knew I had to meet him. And have a little fun with him.” The threat is implied even without Mikey removing his belt. “So, if y’all will excuse us…”
The call ends abruptly…just like Mikey’s life will end as soon as Carlos finds him.
“Whoa. Hey.” Owen blocks Carlos’s path. “I know you’re pissed. And scared. I am, too. But we need a plan.”
“We’ve got one,” Ty announces as he reads the incoming text. “TK’s phone last pinged at the Honor Dogs ranch.”
Carlos clenches his jaw along with his fist. Everything keeps coming back to that – to another one of Owen’s stupid decisions. He cuts his eyes at TK’s father before glancing at the blood on the floor between them, the message clear: you did this. By choosing to get mixed up with a gang of Nazis, Owen put TK at risk, and while Carlos has forgiven a lot of Owen’s shit, he’s not sure he can forgive this.
Carlos holds Owen’s gaze, then gives the signal to clear out. He leads the other officers down the hall at a full run and maxes out the speed on his patrol cruiser as they race toward the ranch. It’s at least 20 minutes outside city limits; plenty of time for Carlos to imagine every single horrible thing TK is enduring at the hands of that white supremist psycho.
When they arrive, Carlos drives right through the gate, braking hard as he grabs his rifle from the passenger seat. He loops the strap over his head and immediately moves toward the stable. Ty’s team couldn’t pinpoint the exact whereabouts of TK on the property, but Carlos grew up on a ranch. He’s seen his share of barns, and the background of Mikey’s video chat had all the hallmarks.
As he moves forward, Carlos is aware of other officers following, of Ty bringing up the rear, but he keeps his focus straight ahead as he simultaneously clears the building while searching for TK.
When Carlos finds him, Mikey is standing over him, gun pointed at TK’s head. But Carlos shoots first, taking Mikey down with a single shot to the shoulder. He collapses on top of TK, and it’s not until Ty takes Mikey into custody that Carlos realizes TK is stark naked.
Carlos swears under his breath as he passes his weapon to another officer and snatches a horse blanket from the wall, crouching to cover TK. “It’s me,” he soothes when TK flinches away from his touch. He holds out his hands to show he’s not a threat before removing the gag from TK’s mouth, his heart breaking when TK refuses to make eye contact. “Baby. Look at me.”
TK does so slowly, blinking as he realizes who is reaching for him. “Carlos?”
Carlos nods, unbinding TK’s wrists and ankles before wrapping him more securely in the blanket. He pulls TK close as TK begins to cry, clinging to him. “It’s over,” Carlos assures, rocking him slightly as they huddle together on the hay-covered floor. “It’s all over. I’m here. I’ve got you.” He presses a kiss to TK’s temple, holding him tighter. “You’re safe.”
“TK!”
Carlos glances over his shoulder as Owen approaches. “Where’s medical?”
“Five minutes out,” Owen reports, bending down for a closer look at his son. “This needs stitches.”
Carlos stares at the gash along TK’s hairline, at the other cuts and scratches and bruises covering his face and neck and chest. His arms and the rest of his body are likely covered as well, though right now those injuries are hidden underneath the blanket. Carlos wonders what else is hidden, and though he’s hesitant to ask, he needs to know. It will be important in determining what kind of care TK needs, what kind of charges are brought.
“Baby.” Carlos ducks down, catching TK’s gaze. He can’t bring himself to say the word rape, but he can ask in a different way. “Did he hurt you anywhere else?”
TK bites his lip, hissing when his teeth contact the split skin. His attention darts to Owen, then back to Carlos as his eyes well with fresh tears.
Carlos’s heart hammers in his chest, his stomach sinking. He’s not sure how to interpret TK’s reaction, though he suspects TK doesn’t want to discuss this in front of his father, regardless of how close they are. “Owen. Go check on medical.”
Owen is reluctant to leave even if he understands why he’s being dismissed. He gives a careful brush to TK’s hair before standing.
When they’re alone again, TK takes a shaky breath. “He didn’t hurt me anywhere else. But when he undressed me, I thought…”
“You thought he was going to.”
TK nods, his expression crumbling as he buries his face in Carlos’s neck.
Maybe Mikey stripped him to further humiliate him.
Or maybe he had other sinister plans.
Thank God they’ll never know.
“I love you,” Carlos whispers, holding TK until the paramedics arrive, unaware that in a separate part of the barn, Andy’s wife and child are being discovered.
Back in Austin, every fire and rescue unit is being dispatched to the capitol while Andy is also heading downtown with a special delivery. It’s all connected with Mikey at the center, the unlikely mastermind.
The story leads the evening News. During his press conference, the mayor talks about how grateful he is no one was hurt, but he doesn’t know about TK. He doesn’t know the degree of physical and emotional trauma Carlos’s fiancé endured today, and Carlos quickly loses patience with the platitudes and soundbites. He switches to a different channel as he glances down at TK sleeping in his lap.
He’s clean now, no trace of the blood and dirt mixed with tears. He’s bundled in sweatpants and socks and one of Carlos’s APD hoodies, wrapped in his favorite blanket. The stitches peek out from his hair, and his skin is marred with bruises that become darker and more pronounced with each passing hour.
But he’s alive.
And Carlos is thankful as he leans down to press a soft kiss to TK’s forehead.