Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
RILEY
Twenty-four hours.
I slammed my locker shut and pinched the bridge of my nose. Maybe I should look into independent study until everything blows over. I hadn't been able to focus at all in class thinking about my mom and the impending deadline set by the Tritons.
The evening before, I had gone to the police station, but they had been no help, saying that if my mom told me a date of return, I needed to wait until twenty-four hours after that date.
When I burst into tears, the officer took down some information and said he'd see what he could find out. I wasn't holding my breath.
Even worse, the morning news reported that, after an investigation, it had been discovered that engineers on the oil platform had reported the need for necessary fixes to the oil wells, but they had fallen on deaf ears.
Where was Robert Kline in this whole mess? No one knew. He had taken his private jet and vanished. The Federal Aviation Administration was still investigating where the plane had gone.
"You know what you need?" Aiden appeared beside me and slung his arm around my shoulders. "A night of fun. You. Me. Ivy. This Friday. Football game. Bonfire."
I groaned. "And how is that fun? They will be there, won't they?" I pulled open the door to the aquatic center and stopped to look at him. "It's bad enough that I have to do the coverage on swimming."
We entered the lobby area of the state-of-the-art facility. Most of the major high school swim meets were hosted there because of it. Even the lobby was impressive, with a giant snack bar and sitting areas with big screens.
I thought it was a bit much, but the swimming program brought in big money, not only for our school, but the community as well. Finn West was also one of the donors that helped fund it being built.
"Why can't Jax do the swimming coverage?"
I took my camera out of my bag as we entered the main facility. The swim teams were already training and I had a hard time keeping my eyes off the shirtless, muscular male forms. "He can't take pictures while swimming. I hate to say this, but the main photos should probably be those three."
As we got closer, the Tritons glanced in my direction and then their heads went together. They hadn't been in the water yet, but it looked like they were just getting ready to go in.
"Girl, I can't tell if they just gave you the stank eye or bedroom eyes." He plopped into a cushioned chair. "They are fine though. Maybe their kink is being dominant alphas and they want you to fall to your knees in submission like an omega wolf."
"I think their kink is being utter assholes." I dropped my bag on the ground next to him. "Being hot isn't an excuse for the way they've been toward me. I don't care who they are or how much money they have."
They'd have to buy me a thousand roses and a five-carat diamond for me to even consider one of them. Not that any of them were interested in me. They were just trying to mess with me and break me.
"Have you told them that?" Aiden cocked a brow and then smirked when I just stared blankly at him. "Be firm with them. Guys like them will take advantage of weakness in a heartbeat. Put them in their place."
I turned and moved closer to take photos. The yearbook had excellent cameras and zoom lenses for me to stay a safe distance from the pool. Even being close to it was making my breath hitch a little.
Swimming was one of the more difficult sports to get good shots of because of the water. I started snapping photos of the swimmers in the water and those standing around preparing to get in.
I zoomed in on the Tritons, who were still clustered together. Jax handed something to Morgan and he put it in his mouth. I held the button down to take burst shots, and not a second later, Jax handed the same thing to Blake.
Whatever had just happened, I had captured it, and an odd satisfaction washed over me. They surely wouldn't take drugs in plain sight, would they? Drugs would certainly explain how they dominated the pool like they did.
I stayed for another fifteen minutes before calling it a day. I didn't need to stay for the whole practice. The real magic would come when they had a meet.
"What do you mean she turned her car in?" I clutched my phone in my hand and felt the instant need to throw up.
"She was leasing it and turned it in to the car dealership. They gave her a ride to the airport. They don't remember much other than she seemed sad. I'm going to reach out to the airlines tomorrow and see what they say. Do you know of anyone she had issues with?"
"No, but the oil spill..." I sighed and propped my elbow on the kitchen table where I had been working on an assignment. "There are some guys at my school who have been threatening me."
I filled in the detective on the past week and he said he was concerned. He suggested I speak to the administration or the school counselor so their parents could be contacted.
I'm sure that would go over well.
There was a reason they were called the Tritons. They were virtually untouchable. Their parents invested a lot of money into the school, including the upgrades to the facilities and to academic and sports programs. We were essentially a private high school without tuition.
After hanging up the phone, I checked my emails again, and the spam folder, to make sure I didn't miss an email from my father or someone at his company. I had tried every email available on the company's website, hoping it would make its way to him.
The doorbell rang, and I jumped in surprise. I considered not answering, but the doorbell sounded again. I went to the living room window and carefully lifted a blind slat to peek.
Blue eyes met mine, and I cursed. I backed away from the window and nearly fell over the arm of the couch. Why was Jax at my door and how did he know where I lived?
He rang the doorbell again and I went back to the dining room and grabbed my phone to send him a text.
Me: Leave me alone.
Jax: I need to talk to you.
Me: There's nothing to talk about. I'm calling the police.
I stood frozen for a minute and then walked as quietly as humanly possible back to the window to peek out. My shoulders relaxed. He was gone.
I turned and screamed. Jax was standing in the middle of the living room with a triumphant smile on his face.
I darted around the coffee table away from him, but he seized my arm. I picked up the first thing I could get my hands on and hit him with it. The sound of plastic against bone made me flinch.
He let me go with a grunt and rubbed his jaw. "Fuck, Riley. I'm not going to hurt you." He snatched the television remote from me and threw it on the couch. "I just want to talk."
He stalked after me as I ran up the stairs to my room. I locked the door and quickly called back the number the detective had called me from.
"Detective Wilson speaking."
"He's in my house." I looked around my room and grabbed the knife I had taken from my mom's nightstand. "Please help me."
"Where are you?"
"In my bathroom, please hurry." I shut and locked my bathroom door and tried to stay calm.
Sure, I'd imagined something like this before after watching too many movies, but never did I think I'd be dealing with it myself. My body trembled and my skin felt sweaty and cold at the same time.
"Officers are on the way."
A knock sounded on the bathroom door and I gripped the knife. Why was he doing this to me? I bumped into the wall as I backed toward the shower.
"Riley." He drew out my name, taunting me. He jiggled the door handle.
If he could get into my bedroom that quickly, he would easily get into the bathroom. I was going to have to stab him.
"He's outside the bathroom door," I whispered, clutching the phone tight.
"Do you have something to protect yourself with? ETA is three minutes." I heard sirens from his end of the phone.
"I don't think I have three minutes." The lock turned and the phone slipped through my fingers, smashing into the tile floor as the door swung open.
I backed up into the shower and held the shaking knife in front of me. Jax bent to pick up the phone and ended the call to the detective.
His eyes went from the knife to my face. "Your back door was unlocked." He set the phone on the counter and met my eyes in the mirror. "Why don't you put the knife down, Riley."
"The police are coming." Probably not the smartest thing to say, but maybe he'd run. "Get out of my house."
He was standing at the shower door now, blocking any exit out of the predicament I was in. I should have gone to my mom's bedroom for her gun. It couldn't be that hard to shoot someone. There was a safety and then I just had to pull the trigger.
His eyes fell to the knife again and they narrowed. "Where did you get that knife?"
I didn't answer, my entire body stiff. If he came forward, would I be able to stab him? How hard would I have to jab him with it to cause injury?
He turned his head toward the door as if he was angling it to listen. He made a growling noise in his throat and then walked out without another word.
My body relaxed and I suddenly felt the need to sit down. I pushed into the tiled wall to keep from sliding to the shower floor. If he came back, I needed to be ready.
A few moments later, I heard the sound of sirens and then the front door being kicked in. I sagged against the wall and the knife clinked against the tile after slipping from my hand. I was safe.
Twenty minutes later, I was on the couch with a glass of water in my hands and a splitting headache. The adrenaline rush left me exhausted and weak.
"No signs of forced entry. I checked all the doors and windows and they were all locked." I sat, numb, on the couch as the detective filled out a report. Jax must have locked the back door when he left. "You're positive he was inside the house?"
"Yes." I furrowed my brows and looked inside my glass at the bubbles around the edge.
The detective's phone rang and he answered it, making nonverbal noises as the person on the other end talked to him. "The two officers that went to his house say he was in the middle of an extracurricular activity with a female."
I blinked so many times I thought my eyelids were going to ignite. "But that's impossible. It hasn't been that long. How could he get home and already be in bed with a girl?"
Detective Wilson leaned forward and put his clipboard on the coffee table before turning toward me with a sympathetic face. "Look... sometimes when the mind is under a lot of stress-"
I stood. "You think I made it up?" I couldn't believe someone that should be on my side was questioning me.
"I think you are a smart young woman who is worried about her mother." He grabbed his clipboard and stood. "I will swing by and speak to Mr. West. I want to suggest that you call a friend to come spend the night or go to their house until we send someone out to fix your door tomorrow."
I decided his disbelief didn't warrant a thank you. I shut the door and pushed an oversized chair in front of it until I went to Ivy's.
None of this would be happening if it wasn't for my sperm donor.