Triton Read online

  “There she goes. Saylor is a local favorite around these parts. Anyone who lives here probably has heard the name mentioned or actually met her. She’s a great young lady that I feel is going to go far in her career as a surfer.”

  Ignore them, Say.

  Do what you do.

  Chapter 18

  Triton

  I watch her intently as she misses the first wave.

  “She didn’t take it. What the hell are you doing, Saylor?” Wiley grunts next to me.

  “What’s that mean?” I ask, not understanding any of this shit.

  “She didn’t take the first wave. I don’t know what she’s thinking. It was a perfect set up. She only has thirty minutes out there.”

  My heart pounds in my chest as I listen to the announcers saying the exact same thing. I take a few steps closer and watch her, wondering what’s going on in that head of hers. Piper comes to stand next to me, holding my arm in her hands and squeezing. I reach for one of her hands and grab it in mine.

  “She’s scared,” Piper whispers.

  “Of what? She’s done this her whole life.”

  “She’s afraid to win and place. She doesn’t know what that asshole will do.”

  Fuck! I run my free hand through my hair and tug slightly. I hate that this fucker is stealing her happiness and making her doubt herself. She’s too talented to let that happen.

  “There she goes!” Piper says excitedly.

  I focus back on her as she stands up and rides the wave like it’s the most natural thing in the world. She floats with ease across the water, and it fucking mesmerizes me. The grace and the way she holds herself, she’s fucking stunning.

  “Goddamn,” I say in a hushed tone as I watch her move over the water. Piper laughs and says, “She’s perfect out there, isn’t she?”

  “Beyond perfect.” I’ve never seen anything so graceful in my life. Everything about her on that board tells me she was made for this. With a sharp jab of clarity, I know I can’t get in her way of going pro. This is her. This is what she was born to do, and maybe I didn’t see it at first but I sure as hell do now. There is no way that I’ll let anyone take that away from her.

  Saylor paddles out a bunch more times and each ride is hotter than the last. I’ve seen her surf before but this? This is something more. This is Say doing her job, what she was made to do. I’ve never in my life seen something perfect like this.

  At the end of her heat, she jogs out of the water with people screaming and cheering for her. She waves and smiles, but what shocks the fuck out of me is when she comes straight toward me. The smile on her face is infectious. She leaps and I catch her in my arms, spinning her around before I kiss her.

  “You are fuckin’ amazin’, Say. I’ve never seen anything like that,” I tell her with all sincerity.

  She beams up at me when Wiley steps up. “Scores are coming up.”

  I set Saylor on her feet and we all stand, waiting to hear what the judges thought. I know she’s nervous but she did awesome. Pulling her back into my body, I lean down to whisper in her ear. “You killed it, baby. I plan on congratulatin’ you later.”

  Her body trembles in excitement, but she’s still nervous.

  “We have scores coming up for the last four surfers. Here we go. Cameron ten, Saunders nine, Robinson sixteen, and Roblas fourteen.”

  Wiley grabs Saylor out of my arms as people scream all around us. I don’t know what those scores mean but apparently she kicked ass. Saylor is all smiles and Piper is, too. Wiley is howling and spinning Saylor in his arms, and that’s when it all hits me. This isn’t my place. This isn’t me. I know nothing of her life and what she wants. Watching her smile and hold onto Wiley’s neck, it all slams into me like a lead fucking weight. Piper runs to me, throwing her arms around my neck and I hug her back.

  “Tell her I said congratulations,” I say softly.

  Piper pulls back, her smile fading as she looks me in the eye.

  “Don’t do that, Triton.”

  “Look at her. That’s where she belongs, P. Be careful and I’ll see you at the clubhouse, yeah?”

  Piper slowly nods her head. I take one last look at Saylor as she smiles and celebrates before I walk away.

  The ride back to the clubhouse settled me slightly. I left before she saw me. I knew from the start that I was in over my head with that girl, but there was something about her that wouldn’t let me go, not until I saw her with him. That’s where she belongs. With someone who can take her further. She deserves to be happy and have the world at her fingertips. And if I’m being honest, I’m selfish. I don’t want her to leave if she wins. I don’t want her to go anywhere and that’s what she’s destined to do.

  “You look pissy,” Neo says when I walk in and head straight to the bar. “She lose?”

  “Nope. She kicked ass.”

  “Then what the fuck is with you and where is she?”

  Bringing the bottle of Jack to my lips I take a long pull and move to sit next to him. “She’s where she’s supposed to be. Celebratin’ with her people.” I make sure to add an emphasis on her.

  “She got people?” Neo teases until I cut my eyes at him.

  “Her kind. She ain’t one of us. She’s one of them.”

  “That’s what you’re goin’ with?” Neo asks, sitting up and leaning his arms on the table in front of him.

  “You know, I thought there was somethin’ there. I could fuckin’ taste it, brother, but when I saw her with Wiley, it all fuckin’ clicked. She wins that competition, she’s off to travel the world and move to California. That’s her destiny, yeah? I’m here. Daytona is my home and there’s no fuckin’ way I’d walk away from my club.” Neo nods his head, appearing to understand what I’m saying. I take another pull from the bottle and let the alcohol run through my veins.

  “What about the asshole that’s tryin’ to fuck her over?”

  I huff out a breath and look up at my prez.

  “I’ll handle him if he comes after her. That was never a problem. But I can’t be with her. I’m fuckin’ up her life, her sister’s life. Fuck, Neo! I just figured out how to deal with P.”

  “She isn’t easily broken,” Trin’s voice filters from behind me. I don’t even need to look up to know she’s there.

  “Maybe not, but she’s destined for more, yeah?”

  Trin walks around and sits in the chair next to me. “She always has been, but that doesn’t change how she feels about you.”

  “Doesn’t matter when we’re a fuckin’ world apart, though.”

  “Triton, come on,” she nearly begs.

  “Stop!” I roar looking over at her. “I fucked up. I thought I could move on from what I did, but I can’t, Trin. Don’t you get that? I’m the reason you don’t have a dad! I’m the reason her mom is dead and she almost died. I can’t be the reason that she doesn’t live her fuckin’ dream!” I growl, punctuating my words by throwing the bottle of Jack at the wall and watching it shatter. Trin shakes but doesn’t move from her seat as tears slide down her cheeks.

  Doesn’t surprise me that I’ve fucked up a little more. I storm from the main room and down the hall until I get to my room. As soon as I step inside I slam the door closed and lean against it. What kind of fucked-up person am I? Is this really what I’ve become? The bastard who’s incapable of having anything good in my life?

  Chapter 19

  Saylor

  It’s been weeks since I’ve seen him, touched him, kissed him. I hate it. I feel like I’m on the losing end. Piper told me that day that he was hurting and there was nothing I could do to help him. I went to the clubhouse a few times, but every time one of the guys would tell me he wasn’t there. It was like a knife had sliced through my heart and I was bleeding out. I didn’t realize it until he wasn’t there just how much I need him in my life.

  “Your head still in the shitter?” Ben asks as I lean on the counter.

  “You ever been in love, Ben?”

  He walk
s over and stands next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist.

  “Once. Bitch ripped my heart out, too. She was everything to me but she cheated on me. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she ran off with the asshole.”

  “How did you know you loved her?” I ask, looking over at him.

  “Easy. I felt like I couldn’t breathe without her. Everything I did somehow revolved around her or thoughts of her. You love him, Saylor?”

  God, if I knew the answer to that. I wished I knew, but I don’t. All I do know is I feel like my heart is being torn from my chest and stomped into the floor. It’s a crushing feeling.

  “I don’t know. I can’t breathe when he’s not here, but I’m not the one that left either. I’m torn. I tried to go over there and talk to him, but his boys always say he isn’t there. I’ve even stayed and hung out with Trin to see if he shows up, but he never does. He just walked away, Ben. Why would he do that?” Ben’s eyes hold mine and I can see the wisdom in him.

  “He cares about you, Saylor. He knew the outcome before you even hit the water. Think about. If he cares that much about you, you know why he walked away. He’s trying to save you both the heartache when you win,” he says.

  “We don’t know that I’ll win.”

  Ben laughs and pulls away from me grabbing some dirty glasses to haul to the back.

  “We all know you’ll win, Saylor.”

  Is he right? Could he be thinking that? It’s not like I would want to leave him, but he sounded so confident that we could make this work and now he doesn’t believe that?

  “Hey, Saylor!” Angie, a local, hollers when she walks in the door.

  “Hey, sweetie. The usual?” I ask, turning to grab her water with two lemons.

  “You know it.” I call out the order to Ben and walk over to take her her drink.

  “Hurricanes coming,” she says, taking her water and setting it in front of her.

  “Yeah, I think we’re closing up early tonight to miss it. You have supplies just in case?” Angie turns to look up at me, a funny look on her face. I can’t help but laugh at her.

  “Do I ever? I’ve lived in Florida my whole life. It’s not like it’s a category 3 hurricane or anything. I can handle a downgraded one.” She laughs.

  “I have no doubts.”

  “What about you?”

  “Yep. Got my room over at the Holiday Inn all secure and the house is sandbagged. Not that it will help but I tried.” My house isn’t so much a house as it is a shack. I’m not there a lot with work and surfing so I don’t own much that has any meaning to me. If the whole shack blew away in a storm, it wouldn’t bother me at all.

  “Are you ever going to get a real place?” she asks before taking a sip of her water.

  “She don’t need one once she wins that competition,” Ben chimes in, setting her food in front of her.

  “That is true. You can’t forget us once you make the move to California, but you know I’ll be there to watch you every time.” I know she will. Angie has watched me since I first started surfing. She was a good friend of my mom’s. “And you know your mom is proud of you.”

  I sigh and rest my hand on her shoulder. “I know she is. Eat so you can get out of here and miss the storm.”

  Angie nods and starts in on her food as I get back to cleaning up the counter. I’m thankful that we aren’t full tonight, that makes it easier on me and Ben.

  “You sure you don’t want to hang out with me and Nat?” Ben asks, stepping up next to me and resting his arm on the counter.

  “And do what? Watch you two suck face? Hell no. I’m hitting the Holiday Inn and laying up in that big fluffy comforter with the air on.” Ben shakes his head laughing.

  “I’ll hang out until you’re ready to go,” he says, grabbing a rag and wiping the counter.

  “No, you can go. It’s only Angie then I’ll lock up.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah, you have a longer drive than I do. I’ll be fine. Unless you don’t trust me to lock up?” I raise an eyebrow and dare him to say something but he doesn’t. He just laughs and pulls me into a hug.

  “Saylor, I trust you with my life, girl. Call me and let me know you got there.” Nodding my head, Ben kisses my cheek and heads out the door. Angie pays and leaves not long after. I finish cleaning up, grab my phone from the back, and head toward the front.

  “Ben? You come back already? Miss me that much?” I giggle when I hear the front door close again. I figure he probably forgot something and came back for it.

  “Not exactly,” a deep male voice sounds through the room shocking me. I start to take a step back but I collide with something hard. Hands wrap around my throat, one covering my mouth. Panic is a bitch and I’ve learned how to control it in the water but this is on land, in the restaurant.

  “You were a bad, bad girl, Saylor. Should have listened to what you were told,” the man hisses in my ear.

  Another man comes into view but he’s wearing a ski mask so I can’t see his face. My stomach ties in knots as it all sinks in. Marshall. That motherfucker. A fist slams into my ribs causing me to cringe, but with the fucker holding me in place I can’t even double over. The wind howls outside and that’s where I keep my focus. The hits keep coming and eventually I’m released from the hold. I gasp for air but I can’t breathe. My shoulder is stomped into the floor as I scream in pain.

  “You should have listened, bitch!” the man screams and stomps once more.

  I clench my eyes shut and pray to God that this stops soon. I don’t know how much more I can take before I lose consciousness.

  “Stupid girl!” One more stomp to the side of my face and my eyes roll back. I hear the men walking away and the door close.

  I know I need to get out of here before the storm comes, but every time I move, I scream. My body aches and I don’t know if my shoulder is broken or just sprained. Every breath I take feels like my body is ripping in two. I grab the stool next to the counter and pull myself to my feet. Grabbing my bag and my phone, I stumble toward the door with tears clouding my vision. I try, goddamn do I try, to make it through the parking lot, shocked that I actually got the restaurant locked up as I stumble and fall. I pick myself up as tears clog my throat and the rain begins to pound down on me. Each drop is like a knife cutting through my already bruised skin. When I collapse once more, I pull my phone in front of me and dial the last person I called.

  “Hello?”

  “Trinity? God, help me, Trin.”

  “Saylor? Where are you? What’s wrong?”

  “Trinity I can’t move.” I struggle with even getting the words out of my mouth.

  “I’m coming, Saylor!”

  Chapter 20

  Triton

  “Neo! Fuck, Neo!” Trinity runs through the main room screaming like she saw a goddamn dead body. Rebel chuckles at her antics but my eyes just follow her. Her face is red, tears streaming down her cheeks. I shove out of my chair and stalk toward her as she rushes around digging through the cabinets.

  “What the hell are you lookin’ for?” Her head jerks up and those eyes nearly kill me.

  “She’s hurt or something. I don’t know. She could barely speak, Triton. I don’t know where she is!” She isn’t making any kind of sense. I grab her shoulders and jerk her slightly to try to get her to focus.

  “Calm the fuck down and tell me what happened, Trin,” I tell her harshly, needing her to listen. She takes a breath and wipes her face when Neo walks up, taking in the scene.

  “Saylor called me. She was crying and having trouble breathing. She said she couldn’t move and then the line went dead. I have to find her, Triton.” She cries harder now. My chest tightens as I look over at Neo.

  “Get in my truck, Trin. Where would she be?” Neo says glancing at Trin.

  “Her house? Work? I don’t know!”

  “I’m checkin’ her work. You check her house. Call me when you get somethin’,” I say in a rush.

  I don’t give anyo
ne a chance to respond. I run out the door and jump in the truck. Flooring it down the road, I speed like a madman since not many are out right now due to the storms coming in. My heart is racing and not from the wind and lightening. I could give a shit about any of that; I need to find her. I run through every fucking stop light until I see the restaurant come into view. Pulling into the back, I see her truck but not her. Jumping out, I check the doors but it’s locked up. I climb back in the truck and pull around front, keeping my eyes open. When I spot her on the ground, my heart crumbles. My body seizes. Horror and pain race through my veins. I jump out and rush toward her, the heavy rain slamming into me.

  “Say!” I scream her name as I drop down next to her. I roll her over and pray to God that she’s still breathing because if I lose her, I will fucking lose myself. I can’t lose her, not now.

  “Say! Look at me, baby. Please fuckin’ open those eyes.”

  No response. I don’t take time to look her over, I grab her in my arms and run toward the truck, safely tucking her lifeless body into the passenger seat. I run around and climb in, revving the engine as I speed out of the parking lot and toward the hospital. Pulling my cell out I call Neo and let him know that he needs to meet me over there. I can hear Trinity panicking in the background. I don’t have time to deal with her or her shit. I floor it until I see the emergency room entrance, slamming on the brakes right in front of the doors. Jumping out I run around and grab Say out of the truck, turning to run in the door.

  “I need help!” I’ve never in my life felt this kind of pain in my chest.

  “Fuckin’ help me!” I scream louder until the nurses come running my way.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I found her like this. Fuck, you gotta help her!” As I roar louder, they bring a gurney and I lay her down gently on it. My heart is racing and anger and worry run through my veins.