Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
RILEY
Blake was in three out of the four classes I had before lunch. I breathed a sigh of relief during fourth period. He sat next to me in each class and distracted me to the point where I missed half of what the teachers had said.
Lunch rolled around, and I wished we were still allowed off campus as seniors. A few idiots had to ruin it for all of us. I liked lunch, but knowing the three of them would be there made me lose my appetite.
I had yet to run into Morgan, the third member of their tight-knit crew, but sensed it was only a matter of time.
He was just as attractive as Blake and Jax, but had the bad boy persona down solid.
He had a motorcycle that looked like it would be better suited for a raceway instead of the streets of Salinity Cove.
"Girl." Aiden grabbed my arm and steered me away from the cafeteria as I walked across the quad area. "We can't go in there." He led me in the opposite direction toward the parking lot. "Ivy is going to bring us lunch in my car."
My footsteps faltered before I sped up to keep up with his long strides. "Why? What's going on?"
"I heard the Tritons are paying Melissa to jump you in the cafeteria." He unlocked his car and opened the back door for me. "We can hide you better in the back."
I was grateful the gates to the parking lot hadn't been locked and security hadn't stopped us. My chest felt like someone had plopped down on it and I did as he directed. I had never been in any type of altercation. I wouldn't even know how to defend myself if someone started a fight.
"Maybe you should try calling your mom again and see if she'll call you out of school." Aiden turned in his seat and he reached back to squeeze my knee. "Those fuckers can't do this to you."
"I don't understand why they're doing this." I got my phone out of my backpack and tried my mom again. "It still goes straight to voicemail."
I was starting to grow increasingly worried that she wasn't calling me back. I Googled the hotel she told me she was staying at and dialed. It would be past midnight there, but I was desperate.
A heavily accented voice picked up the phone. Sweat beaded on the small of my back.
"Hello. I'm Riley Kline. I'm trying to get ahold of my mother, Natalia Hernandez Moreno. She should have checked in a few days ago."
"Just a moment." I heard the man typing and then he made a clucking noise. "Spell that." I spelled her name. "There's no one here with that name."
"Can you check again?" I watched out the front window as Ivy approached carrying an armful of wrapped sandwiches, drinks, and chips. My stomach rolled with nausea.
"No. Are you sure it's this hotel? There is one other hotel on this island, or you could have the wrong island."
I hung up and tried the second hotel. I got the same response. There were a lot of islands in the Maldives. Maybe I had gotten the wrong one. A few started with the same syllable.
I pulled up a list of islands and my heart sank. It would take me days to call all the resorts across the islands.
"Is it possible she lied about where she was going? Maybe she’s having a sordid affair with a billionaire that owns his own island?" Aiden was trying to make me feel better, but it didn't help.
My mom was missing.
Ivy climbed into the car and Aiden put on music as she passed out food. We were quiet for several minutes as we dug into our sandwiches. I couldn't pass up a turkey sandwich, despite feeling sick.
"Oh, shit." Aiden said with a mouthful of chips. "Duck down and pull that blanket over you."
I followed the direction of his stare and cursed. Melissa was headed straight toward the car, fists clenched at her sides.
Melissa was one of those girls who didn't require a last name to know which Melissa people were talking about. She was one of the toughest girls in the school, and it was rumored she liked to fight in illegal fights.
I climbed onto the floorboard and pulled the blanket over me. It smelled gross and I gagged thinking about what Aiden used it for.
There was a knock on Ivy's window and I heard the window roll down a bit. "Can I help you?"
"Where is she?" I held my breath at the sound of Melissa's rough voice. It came from smoking like a chimney and probably too many dicks shoved down her throat.
"Who?" Aiden popped another chip in his mouth and chewed.
"You know who." I heard her try the back door and then slam her hand against the window. I was glad his back windows were heavily tinted. "I know she's back there."
"Do we need to call security?" Ivy's voice sounded calm, but I could tell she was nervous by the slight unsteadiness. "We don't know who you're looking for."
"Bullshit. You bought three of everything. I watched you."
"You must be seeing things." Aiden laughed. "Time to visit the school nurse to get those peepers checked."
I tried not to laugh at the tone of his voice. Despite my face being threatened by her fists, he was having fun goading her.
"Listen." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "They are out for her blood and I need the money."
I heard Ivy unzip her bag. "How much are they paying you?"
Ivy couldn't seriously be thinking about paying her off. That would work for the time being, but the Tritons were loaded and could pay her even more.
My calf was starting to cramp from being bent at an odd angle. They needed to get rid of her before I made a sound.
"Five."
"Hundred?" Aiden screeched. "You would sell your soul for five hundred dollars?"
"Yeah, well, desperate times. Not all of us have mommies and daddies that take care of us." Melissa's parents had plenty of money. What she really meant to say was that she needed it for drugs.
"Here. Now leave." Ivy huffed, and I heard the window roll back up. "It's clear now."
It might have been clear from Melissa, but it was far from over.
Seventh period was my favorite time of day; yearbook. I loved creating art through pictures and capturing special moments that people would cherish.
I sat at my usual computer station and started chatting with Tory, who had been in yearbook with me since freshman year, when Jax yanked open the door ceremoniously and prowled into the room with me set in his sights.
My words stuttered out of my mouth as his eyes locked on mine. His jaw was set, and he looked like he was thinking of all the ways he could hurt me. He had been nice only weeks before and had done a complete one-eighty. It was like he was a different person.
"What the fuck?" Tory whispered as he came to stand behind her.
"Move." His voice was low and held a threat.
I was done with whatever they were up to. I had hidden out during lunch and then avoided them during sixth period. There wasn't anything he could do in the yearbook lab. I did wish Mr. Garcia would hurry up though, but he was still in the room where he taught sophomore English.
"Excuse me?" Tory spun in her chair and glared up at him. "These are editor seats. Go sit in one of the seats up there." She gestured to the other three rows of computers in front of us.
He leaned forward and braced his hands on the computer desk on either side of her. "This is my seat now. Move, or I'll make you."
"What the hell is wrong with you? You can't just waltz in here like you own the place." I met his eyes as he turned his head and glared at me. "You can go sit and spin."
How could he go from kissing me so gently and caressing my thigh to paying someone to beat my ass? I wasn't one for confrontation, but sitting by quietly wasn't an option.
"Riley, what's going on here? We don't speak to new staff members that way when we can hardly get a full staff as it is.
" Mr. Garcia entered the room and glanced at us briefly before sitting at his computer and pressing a button to display his computer screen.
"Mr. West. Find a seat in the first three rows.
You have to earn the right to sit back there. "
Mr. Garcia for the win. I smiled sweetly at Jax, and he shoved off the desk, causing the monitor to shake violently. Tory glared daggers at him as he walked to a computer directly in front of us.
She mouthed, "What the fuck?" to me and turned forward as Mr. Garcia started going over expectations and grading.
I hoped Jax wasn't serious about being on yearbook because that would mean I'd have to spend even more time around him outside of the normal school day.
"We've got some new folks on staff this year.
Yearbook is going to become your second home, and when it comes close to deadlines, it will be your second home.
" Mr. Garcia displayed a list of stay late days where we would work on finishing layouts for proofing outside of seventh period.
"Same as last year, Ashley will be collecting forty dollars from everyone to order dinners throughout the semester.”
I stared at the back of Jax, wondering if he'd even be able to stay late with his intense swimming schedule. The swim team at Salinity Cove was the top in the entire state of California, if not the country.
And it was all thanks to them. They were the school's elite swimmers that were more than likely headed for the Olympics and countless national and world titles.
"Is that okay with you, Riley?" Mr. Garcia interrupted my thoughts and I jumped slightly.
"Sorry. What?"
He gave me a concerned look and gestured at the screen. "You'll be in charge of the sports section since you take such fantastic action photos."
I frowned. I did enjoy taking pictures of sports, but I thought we had discussed me being copy editor. "If that's what you want me to do."
I skimmed through the list of names and slumped in the chair, shaking my head. Tory must have sensed my panic because she put her hand on my arm.
Jax West would be on the sports staff. It only made sense, and he had said as much weeks ago. Still, seeing it with my own eyes made it become reality.