Althena Book 2

53. 120383

I text Monte first thing in the morning at 6.

-You there?-

-About to land. The pilot has done drop-offs at the airport before. Your dad was always alone. He's never had any issues at the airport. He even handed me some car keys.-

-That's convenient.-

-Very. Can I kiss you again when I come back?-

I can't help but smile. -Yes please. I liked that.-

-Me too. I'm landing now. I'll text you when I can.-

-K.-

By the time I get out of the shower, he's already texted me again. -Car was fine. No tampering. The plane is on its way to Crystal Falls. Driving to the house. I'll be there in an hour.-

I eat breakfast without saying much, then take the helicopter to school. I run to my first class and stare at my phone.

-I'm at school now. Are you still driving?-

-Yes. 10 minutes.-

-I should have gone with you. This is killing me.-

-You'll be fine. You're safe right where you are. Relax.-

-Easy to say. Hard to do.-

I lay my head on my desk and try to focus on anything else. Nothing else comes into my head though. He shouldn't be there. He definitely shouldn't be there alone.

"You good? You seem stressed." Akmae sits in front of me.

"I'm alright."

"I have some other ideas for casino stuff. I'll work on them this weekend and show you on Monday."

"Thank you."

-CODE FOR THE ALARM SYSTEM.-

I don't know what to tell him. Nobody gave me that. The only numbers I can think of are my mom's birthday. I used Mike's birthday before. -12383-

-No.-

-120383-

-That worked. What is it?-

-My mom's birthday.-

-I should have known. Looking around now. I appear to be the only one here.-

-What's it like?-

-Beautiful. House on the lake. There's a boat in the water. Landscaped yard. No neighbors. Hell, there's even a fountain outside. Inside is something else. The floor is marble. The walls match the gray in the marble. This is next level rich. I need to look around. I'll text you later.-

-Ok. Still be careful.-

-Always.-

I don't hear from him again until halfway through my 3rd class. -I found Edwardo's documents. I'll bring them home with me. He also has a housekeeper that scared the living f**k out of me.-

I start laughing in class and the teacher gives me a dirty look. I put the phone away until she lets us go.

He sent more. -Picture of Clayton above the fireplace. I'm unsure about what to do with it. Why would Edwardo have a picture of Clayton? Not sure if we'd be able to come up with an answer if anyone else saw it.-

-Can you bring it back with you? I'll say I found it in a closet or something.-

-The frame stays. It has a safe behind it. I have to leave it for now.-

-Can you get into the safe?-

-Yes. Same number as the security code. The only thing in it was a computer drive. I'm trying to find a damn computer now.-

The bell rings. -Late for class. Good luck.-

He sends a couple of laughing faces while I run to choir.

After lunch, I check in again. -Did you figure out the drive?-

-Yea. It's a message to Clayton and Mary. He knows he wasn't the best person, but he loved them. He wished he was a better person. They deserved better. He doesn't admit to anything specific. It's not bad. I watched the whole thing. Now I'm searching for anything I need to get rid of.-

-Akley had a hidden little room in his office. A hidden door in the wall. If it's something like that, you may never find it. Try asking the housekeeper. They know more than they let on.-

-Good idea. I'll see if she's still here.-

-Good luck.-

-Thank you.- He sends a kiss face with it. I can't wait to kiss him again.

I'm with Crew all afternoon, and she doesn't give me any options but to focus on my school work.

After school, I hide in the locker room to check in again.

-Find anything?-

-We can talk about that later. I'm still snooping. The pilot texted, and the plane is about to leave Crystal Falls. I'll be getting back on it between 11 and 12 tonight. Everything good there?-

-Perfect. I was hoping there wouldn't be anything to talk about.-

-I'm sorry. Honestly though, it was more of the same. We don't have to talk about it. I'm glad you weren't the one to find it this time.-

-Who was taking the pictures?-

-Someday we'll talk about that. Not over text. Put it out of your mind for now. The pictures are gone forever.-

-Thank you.-

-You're welcome. I'm going to check the boat. I forgot the boat. Talk soon.-

I send a kiss face before I put my phone away. Then I run to eat with everyone.

I cheer with the girls during the game. I'm sad Monte's not in the front row though. I miss him there. Granny's not here either. Mary and Clayton are with my boys.

I check in with Monte on my last break at 9:30. -Anything new?-

-No. I took a shower. I'm leaving to go back to the airport. I have a box of stuff for us to go through. That's about it.-

-Was anything on the boat?-

-Fishing gear. He must have liked to fish. There was some fishing gear on your boat too.-

-How did he get into this life?-

-Money. And he was f****d up about your mom. I know he wasn't a drug addict, but he did them on occasion. That was all Akley needed. He must have got something on him and blackmailed him into smuggling drugs. Either that or it was just the money. There is a lot of money being passed around.-

-There really is. Did you remember the bank card?-

-I got it. I got all Edwardos documents. I'll hide them at my house for now. We can go through it later.-

I hear the crowd start cheering from the locker room. -Ok. I need to finish the game. I think the team went back out.-

-How they doing?-

-We're winning. But you're not watching me from the front row.-

He sends a smiley. -Next game I will. I'm leaving now. I'll let you know when I'm back in Darkburn. I'll sleep on the plane.-

-Good night.-

-Good night.- He sends another kiss face. I like those.

I cheer for the last period. Then I snuggle Drogon. He's so warm and loving.

I must fall asleep because I wake up at girls' club camp in the morning. I jump up to pee, but someone's taking a shower.

"I'm showering next." Fay is staring at me. "I already called it."

"I just have to pee."

"Oh, ok."

I wait forever and can't hold it anymore. I run out and pee behind a tree. The guards try to follow me, then turn around fast. I couldn't help it. I had to pee. The bedroom has a bunch of bunk beds. There is no privacy here and someone is still in the shower. I'm still in my cheer uniform. I must have passed out hard last night.

Some of the girls are lying in their beds on their phones. Nobody is paying attention to me, so I change into my panda pajamas. At least I'm more comfortable. I give myself a tour of the rest of the cabin. The living room doubles as an everything room. There are a few round tables set up. 1 of them has beads on it. I check the fridge and Kayode says, "No cooking until everyone's awake. We'll make eggs on the fire. Doesn't that sound good?"

"Yes."

I'm hungry though. I check my bag and Drogon didn't send any snacks. Hanorah is eating cookies or something in her bed. Maybe the guards have something. I grab my phone and go outside. They're sitting around a fire eating. Half of them are anyway. The other half are probably sleeping. They have tents set up. I sit between 2 of them and check my phone. Nothing from Monte yet.

I text him. -Back yet?-

-Yes I am. We landed at 8. I took some s**t home. Now I'm taking your dirt, box, and wood to the casino. I have a few things to do there this morning.-

-Thank you. I'm glad you're back.-

-Me too. That is a nice place though. You'll have to see it sometime.-

-It'll be mine soon enough.-

-You ok?-

-Yea.-

A guard hands me a sausage. I eat it and stare at the fire. For some reason, I thought this would be more fun. I go in to take a shower.

Someone is in the shower again. Ami is still sleeping. Hanorah is eating chips. She was smart enough to bring snacks. Lila is lying in bed laughing at her phone. Why is this fun? I haven't even been able to brush my teeth. I go sit by the guards. At least they talk and share food with me.

He hands me a sausage. "Why do you look like you're going to cry?"

I shake my head and eat my sausage.

"COME ON. WE'RE GOING TO FISH UNTIL AMI AND FAY GET UP."

I guess Fay went back to bed. But I'm not going anywhere. I'm still in my pajamas. I shake my head at them.

Lila comes over. "You ok?"

"Yea. I just haven't taken a shower yet. I'm still in pajamas and I always eat before now. I need to fix myself before I do anything."

"Ok. We'll be at the river when you're ready."

"Have fun."

I go in and take a cold shower. There's no hot water. This place is terrible. How can anyone like this? There's no TV. Nothing to do. I blow dry my hair then pull it back. Then I put my pajamas back on. I'm not wearing real clothes here. They'll get ruined.

I leave the bathroom and Ami runs by me. "You took forever. I need to pee."

"Sorry, I didn't know anyone was waiting."

Fay, Lila, and Hanorah are sleeping. I guess fishing was boring. I go back out to the guards. They give me more sausages. One of them rubs my back. "You're alright."

I can't even help it. Tears start falling out of my eyes. I wipe them off and try to hide them. I just want to go home. I miss home.

Kayote comes over and hands me some eggs. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I want to go home."

"That's ok. You can go home and come back tonight if you'd like. You can have dinner with us."

One of the guards walks away with his phone.

I poke my eggs. "I miss the boys."

"I know, sweetie." She takes the guards spot. "There's nothing wrong with that. You feel safe with them. It's hard for you to be away from them right now. Everyone understands that. I'm going to call Drogon. You eat your eggs."

I pick at the eggs and sausage. Now I feel even worse. I'm like a baby who wants to go home at a sleepover. I wipe my eyes while I try to eat.

Then Drogon picks me up. I wrap around him and cry. "Relax, babygirl."

"I already let her know, but she can come back for dinner or try staying again tonight. But there's no pressure. Everyone understands."

"Alright, thank you. I'll get her calmed down, and we'll talk about it then."

"Of course. I grabbed her bag. The girls got her stuff in there for her."

"Thank you." He carries me to the helicopter.