Being tied up and gagged was one thing, but getting stuffed inside a duffel bag like a pair of dirty gym clothes was just as bad if not worse. Kayla could hardly breathe in there! Thankfully it was just to keep her and her mother and sister hidden while the Red Tigers carried them out to the van. Once they'd arrived, the bags were lowered to the ground and unzipped.

The first thing they did was undo Chloe and Hana's hogties. The reason for this was that they had a better way of tying them down inside the van. Loading each of the three women inside, they placed them on their backs with their legs lifted up and resting against the walls of the van. Taking more rope, they looped it around the ropes already tied about their ankles and connected it to metal rings on the side of the van. This kept their legs securely in place, lifted high up in the air.

This also meant their dresses were splayed out, revealing everything underneath them. Kayla could feel the Tiger's eyes ogling the three of them as they laid there tied up. At least she and her mother had tights on, concealing their underwear clad behinds a little bit. Chloe still had hers stuffed inside her mouth, giving everyone a crystal clear view of the black lacy panties she had on. She was fidgeting around, trying to get her dress to move and cover her up some more. Her efforts were sort of counterproductive though, pulling her dress even further up!

"That should hold you three. Enjoy the ride, ladies!"

"MMMMMMMPH!"

The trio of girls shouted back at the men as the van doors were slammed shut on them. At least there weren't any more pervy eyes on them, then again that was the least of their worries really. They were still expertly tied up with rope, properly gagged, and secured to the walls of a van taking them to...somewhere. Kayla was never a fan of giving up, but this situation seemed grim. She just had to hold her breath and see what awaited them once they reached the Red Tiger's hideout.

The ride lasted for what felt like ages. Laying on the floor of the van, Kayla felt every bump, twist, and turn. There were parts of the ride where it felt like the driver was being extra reckless on purpose just to toss the girls around a bit. This theory was confirmed when the doors were finally thrown open, and the one who was driving just stood there and laughed.

"I bet that was quite the ride," he said, grinning from ear to ear, "I made sure to speed through every bump!"

"Mmmmmmgph..."

The worst part about being gagged was that Kayla always just had to sit there and listen while thugs postured in her face. It was honestly kind of pathetic. The fact that these goons only felt strong when they'd tied their victim up and wrapped their mouth up with tape was quite sad indeed. Needless to say it was pretty damn effective. There wasn't anything Kayla could say or do in return, besides wiggle around a bit and moan behind her gag.

One of the Tigers hopped into the van and undid the ropes connecting their ankles to the metal rings. One by one the girls were then shuffled out of the van and carried off toward the large spooky warehouse just down the way. If there was any indication that the Tigers truly meant to dispose of Kayla and her family, it was the fact that they hadn't been blindfolded or had any of their vision or hearing impaired in any way. There was no chloroform, no burlap sacks over the head, nothing. The pit in Kayla's stomach was growing larger by the minute...

The trio was carried into the warehouse where more Red Tigers were standing around waiting for them. Inside, there wasn't anything that pointed to the fact that this was a secret hideout for one of the biggest gangs in Hazeldale, aside from all the men standing around dressed in Red Tiger gang apparel of course. Besides that it looked like a totally normal warehouse with lots of large boxes and crates stacked on shelves. Kayla was a little let down. She had hoped it would have been cooler at least. Maybe this was just one of their hideouts and the real one was much cooler.

"Bring the reporter over here."

"What do we do with the other two?"

"Stash them in the side rooms for now. The reporter stays front and center though."

"MMMMMMMMPH!"

Kayla's mother was not too happy with this decision, voicing her concerns as loud as she could behind her gag. Regardless of her complaints, she and Chloe were carted off leaving Kayla alone in the main area of the warehouse. Well, she wasn't totally alone. The large group of Red Tigers joining her was enough to make it feel like a crowd. They all stared at her with disapproving sneers. Kayla felt like a zoo animal on display the way they all just fixed their eyes on her. It was a bit unsettling.

Not as unsettling as the fear of what was about to come though. There were two Tigers standing by an empty storage rack with a ton of rope at their feet. Kayla was dragged over to them and placed on the ground. Taking a pair of scissors, the two Tigers now in charge of re-tying Kayla set to work cutting through the ropes around her legs. Once she was free, they immediately got to work with fresh ropes. Pushing Kayla onto her back, they folded each of her legs up into a "kneeling" position and then wound rope around the tops of her thighs all the way around her ankles pinning her legs in this kneeling state. If Kayla's memory served her right, this was called a hogtie. She hated how every time she knew exactly what the kinds of ties were called...

Sitting her back up, so that she was actually kneeling now with her legs splayed out, they set her up so that her back was directly to the support beam of the metal storage rack behind her. Pushing her upper body down toward the floor, they grabbed her arms and pulled them up behind her back so that they were now perpendicular with the ground. Taking a length of rope they tied it around her wrists and then connected the other end to the upper part of the metal beam behind her.

They weren't done yet though. Next they took a length of rope and attached it to the front of her chest harness and passed it between her legs and underneath her body so that they could tie it to the lower part of the pole now. With Kayla's arms tied up like they were, and this new addition of rope added to her chest she was now stuck in a folded over position with her butt sticking out behind her and chest folded down toward the floor.

Even through her nylons, the concrete floor was cold on her legs as they were pressed down into it. If the Red Tigers were just going to get rid of her and her family, then why the need for all these theatrics? Then again, thugs like these were always looking for an excuse to "practice their rope work skills." They just liked tying people up is what it really was.

"And now for the final part."

Kayla lifted her head to see one of the Tigers set a black case on the ground. Unlatching it, he opened the lid and reached inside. From it he pulled a large, red ballgag with a black leather head harness attached to it. Kayla gulped as she watched him pull out the accursed contraption and walk over to her with it.

"You see this," he said waving it in her face, taunting her, "this is a two and a quarter inch size ballgag. Now, lots of people can't handle this sort of thing, but news of you has spread throughout the community you know. I've heard you've got quite the mouth on ya'. From talking shit and acting tough, to being able to handle some pretty monstrous gags!"

"Nnnnnnmph!"

Where the hell had he heard that?! And who the hell was spreading all this around?! Kayla knew she was making a name for herself in Hazeldale, she just didn't realize her ballgag size was part of it! Hell, she didn't even know her own ballgag size. She had only been gagged by them a few times, and obviously had never had the opportunity to stop and ask what size it was. She told herself that if she ever got out of this jam, she'd go home and ask Madelyn if two and a quarter was actually impressive or not. If anyone would know, Madelyn would know.

"Alright, let's get this crude gag out of the way to make room for something a little more sophisticated."

"Hhhmph!"

Taking a pair of scissors, he carefully cut away the duct tape from Kayla's face and then peeled it off. She winced as he did this, her skin and hair sticking to it a bit. He didn't care though and just ripped it all off, leaving Kayla's face stinging a bit. She worked her tongue around to the back of the spandex shorts in her mouth and then slowly pushed them out, spitting them onto the ground. Taking what little time she had to get a deep breath in, she stretched her jaw and took a moment to recover before her next gag went in.

"Open wide!"

Kayla eyed the Red Tiger as he approached her with the harness gag, she decided against her better judgement not to give him any trouble and just cooperated. Opening her mouth for him, she allowed him to push the red ball into her mouth as it snapped in behind her teeth.

"Wwwmmmph!"

Kayla moaned as the ball went in, pushing her jaw down and filling her mouth. This was one big ballgag, that was for sure. Strapping it in, he buckled it behind her head making sure the straps were pulled tight. Kayla was certain she looked ridiculous in that thing, but it was effective at keeping her quiet that was to be sure.

Just when she thought that they were finally done, they pulled another length of rope out. Kayla rolled her eyes and groaned. So much effort just to keep her tied when eventually they would just untie her and get rid of her. It was silly is what it was. Still, the Red Tigers carried on tying the rope to the back of her head harness. They connected the other end of the rope to her wrists, pulling it tight and forcing Kayla's head to lift up.

"Nnnnnnnnnmph," Kayla grunted as her head was forced back. She worked her mouth around the ballgag as she shifted her body around slightly, trying to get herself used to this awful position they had her tied in. She could only hope that her mother and sister were faring better than she was wherever they had been taken to.

"There, that 'ought to do it!"

"Ymmmmm ffffnk?!"

Even for as tied up as she was, Kayla couldn't shake that snarky attitude of hers. It usually got her into more trouble than it was worth...this time being no exception. The thug that she'd quipped at turned around and stomped back over to her. Grabbing the back of her dress he yanked it up, reaching down and giving her a proper slap on the ass.

"FFFFFFFMPH!"

"Just sit there, quietly!" He barked at her.

"Mmmmmmmmmph," Kayla eyed him angrily as he marched away, unable to do anything else.

"Hey, boys! Look alive, the boss is rolling up."

"Wrrrmph?" Kayla moved her head around as much as the rope holding it in place would allow, trying to spot this "boss" that was arriving.

She figured she'd meet the leader at some point. It would be strange for the gang to be doing all of this without the sanction of their top most leader...right?

As the boss pulled up, the rest of the gang hustled over, standing near the entrance to the warehouse as a black car pulled in. Kayla couldn't see it, but she could hear car doors opening and closing. The Red Tigers all bowed as their boss walked in. There was silence for a moment as everyone waited for him to speak. You could just feel the power he held over them.

"So, is what I hear correct?"

"Yes sir, we've captured Kayla Grace and two of her family members. The other one's are her sister and her mother I believe."

"I see, and who were the one's who pulled this off?"

The four restaurant workers that had nabbed Kayla and her family proudly stepped forward.

"We did, sir."

"Excellent."

Once again there was a brief moment of silence, followed by four loud gun shots and then the sound of four bodies dropping to the floor.

"WRRRMMMMMPH!" Kayla was in shock as she yelled through her gag.

He'd just totally killed them! What the fuck was going on?!

"Let's get one thing clear," the boss said, strutting up and down the line of remaining Tigers, "this was an incredibly stupid thing to do. That restaurant was a solid investment for us. It brought in good money. It was successful. That's all gone now thanks to this little stunt. The media is going to be all over it. Kayla Grace is a thorn in my side...she's a thorn in many sides here in Hazeldale, but she's a high value target. To abduct her in broad daylight like that was the stupidest thing anyone in this group could have done. We'll have to close the restaurant now, lest the media starts poking around and discovers it's a front for us."

He was really angry about what had happened, but his rant wasn't over yet. He kept going.

"And not only that, but you abducted her sister and mother too?! What were ANY of you thinking? You weren't thinking, that's the point. The amount of attention this is going to bring our way is disastrous. You've put the entire Red Tiger Clan at risk! You absolute fucking idiots!"

He paused his rant for a moment, composing himself and taking a deep breath. Then he continued.

"Now, that being said...we're already this far. We might as well finish the job. I can work out the rest of the details later, but this is going to be an incredibly big mess to clean up. We're talking about three high profile bodies to get rid of and hide...it's not going to be easy, but we can manage. Now, where are you keeping them?"

"Kayla is right over there, her mother and sister were taken to the side rooms for holding."

"Good. We just need to keep them for a little while longer until I figure everything out. Can screw-ups you manage that?"

The group silently nodded before parting down the middle as the boss moved his way toward Kayla. If she ever had to guess, she'd for sure pick this guy as the leader of the Red Tigers. He had a slicked back undercut hairstyle with details shaved into the sides, and these large shiny diamond earrings. His jet black suit was tailored to perfection, hugging his body in all the right places without ever being too tight or too baggy. He carried a gun in has hand, the same gun he had just used to kill those four other members...

"So, Kayla Grace," he said walking up to her, getting real close and then crouching down by her face, "we meet at last."

"Lnnngph."

He gently placed his hand under her chin, Tilting her head up so that she met his eye line.

"None of this is ideal for me, you have to understand. My men they're...immature, brutish even, crude. Had it been my call I would have allowed you and your family to finish your dinner and be on your way. Now, that's not to say I wouldn't have thoroughly punished you for digging your nose into our business, but just...not in this way. This is not work I can be proud of, you see. Sadly, it will have to do. Even I must make exceptions, I'm sure you understand."

"NNNPH!"

Kayla most definitely did not understand. No matter how elegantly this guy tried to talk or present himself, at the end of the day he was still a no-good criminal who's entire living was built off of the exploitation of others. Hell, he had just killed four people in cold blood! This guy as an animal, and there was no amount of sweet talking he could give Kayla to convince her otherwise. He belonged behind bars and that was that.

"Now then," he said standing up and turning back to the other members of the gang, "I have other business to attend to. Just hold them here until you receive word from me. After that, you will do exactly as I say. Nothing more, nothing less. Do you understand?"

The group enthusiastically nodded. After this the leader took his leave, returning back to his car and climbing inside. It sped away into the night, leaving just Kayla and the other gang members. From what she could gather, it was going to be a little while until he contacted the other members of the gang in terms of what to do with Kayla and her family. At least this meant they had some time to figure out how to escape. With the way Kayla was tied, there wasn't much she was going to be able to do in the way of escaping. She only hoped her mother and sister were in better positions for this...

"MMMMMMMMMMMMPH!"

Kayla could hope all she wanted, but that wouldn't change the fact that the Red Tigers had already done a number on Chloe and Hana. They'd separated them into their own rooms to minimize any chances of the girls getting free. It had happened while they'd been locked in the storage closet at the restaurant after all, and the Red Tigers didn't want to risk it happening again.

They'd hogtied Chloe on the ground again, but this time they'd made her restraints much more tight. With her arms still tied behind her back, the Tigers had forced her arms to bend so that they formed a triangle shape behind her back with her hands pressed against her back right above her ass. They were held in this shape thanks to the complex network of rope tied around her chest and her back. Her legs had been connected to all of this with rope tied from her ankles. They'd pulled the connecting rope so tight, her chest was lifted off the ground along with the tops of her thighs.

Chloe tried to strain in the ropes so that her body would lay flat, but there was no give in the ropes at all. She just had to teeter on the ground, her stomach pretty much the only thing making contact at this point with how cinched her body was. It was surprising how flexible her body was, then again Chloe had never had it tested like this!

"Mmmmmmmmmmgggph!"

The other thing the men had so kindly done was swap out her gag too. She wasn't sure which she preferred, the thing she was chewing on now or having her tights jammed in her mouth. The answer was neither, of course, but with how this new gag stretched her jaw out she was thinking it was definitely the worse of the two. She'd been ballgagged, just like Kayla. It was one of those head harness ballgags too, with a strap under her chin and another couple straps running up her face with all of it strapped in tightly behind her head. Even with all the straps, it wasn't like she was pushing the ballgag out of her mouth anyway. The thing was massive, way more of a mouthful than her tights had been.

"Nnnnnngph..."

Chloe moaned as she rocked around, a small puddle of drool forming on the ground beneath her. It was impossible not to with that giant gag in her mouth, no matter how hard she tried to keep it in control. She worried about Kayla and her mother, having no idea what had happened to them. She tried to remain calm though. Kayla had been in situations like this before, she'd told Chloe all about them. Surely she had a plan to get them all out of here and everything would be okay.

Right?

"MMMMMPH!"

Kayla had no clue how she was going to get out of this one. As she tried fumbling around with the ropes, she found zero give in them. She couldn't even get her fingers around a single knot! They way they'd tied her down to the post it made it impossible to flex her hands around and pick at any of her bindings. She was really stuck.

The worst part about all of this was that Kayla hadn't even gone asking for trouble! She just happened to make a reservation at a restaurant that was secretly an operation for one of the most dangerous gangs in town. Her luck was just terrible.

Well, it was either terrible or incredible depending on how you looked at it. The fact that Kayla Grace, a novice reporter for the Hazeldale Tribune, had just so happened to unearth a secret Red Tiger operation...that definitely took a little bit of luck! Her only hope now was that there was a little bit of that luck left in her life. She was going to need a miracle to get out of this one.

She was going to need a miracle and a new pair of tights too! There was no way she was walking away from this without multiple holes and runs in her nylons. She could already feel a few of them. Kayla shook her head. Was she really worrying about the state of her tights when her life was on the line?! Where had her priorities gone...

"Hey, the boss just called me. He figured everything out. There's a transport on the way here for them."

"A transport? You mean we're not the ones that get to finish this thing off?"

"No, you dumbass, that's the whole point. We can't be the ones to get wrapped up in this...they're too high profile."

"So someone else is taking the fall."

"Apparently, I don't know how it works...the boss figured it out. All we have to do is get them ready to ship off. Go tell the others."

Kayla watched as one of the Red Tigers took off and started giving the news to the other members. The other one walked up to Kayla, bending down in front of her.

"How's it going? You getting comfortable down there or what?"

Kayla didn't even grace him with a response. She just glared back at him, a new trail of drool running down the side of her mouth. Her time had run out. She'd crossed paths with the Red Tigers, but like everyone else it had ended up costing her. There was a good reason they were so feared, and she was experiencing this first hand.

"OH FUCK! IT'S THE COPS! WE NEED TO BAIL!"

"Mmmmph?!"

Kayla looked up with hope in her eyes. The cops? How the hell had they managed to find her? What was going on?

"Are you serious?"

A group of Tigers gathered in front of Kayla now, they had frantic looks on their faces as they tried to figure out what to do.

"Yes, they'll be here any second. The lookout saw them heading down the road just a minute ago."

"What about the girls, do we take them?"

"There's no time! We need to get out of here!"

"But the boss is going to fucking kill us!"

"It'll be worse if the police catch us. Come on, let's go!"

Suddenly it was every man for himself as the Red Tigers scrambled to exit the warehouse. Some ran out on foot, others hopped on their motorcycles and sped off. They made their exit quick though, and in a matter of minutes they were all gone. Not long after that, Kayla could hear the sound of sirens approaching.

She lost count of how many police cars showed up, but it was a shitload. They stormed the warehouse, spreading out over every square inch of the place making sure it was clear. In the meantime, a pair of officers rushed over to Kayla and helped cut her loose.

"Looks like we're saving your ass again," one of the officers joked.

"Nnnnngph..."

Kayla was not impressed. Sure, she'd been rescued like this before, but they always made it out like it was her fault for getting tied up. This time she took special offense to it because she hadn't even really been snooping! She was truly an innocent bystander today.

It took them a good couple of minutes before getting Kayla fully untied. The last thing they did, much to Kayla's annoyance, was unstrap the ballgag from her head. They had to give it a good pull before it came free from behind her teeth, but once it was out Kayla took a deep breath of relief and massaged her jaw with her hands. She really hated being ballgagged. She'd take a sponge, or a scarf, or even her own socks for a gag any day over a ballgag.

"How did you find me," she asked the officers while they helped her stand.

"We weren't the ones who found you," one of them said.

"Yeah, it was all thanks to that guy over there."

Kayla looked up to where they had motioned to, and was not shocked at all to see who it was. He'd saved her ass over and over in the past, and while today it had been right at the last second...he still came through.

"Hey, Toby," Kayla said walking up to her coworker and giving him a big hug.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said before pulling away and grabbing her gently by the shoulders. "Should I even ask how you ended up in this mess?"

"You know," Kayla said, "this time it really wasn't my fault."

Toby rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You literally texted me to grab you info on the Red Tigers. How were you not snooping?"

"Okay, yeah, I was snooping a little bit. But it's not like I was trying to! I just so happened to have dinner at a restaurant owned by the Red Tigers gang...not really my fault."

Toby laughed, "well, I'm just happy I found you."

"How did you find me?" Kayla asked.

"I don't know I just had a feeling and..."

Kayla rolled her eyes.

"Sorry," Toby said, "it was your glasses."

"My glasses? But how does that...oh yeah! I totally forgot!"

A few months ago Kayla had been kidnapped by some guys running a shady cleaning business. They'd clean your house and then help themselves to the neighbors belongings. It was a solid scam until Kayla foiled the whole thing. They got real mad and tried to enact revenge by kidnapping her and...disposing of her. Luckily, Kayla managed to get free at the last minute and make her escape. Toby had gotten so worried that he installed a GPS chip into Kayla's glasses for such emergencies. She was opposed to it at first, but today there was no doubt about it...it was a lifesaver.

"When I noticed you hadn't responded in a while I got worried. It was probably a bit much to drive over and check on you but hey...my gut was right. We found your phone in the back of the restaurant with your shoes and stuff. That's when I knew something was wrong. I checked the GPS and well...the rest is history."

"You're the best, Toby," Kayla said.

She was about to open her mouth and say something else when suddenly she remembered...her family! Her mom and Chloe were still probably tied up somewhere!

"Is everything okay?" Toby asked, noticing how Kayla was frantically looking around.

"Yeah I just...my family kind of got nabbed with me and...I need to go find them!"

Kayla been so relieved to be saved, that she'd totally forgotten about her family! Immediately breaking away from Toby, she sprinted back into the warehouse, her nylon clad feet slapping the concrete as she ran across it.

There was a group of officers gathered at the back of the warehouse near one of the office rooms. Pushing past them, Kayla stormed inside. Chloe was sitting up on the ground, bundles of cut rope strewn out all around her. Massaging her wrists she looked up at Kayla, a look of relief in her eyes when she realized her sister was okay.

Bending down, Kayla wrapped her sister up in a big hug.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "usually I'm the only one that gets wrapped up in peril..."

Chloe pulled back from the hug and eyed Kayla.

"I know for a fact that's not true, and I think both Andrea and Madelyn would beg to disagree."

Kayla smiled.

"Are you okay?" She asked Chloe.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Chloe said, "I mean those ropes were fucking tight...do they always tie you up that tight?"

"Usually."

"God...that's insane. And the way they pilfered my tights? Gross."

Kayla laughed, "yeah that was a bit much..."

All of the sudden Chloe stiffened up and got all serious.

"Wait...where's mom?"

Kayla offered a hand to her sister, pulling her to her feet as the two girls exited the office. Off to the side Kayla noticed another small group of officers trying to get another one of the office doors opened. Kayla and Chloe hurried over to check it out with them.

"Sounds like there's someone else in there," one of the officers said, "was there someone else with you two?"

"Yes," Kayla said, "that's probably my mother in there. Do you mind if we go in first?"

"No way, not until we clear the room first."

Kayla ignored the officer, getting close to the door and shouting.

"Mom! Is that you in there?"

"Mmmmmmmph!"

Her reply was incredibly muted, but there was no doubt that was Kayla's mom on the other side. She turned back to the officers, who had their arms crossed and looked unhappy.

"It's fine," Kayla said, "I got this. It's my mother after all and I don't want all of you...men...staring at her or anything."

The officers rolled their eyes, but let Kayla have her way. Pushing the handle in, Kayla slowly opened the door as she and Chloe stepped inside.

"Oh my god, mom!"

The Red Tigers had been ruthless in tying Hana up, sparing no expense in the amount of rope they used to hold her down. She was lying face down on the ground, with loops of rope all around her. To manage this, they'd completely cut up and removed her dress leaving her in just her bra, panties.

She had been completely retied, and boy had they tied her up tight. Her arms were still kind of tied behind her back, but just from her shoulders down to her elbows. The lower half of her arms had been pulled down and spread apart so that her hands were positioned near her hips.

Her arms were still tied behind her back, with rope around her upper arms and above her elbows. Instead of pulling the lower half of her arms together and tying her wrists though, they'd positioned her arms in such a way so that her hands were resting on either side of her thighs.

Her legs had been folded up like she was sitting in a lotus pose, with her heels pushed up into her inner thighs. She was held in this position thanks to the obscene amount of rope tied around her body at a bunch of different places.

Her chest was harnessed with rope, so that her bust was framed and bulging out. Hell, they'd even pulled rope between her legs so that it was pushed up against her crotch. She was quite the sight, and for never having been in a situation like this before...it was a pretty tough position to be tied in. Even Kayla was trying to figure out if she'd ever been tied like this...

And then there was her gag. They'd stuffed a ballgag in her mouth like Kayla and Chloe, but on top of that they had taken her tights off and pulled them over her head wrapping the legs around her eyes a few times effectively blindfolding her.

It was just all so over the top.

"Chloe, watch the door. I don't want them seeing her like this."

"You got it."

Kayla was always so embarrassed when the cops showed up to save her. For one, they always took way too long to untie her, probably so that they could see her all tied up for longer. The whole lot of them were a bunch of nasty pervs...sadly though, they had saved Kayla's ass many times before. So she had a love hate relationship with them.

"Nnnnnnngph..."

Hana was exhausted, and Kayla could tell. Her body was glistening with sweat from how hard she had been struggling. By now she was wiped out and just kind of laid there all tied up. Kayla felt so bad for her. She owed her family for this big time. Not only did they not get to finish their nice dinner, but they'd ended up kidnapped too? Definitely not how Kayla envisioned this night going...

"I'm so sorry, mom," Kayla said as she knelt down by her mother's side, "just give me...like a couple minutes, and I'll have you out of there."

It took Kayla more than a couple of minutes, but eventually she was able to get her mother free. Collectively, the three women breathed a sigh of relief now that they were all unbound and ungagged.

"Are you girls okay?" Hana said, looking at her two daughters with worry in her eyes.

"We're fine," Kayla said, holding her mother's hands in her own, "it was a close one...but we're fine."

"How did anyone find us?" Chloe asked.

Kayla turned to her sister, "it was my friend from work, Toby."

"How did even find us?" Said Chloe.

Kayla tapped her glasses, "just a little bit of cool spy tech installed in my glasses. No biggie."

A smirk formed on Chloe's face.

"Oh wow...so you're pretty close to this guy then, yeah?"

"Chloe..." Kayla said as she rolled her eyes while Chloe laughed.

"What, I'm just saying."

"Anyway," Kayla said, turning back to her mom, "let's get out of here, yeah? I'll see if I can get a blanket to help cover you up as we walk out of here. They really destroyed that dress of yours..."

"Did they ever," Kayla's mom said, "I mean kidnapping us is one thing...but ripping my dress? I mean if only they knew how much this cost me..."

Kayla laughed, "here, I'll be right back."

Running out, she managed to procure a blanket to wrap her mother up in. After that, the three women made their exit from the warehouse while the police poked around for more evidence and anything else the Red Tigers might have left behind. As interested as Kayla was in sticking around to see what they managed to turn up, she was ready to head home with her family and just relax.

"God, what a night," Chloe said plopping down on the couch next to Kayla and their mother.

They made it home, safe and sound and were now watching a movie together to close out the evening. Kayla had made some snacks and set them out on the table before turning on one of her favorite movies: Howl's Moving Castle. It was a cozy end to an otherwise crazy night. Kayla still felt bad that her family had gotten roped into so much peril with her. It was just her luck to have that happen too. First her friends, and now her family! It was like trouble followed her wherever she went.

"I'm sorry again for everything that happened tonight," Kayla said.

"Look, Kayla," said Chloe, "we already told you, it's okay. It's literally not your fault those creeps decided to kidnap us."

"I know that I just...I feel bad for you and mom."

Kayla's mother reached over and grabbed her daughter's hand. Kayla looked up at her mom, there was a very soft look in her eyes.

"Kayla," she said, holding her daughter's hands tight, "I won't lie to you and say that I'm not worried. I always worry about you and Chloe. But tonight, I realized how strong and brave you both were. Whether it's standing up to criminals, or..."

She looked at Chloe as she continued.

"or whether it's being with the person you love...you both are so brave and capable of fighting for yourselves. So whatever it is you both are seeking in life...I support that."

Kayla could tell that her mother was much more speaking to Chloe than she was to her. She recalled their conversation from dinner, and how things had gone back then. She knew her mother just needed time to find the right words, and tonight had definitely given them plenty of time! Chloe realized that these words were meant for her as well. Leaning across the couch she gave her mother a big hug.

"We love you too, mom," she said as the two of them embraced.

Kayla pretended to pout.

"What about me guys?"

Her mother and sister turned to her, and then back to each other and then the whole group burst out laughing before all coming together and embracing each other. Kayla held her family tight, closing her eyes and being thankful for their support. Being a reporter was hard! Bad guys lurked around every corner, and it was becoming impossible to stay out of real trouble. Thankfully she had friends and family she could trust, and if she had managed to get through today okay...then she could get through anything.

"Well," said Kayla pulling away from the hug, "for a first time getting all tied up like that, you both handled it like champs."

Hana eyed her daughter, raising an eyebrow and taking a sip from her glass of wine.

"Who said that was my first time?" She said.

Kayla and Chloe both stared back at their mother in total surprise. She just winked at them both, and turned back to face the T.V. without saying another word. Kayla figured it was another story for another day...