CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
Xavier
I called Julian on the way to the pier, holding my breath as his phone rang. If he wasn’t available, I’d have to find someone else with a boat to take me to the river. For all the money I’d made and all the interests I’d dabbled in, boating had never piqued my interest.
If he doesn’t answer, I’ll call the police and report a kidnapping. It wasn’t that far-fetched of an idea to assume Riley was in trouble. Seth was worked up right now. He was probably looking to exact revenge on both me and Riley. Though he hadn’t specifically said it, I could be certain Riley would turn down any move he made on her. Seth was akin to a toddler when it came to his mental programming. Tell him no, and a shit storm would surely follow.
“Hello?”
“Thank God,” I breathed. “Julian, it’s Xavier. I need you to meet me at your boat.”
“What’s going on? I’m in the middle of something at work.”
“Seth is losing it. He took this girl… this girl I’ve been seeing out on his fucking yacht. He also told her all about the list and my fights.”
“The little bastard,” Julian hissed.
“She’s in danger. I know it. I need to get out there right now.”
“Xavier, just calm down. I’m sure she’s fine. We’ll deal with Seth this afternoon, after I get—”
“No,” I cut in. “This can’t wait. Riley is important to me, Julian. Very important. And I know something is going on.” I clenched my teeth and tried again. “I know.”
Only Julian’s breathing permeated the air. I was reaching for my next argument by the time he finally answered. “All right. I can be there in twenty.”
We got to the pier within a minute of each other. Julian kept his boat not far from where Seth’s docked. We clambered on board, and he brought it to life. I shaded my eyes and scanned the water. There were a few small vessels within eyesight, but I couldn’t decipher which one of them was Seth’s.
“Try over there first,” I said, pointing to the left.
Julian guided us out into the water. “You don’t have to tell me everything, and you obviously won’t… but is this all because of this girl?”
“Seth is trying to get back at me.” I curled my hand into a fist and pressed it against the console. “He knows that Riley’s mine.”
Julian looked at me in surprise. “Since when do you have a girlfriend?”
“Since never.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “This sounds pretty complicated.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Maybe you can fill me in some time. Right now, let’s focus on finding them.”
The first few yachts we passed were unfamiliar ones. With each vessel that glided by, my stomach dropped another few inches. What if they weren’t here? What if Seth took them out of the river? He could be anywhere with Riley, doing anything to her…
I ground my teeth together to keep back the howl of fury that wanted to fly out of me. Seth would pay for everything he’d already done. If he dared to touch Riley, I would fucking kill him.
“There!” Julian shouted.
He pointed to a familiar yacht. It sat adrift in the water, its sails down with no one on board I could see. Fear seized my heart. “Get over there. Quick.”
“I’m working on it.”
Julian navigated his boat until it was side by side with Seth’s yacht. The whole deck was visible now. Seth sat on the front deck, slumped over and drinking beer. There was no Riley.
I hurried to the side and hauled myself over. The whole while, Seth watched like he’d been expecting me.
“Where is she?” I demanded.
Seth took another drink of beer. I reached down and knocked the bottle out of his hand. It hit the deck, sending froth and liquid spewing everywhere.
Seth grimaced. “Hey, I need that. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m injured.” He pushed his hair back to reveal a swelling bruise on his forehead.
“Where is she?” I repeated, working to keep my voice level—for my own purposes rather than Seth’s. If I really lost control, there was no telling what I’d do. I’d had few moments where I worried about really hurting someone, but this was one of those.
“Oh, she left,” he answered with a lift of his shoulder.
Something snapped in me. I grabbed Seth’s shirt, hauled him up, and brought his face to mine. Since he was shorter than me, his feet dangled in the air. He stared back at me, his face red and his eyes full of fear.
“Xavier!” Julian shouted from the other boat. “Put him down!”
“Yeah, Xavier,” Seth sputtered. “Put me down.”
Even with my hands around him, he was still cocky as fuck. The kid must’ve had a death wish.
“Xavier,” a softer voice said.
The one word allowed me to breathe again, and I instantly dropped Seth. He fell to his feet and stumbled back a little bit. Turning, I saw Riley standing by the entrance to the cabin. Her cheeks were sun-kissed, and her eyes red and puffy underneath. She’d been crying.
“Riley,” I croaked. She was alive. Fine. Mostly. If her face was any indication, something awful had happened to her. For the second time in one minute, I broke. My hand went into a tight ball. Turning around, I pulled my shoulder back and let my fist fly.
My knuckles connected with Seth’s jaw, making a satisfying popping noise. His head snapped back, and he went down.
“Christ!” Julian said from behind me. The yacht moved as he climbed on board. I stood where I was, thick ropes of fury still holding me in place.
Julian kneeled next to Seth and rolled him over. “He passed out. That, or you knocked him out.”
I rubbed my sore fist. “I didn’t hit him hard enough to make him black out. He did it to himself. Too much drinking in the sun.”
Julian straightened up. “Oh, I wasn’t reprimanding you.”
For the first time, I noticed Riley’s purse sitting on the end of the bench. Picking it up, I walked over to where she still stood by the doorway. She silently accepted the purse, staring at the water behind me.
“What are you doing here?” she quietly asked.
“The better question is what are you doing here?”
She tilted her face back up, her eyes narrow. “I can go wherever I want and do what I want with whoever I please.”
What she said was too suggestive to handle. Jealousy consumed me. I fought to keep my breathing even. “And how does Seth play into that? What were you doing out here with him?”
“I...” Riley fell silent and pursed her lips. Her eyes darted over my shoulder and then back to me. “I was just talking to him.”
Reaching up, I lightly touched her cheek. “And then you randomly started crying?”
I expected her to recoil at my touch, but she stayed put. “I shouldn’t have come out here by myself.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.”
Riley defiantly lifted her chin. “But I did, and that was my own decision to make.”
I scoffed. “When did you get so cocky?”
She exhaled, and suddenly looked sad. “I had to. Things happened, and I had to.”
My throat tightened. “Did Seth force you to do anything?”
Her cheeks puffed. “No. Not really. I mean, he tried, but I locked myself in the cabin.” She looked past me. “Is he all right?”
“He blacked out,” Julian answered, coming to stand with us. “He’ll probably be up and moving about in ten minutes or so, but we should probably get him checked out by a doctor, just to be safe.”
“Or we can leave him here,” I answered, sliding my eyes to the bastard.
Julian nodded in acknowledgment. “As much as I like that thought, it’s not the best solution, publicity wise. If anyone cruises by and sees him passed out, they’ll call the authorities. With Seth’s parents being who they are, the story will be all over the internet tomorrow.”
“Right,” I answered through tight teeth. “I guess we bring him back with us.”
“It’s the only answer. I’ll take him back to his place and get a doctor to come to the apartment.”
We moved quickly, pulling Seth into some shade. Julian took the helm of the yacht, which was harder to sail than his own, and Riley and I steered his boat back. The trek across the water was a silent one. Riley stood as far away from me as she could, her arms folded and her eyes cast toward Manhattan. I wanted to speak, but I was once again in that frozen state. I could tell Ann-Marie how I felt about Riley, but around Riley herself, it became a different story.
Something bad had almost happened to her today. Knowing what could have occurred made me want to fall to my knees and yell until my lungs gave out. I’d let her go before, and I couldn’t make that mistake again. With Riley gone, I was a mess. With Riley gone, she was in danger. Nothing was right with her not in my life.
I wished I could just come out and say these things, but it was probably too late. I’d hoped that she’d be thrilled and grateful to see me coming to her rescue on Seth’s yacht, but she still looked at me with that cold distance in her eyes. I could have saved her from a burning building, and she would still hate me.
We docked the boats, and I helped Julian carry Seth to the end of the pier. He moaned a little bit and shook his head side to side, but his eyes were still closed. Julian’s driver pulled up, and we loaded Seth into the backseat. Julian turned and gave me a parting handshake.
“I’ll call Davis and have him come over,” he said. “He can take a turn at babysitting.”
“Sounds good. Let me know what happens.”
“Will do.” His gaze fell on Riley. “It was a pleasure meeting you. I wish it had been under better circumstances.”
“Same here,” Riley murmured.
Julian gave me one more look, but since his face was flat and emotionless, I couldn’t tell what it meant. He climbed into the car and rolled away, leaving me and Riley alone again.
“I need to go home,” she announced.
I touched her elbow, afraid to let her take so much as one step away from me. “Come back to my place.”
“Why?”
“Because… it’s closer. You can take a shower, and I’ll make you something to eat.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“We need to talk.”
She rubbed her temples. “Do you have another secret to reveal to me?”
“Something like that,” I answered, the words feeling thick on my tongue.
Riley closed her eyes for a few seconds, looking as if she might be thinking or praying. Finally, she opened them. “Okay. Let’s go.”