Page 10 of Surge

Chapter Three

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."

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