Page 109 of Finish Line

Instead, I’m shocked when she pulls me into a mom hug. “Oh, you poor girl. Did you go to the police?”

“Yes, they know,” I say. “But they won’t be able to find him.”

“He broke out of jail,” Luke says before his mom can speak. “He’s smart, Mom. Remember when I stopped hanging out with Nick and Shelby? Well, he hypnotized us to stay away from Shelby,” Luke says.

“Hypnotized. Is that why you were so angry?” she asks.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’m fine now, I promise, and he won’t be able to do it again,” Luke states.

“That seems impossible, Son,” Henry says.

“I thought the same thing, but it’s true.” Dom moves from the wall and heads over to stand behind me.

Clara stares at another picture. “She appears healthy.”

“If it’s her, Mom, I’ll find her and bring her home,” Luke says with determination.

“You can’t search for her right now,” she says.

“Why not?” Luke asks, confused.

“School, Luke. You can’t miss any more days, or you won’t graduate,” his mom barks.

“Mom, it’s Lea. School doesn’t matter,” he argues.

“Yes, it does,” she says. “Lea left a long time ago, so a few more weeks won’t matter.”

“He could kill her, Mom,” Luke pleads with his mom.

“I’ll go,” I say.

Everyone’s heads snap to me, and Dom’s arms tighten around my middle.

“You have work,” Luke says.

I shake my head. “No, Carrie got me fired today.”

At this, Dom steps out from behind me to stand with the rest of the guys.

“How?” Cam asks.

“I’ll tell you later. It’s not important right now.” I look at Clara and Henry. “When Nick finds her, I’ll bring her back.”

“I’ll go, too,” Cam pipes up, then shrugs when everyone looks at him. “What? I don’t have school or work, either. Besides, you think I’ll let Shelby do this alone when Roger is stalking her?”

Luke runs his hand through his hair. “This is ridiculous.”

“We’ll figure it out. Besides, that may work to our advantage. From everything you’ve told me about her, she might be more willing to talk to me than you,” I say. “Let’s find out where she is. All right?”

Luke scrubs a hand down his face. “Fine, yeah. Let’s go see if Nick found her.”

We head back over to the Tate’s house. I tell the guys I’ll grab a drink while they head to Nick’s apartment. I need to gather the pictures of me, which we left stacked on the table.

I open a Dr. Pepper and glance outside the window. The chair is still overturned, but no photos are on the table. I set down my soda and head outside to pick up the envelope from the table.

When I peek inside and find it empty, worry fills me. The last thing I need is for Mom to find them.

“What are you going to do with them?” Mav asks from behind me.

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