Page 54 of Surge

He leaned forward so his mouth was by my ear. "You and I both know your mom isn't waiting for you."

A feeling of dread filled me and I tried to duck under his arm, but he put his arm across my upper chest, pinning me against the wall.

"Let me go." I kicked his shin, but he didn't flinch.

He cocked his head to the side and then leaned in close to my ear again. "What did you see?"

I gasped as his lips brushed against the shell of my ear. "What do you want from me?" I choked on the last word.

He ghosted his lips down my jaw until his face was hovering right in front of mine. He was a mere inch from kissing me.

"What do we want from you?" His voice was deep and breathy, and I bit back a whimper that threatened to escape. "Where's your father?"

"I d-don't know." I stared unblinkingly back at him. "I told you, I've never met him."

He laughed. "I find that hard to believe." He brought his other hand up to my face and cupped my cheek. "Don't make a sound."

Not a second later, one of the doors on the other side of the locker room opened. "Male custodian, any females?"

I opened my mouth to scream, but Morgan had already anticipated it and clamped a hand over my mouth. My screams were muffled and I tried to bite into his hand, but it was impossible.

I pulled at his arms to try to get free, but his upper body was built solid and he didn't move a muscle as the man whistled.

Morgan moved us toward the door and quickly opened it, shoved me outside, and had it shut before a scream could leave me.

I took off at a sprint toward the parking lot, trying to dig my keys out of my bag while running. They wouldn't really physically hurt me, would they?

My car lights blinked twice as I unlocked it and threw the door open, only to have the door slammed before I could get in.

"If it isn't the little minnow, trying to get away from the sharks." Jax made a disapproving sound. "You better run. Morgan likes to play hide-and-seek."

Fear pulsed through my veins and I ran back toward the gates. My bag slipped off my shoulder, but I ignored it. A bag wasn't worth them catching me.

I heard them laughing, and then the laughing faded away as I came to a stop around the corner of a building in the middle of campus.

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. "Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"

"Three guys are chasing me. Please help." I was panicking and peeked around the side of the building. "Please hurry, I'm at Salinity Cove High School."

The operator went through a series of questions and told me to stay calm. She suggested I try to find the custodian, but I was glued to my spot.

I could hear sirens in the distance and a sob escaped as relief flooded my body. They came to a stop in the parking lot.

"Ma'am are you still there? They say to stay where you are and they'll find you."

They found me sitting on the side of the building, shivering uncontrollably. It wasn't even that cold outside, but the adrenaline dump had left me feeling worn out and freezing cold.

An officer sat me in the front of a police car with a blanket wrapped around me. My bag sat on the pavement in front of my feet, tire marks covering it. I didn't know how I was going to explain to Mr. Garcia that a car had run over it and smashed the expensive camera to smithereens.

"Do you know who was chasing you?" An officer squatted down in front of me and handed me a water bottle.

I took a long drink and shut my eyes. "The Tritons." A deadly calm like I'd never felt before washed over me. "They chased me from the aquatic center."

"The who? The dad from The Little Mermaid?" The officer scratched his head.

I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Were they mermaids? They couldn't be. Morgan had jumped out of the pool and landed on two feet. But his eyes had been the same as the ones I saw the day I almost drowned.

"Jax West, Blake Huron, and Morgan Wade."

"Those boys? Why would they do this?" He stood and gestured for a man dressed in plain clothes to join us.

"Where is Detective Wilson? I'd been in contact with him about one of them breaking into my house."

"Leave of absence."

"I think I'm going to be sick." I rushed out of the car and made it to the planter just in time.

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