by Maya Nicole
He was absolutely right, but I still wanted to kiss him.
Chapter Twelve
Blake
Riley made no sense to me. One second I was seriously entertaining the idea that she had siren in her ancestry, and the next, she was freaking out over falling in the water. As I watched her sleep, I couldn't figure her out.
I had wanted to kiss those pouty lips of hers so bad, but knew if she did have siren blood, that I had to tread carefully. I saw how the other two reacted to her when she was near. It was like watching two love-sick puppies.
Two love-sick puppies who were tormented by what we were doing to her. We couldn't defy an order from Jax's father, though. He was an admiral, and someday Jax would take his place with us at his side.
I sat at the edge of the bed and turned back to look at her. She slept peacefully now after her nightmares. Her hair fanned across the pillow in thick brown waves. It was getting harder for me to ignore the fact that I was attracted to her.
Sirens were supposed to be extinct. It was possible a few had escaped and found a life on land, but they would have been easy to detect. Sirens were lunatics, and once they knew they had power over men, they used it to excess.
Poseidon had managed to control them by gifting them knives that calmed their urges. He also gave them free rein to do whatever they wanted to men who didn't have the best intentions at sea.
I stood and stretched before grabbing a pair of sweatpants and my phone. I slipped out of the room, shutting the door softly behind me just as Morgan was coming out of his bedroom.
Our internal clocks were nothing if not accurate. We woke at six o’clock every day, not a minute earlier or later.
We walked down the stairs shoulder to shoulder and then he shoved me against the refrigerator. “Did you-”
“Even if I did, I’m not like you and go around bragging about it.” I pushed him off me just as Jax walked into the room. “What does it matter? Both of you have already made out with her.”
“You kissed her?” Jax put his hands on the edge of the island and glared. “I told you, she’s mine.”
I ignored him and pulled ingredients out of the refrigerator to make breakfast as Morgan started making coffee. “Have you two considered that it’s possible your attraction to her isn’t normal? That maybe she's causing it?”
Morgan made a disgruntled sound and got a mug out of the cupboard. “We would have noticed her before if she was what you are insinuating.”
“Not necessarily.” Jax sat on a barstool. “We’d never talked to her or been around her enough. She doesn’t sing, does she?”
“Maybe we should ask her.” I started mixing dough for biscuits. “I don’t think the secret she thinks she knows is the one we fear."
If she did know about what we were, we’d have to contact the admiral about how to proceed. Humans weren’t allowed to know about our existence. There were a few exceptions, but they had to be approved by the admirals.
“The last thing we need is for her to sing and put us under a spell.” Morgan took a drink of his coffee. “There is something about her though… maybe it’s the fact that she's sexy as fuck and smart too. She also has that whole damsel in distress thing going on, which means she'd be just my type in the bedroom.”
“She's only a damsel because of us.” Jax stood. “When we find that fucker of a father of hers, I’m going to gut him from dick to throat and let Bubba feast on his intestines.”
I put the biscuits I had just cut onto a tray and put them in the oven. “You would feed Bubba spoiled meat?” I laughed at the thought of the shark turning his nose up. "He'd hate you for feeding him such low-grade meat."
“You have a point.” Jax sat down on the couch and turned on the news.
Morgan and I frowned at each other. Jax tortured himself on a daily basis by watching the round the clock coverage of the oil disaster. It was like he wanted to feel the pain every day to remind himself what our mission was.
Find Robert Kline and deliver him to the admiral.
It hadn’t seemed that difficult when he’d assigned the task to us, but now it seemed impossible. Riley was either telling the truth or was motivated in some way to keep his location a secret.
In our world, fathers didn’t leave their children. It was different with humans, but Riley’s mom had never held a job. The money was coming from someone to pay for their townhouse that was walking distance from the beach, her and Riley’s cars, and their lifestyle.
We’d done our research. Riley’s mother, Natalia, was getting money from Robert. She had to be.
Morgan leaned against the counter as I cracked eggs in a bowl. “Do you think her mom really went on vacation?”
“No.” I dug in the drawer for the whisk. “It doesn’t make sense for her to run, unless she ran with Robert.”
“Do you think Riley’s considered that?” Morgan frowned into his coffee. “She’s smart. She has to wonder.”
“I think she only sees what she wants to see.” I flipped the bacon and then poured the eggs in another pan. "Just like all humans."
I just wished she’d see that we weren’t going to stop until we got what we wanted.
Chapter Thirteen
Riley
I woke up to an empty bed. I slid my hands over the sheets to find them cold. Last night was out of character for me. I never did anything to get myself in trouble or have others look at me with anything less than respect.
Now, I was in bed with the enemy.
I checked my phone for messages to find none. In two days, my mom should be home, and if she wasn't... I tried not to think of it.
I slid out of bed and went to the bathroom before wandering into the hall. I could hear the television downstairs and hushed voices. The smell of food made my stomach grumble, and I took a calm breath and went to face the music.
Last night they were too nice to me since I had scared myself half to death. Today, I probably wouldn't be so lucky.
"We have to tell him-" Blake's voice cut off abruptly when I got to the bottom of the stairs. "Good morning."
I gave him a small smile and approached with caution. Blake was cooking at the stove, Morgan was sipping coffee, and Jax was sitting on the couch.
"You eat meat, right?" He flipped bacon and didn't flinch as it popped.
"Yes." I stood next to the island. "You know you can cook bacon in the oven and it won't pop you? If you line the baking sheet with foil, it's super easy to clean up."
Blake looked over his shoulder at me. "It doesn't taste the same."
"Do you want coffee?" Morgan took another drink. "I make a mean cup of espresso if you're into that."
"No, thanks." I looked over my shoulder at Jax who was glued to the television and I could see why. It was about the oil spill.
Out of the three of them, Jax was the most confusing. They all had a bad side to them, but Jax was the worst and was the most at odds with it. He had bigger mood swings than a pregnant woman.
I moved to the couch and sat down a seat away from him. He was in a pair of basketball shorts, similar to the pair he had on the night before, and no shirt. Even sitting he didn't seem to have an ounce of fat on him.
None of them appeared to have any body hair either, besides the hair on their heads. Jax and Blake both wore theirs shaved close to their scalps, while Morgan kept his short on the sides and longer on top.
"As you can see behind me, efforts are underway to save a pod of dolphins that swam through an uncontained patch of oil. Great progress has been made containing and eliminating the patches, but with such a wide area being affected, there are bound to be scenes just like this for months and possibly years to come."
The image cut from the reporter standing in front of a facility, to a group of men and women in the water with a pod of dolphins. The dolphins' eyes looked pained as they were cared for by the rescue workers.
Jax sniffled a few times and I peeked over at him. Tears ran down his face. My heart clenched and I s
cooted next to him, taking his hand in mine. There was a fifty-fifty chance he'd react negatively.
"Your father did this." His voice was flat and I gulped the sudden emotion that welled up inside my throat. "He knew it wasn't safe to put an oil platform in that location and did it anyway. He went against protestors and used his money to get past the red tape."
I put my head against his shoulder and watched as the news showed oil being burned on the surface of the water. They were trying multiple ways to get rid of the oil, but with constantly moving water, the weather, and the sheer volume of the oil spill, it was difficult.
"I don't know my father." I whispered. "He hasn't responded to my emails or my calls. I don't know what else you want me to do."
"Try harder." He let go of my hand and stood, the switch being flipped and the glare back. He swiped at his cheeks. "I'm taking you home."
"Let's eat breakfast first." Morgan gave Jax a warning look.
Jax sat back down as I stood, crossing his arms. "I've suddenly lost my appetite."
"Awesome. More for us." Blake set a tray on the dining room table that was right next to the floor to ceiling windows. "Let's eat."
I looked down at Jax and then went and sat at the table. Blake had made scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits, and cut fruit.
"This is a nice spread." I served myself and looked out the big windows that look out to the ocean. "Aren't you scared the cliff might collapse?"
Morgan snorted and bit into a biscuit. A few crumbs were still on his chin, and I wanted to lean over and brush them off. There was an odd compulsion to touch them and let them touch me when I was near them. It was like I was possessed.
"It's reinforced with steel. This baby isn't going anywhere in the next century." Morgan pointed his fork at me. "And all the windows have storm shutters."
I had so many questions. Once I finished chewing, I decided to ask since they were being pleasant. "Where are your parents?"
They looked at each other and Blake answered for them both. "They work for the same corporation, Trident Industries. Our great, great grandparents founded this town."
I'd heard the name thrown around, but never paid much mind to what they did. It seemed everything with these three had to do with tridents. Even our school mascot, a shark, held a trident.
"But you haven't lived here all your life, have you?" I wracked my brain trying to remember them from elementary and middle school. There were two of each which filtered into the only high school. "You must have gone to North Cove Elementary."
"We were homeschooled." Jax pulled the chair out at the end of the table and Blake slid him the tray of food to make his plate. "We're too advanced to deal with elementary and junior high bullshit."
I tensed as he stared at me. Morgan chuckled. "He doesn't bite... unless you ask him nicely."
My face flamed and I busied myself eating instead of talking. The food was good and I wondered what else Blake could cook, and if the other two could as well.
Blake cleared his throat. "I'll take you home once you're finished. Morgan dried your clothes."
"Or you can just take those and give them back to me at school." Morgan put his napkin and fork on his plate. "If you want."
"I'll take her home." Jax had only eaten half his food but stood. "Let's go."
Blake and Morgan made no protest. Jax was definitely the leader of their trio.
I followed him and he handed me a paper bag with my clothes in it. "My shoes are in your garage."
"Of course they are." I followed him out to his car and he opened the back. "You'll sit back here."
"What?" I was still strapping my sandals on as he got in the driver's seat.
I heard the locks click and went to the passenger side, trying to open it. He opened the garage door and then looked at me. "Get in the back."
My eyes stung for a moment, but I complied and climbed in, the door shutting me into the back area. Instead of laying this time, I looked over the seat at him.
"Why are you such a moody ass?" I put the bag of clothes on the seat in front of me and his eyes went to it as he pulled out of the garage.
Their house was fairly large and modern looking. It was a bigger property than I expected. We stopped at a gate and waited for it to slide open.
I hitched a leg over the back of the seat, ready to climb into an actual seat.
"Don't even think about climbing over that seat or I'll make you walk home."
"Might be worth it." I muttered before sitting back down.
We were about ten minutes from the community of townhouses I lived in judging by what I saw out the window. Now I knew how he had gotten home so fast after being inside my house.
"Do you have the security guards and police in your pocket?"
"What is this, the mafia?" I could almost hear him roll his eyes.
"I don't know, is it?" I opened my phone and pressed record on the camera. "You're the one that got back here in under twenty minutes and then convinced the two officers that you were with a girl."
"You're a smart woman. Use your brain." He laughed. "Well, I thought you were a smart woman until you stowed away back there and snuck into our house."
"Morgan was making out with me on the backseat and my cellphone fell under the seat. I was just retrieving it. After you beat the shit out of him, I was too scared to say anything, so I just... went along for the ride."
"You were in my room."
"I had to go pee." I knew I could always cut this part out of the recording. "I panicked."
"You weren't panicked enough to not watch me jerk off thinking about you."
I was glad he couldn't see me because I was sure my face was beet red. "Why would you tell me that?"
"You want to know what I was thinking about?" I heard the sound of the blinker and knew we were pulling off the highway and into the area I lived.
"Not particularly." Yes, please tell me.
"I was thinking about that night you were in my dorm room and I had you right where I wanted you. How I would have eaten that sweet pussy of yours until you were screaming for me to give you an orgasm."
I gulped. "And?"
"I also imagined you taking my cock in your hand, just like I was, and letting me come all over those gorgeous tits of yours."
I shifted and squeezed my legs together. Why was I getting turned on by what he was saying? Bad, pussy, bad.
"I could have taken you for myself the other night, but you called the cops before even hearing me out." He made a tsking sound.
I was quiet and did a silent little victory dance in my head that he brought up the break in. I almost had him. "Why did you break into my house?"
The car came to a stop. "The same reason you broke into mine and were in my room."
"I already told you, I didn't break in." The back door swung up. "Thanks for the ride. I guess."
"Enjoy your weekend." He smiled. I was confused. His mood swings were giving me whiplash.
I jumped out of the back after turning off the recording and walked to the side gate. Aiden had my keys in his car and I hadn't even thought about texting him to bring them to me. I had a spare one hidden in the back.
The Maserati backed out of the driveway and it was then I realized the symbol on the front was a trident. They really had a thing for them.
I slipped into the backyard. I needed a hot shower and a giant glass of Sprite.
I lifted the cover to the burner on the barbecue grill and pulled out the spare key. I unlocked the back door and then came to a screeching halt.
No wonder he had oddly told me to have a nice weekend. There was sand everywhere.
Cleaning the sand had taken most of the day Saturday and part of the day on Sunday with the help of Aiden. There was nowhere they could have gotten in unless they had a key. I wouldn't be putting the spare key back outside again.
Sunday afternoon, the sand was gone, but my annoyance wasn't. I had put a message on the community app, asking if anyone had seen a vehicle d
elivering sand, but got no responses.
That much sand didn't end up in a house without being seen. There was now a pile big enough to make a sandcastle on the back patio. I had spent all the time I should have been searching for my mom ridding the entire downstairs of the pesky granules.
I stood at the door of my mom's room and looked around. She had left it almost too neat. I went to her dresser and looked in each of the drawers. I was glad she hadn't taken all of her clothes, otherwise I'd really be freaking out.
I lifted the mattress to see if anything was hidden between it and the base, but came up with nothing. I laid on the floor and looked under the bed. It was dusty and there were a few lost tissues and a stray hair tie, but nothing else.
I sat against the bed and hugged my knees to my chest. I could have just been blowing everything out of proportion. She was supposed to be back the following afternoon and would find it hilarious that I freaked out for no reason.
Getting to my knees, I opened the nightstand Ivy had looked in. The top drawer had a few romance novels, Antacid, and a flashlight. I flipped through the books and skimmed the dog-eared pages. They were passages about love and fighting for yourself.
I hesitated on opening the bottom drawer. Ivy had freaked out and slammed it shut. I really didn't need to see what was inside, but shut my eyes and pulled it open before I could talk myself out of it.
I cracked open an eye and then sighed in relief. The way Ivy had reacted, I thought there was a massive dildo in the drawer. Sure, there were two different toys, but nothing to be embarrassed about.
They were sitting higher in the drawer than they should have been. There was a hand towel spread out under them, so I pulled it back and shouted in excitement.
There was a plastic box under them. I pulled it out and sat on the bed with it in my lap. My mom was a smart woman hiding something under her sex toys.