Page 123 of Finish Line

The guys call my name, but I ignore them and run out of the emergency doors. Tears pour down my face and obscure my vision. I stop when I reach the parking lot’s end, unable to run any farther.

I bend over, gasping for breath.

Boots stomp on the ground behind me.

I stand up again and take a deep breath when I notice a figure across the highway. I wipe the tears from my eyes.

Roger.

The note Nick found. It wasn’t about Lea. It was about my mom.

Roger’s face splits into a macabre grin.

My legs give out, but Dom catches me.

I keep my eyes on Roger and mouth, You.

He winks and finger waves at me.

“Firefly, I’m so sorry,” he whispers.

Rage fills me, and I rip out of Dom’s arms.

“You did this!” I point at Roger.

Dom looks across the highway and lets out a growl.

Roger shrugs.

“I’m going to kill you!” I take a few steps into the street, not looking at the approaching cars.

Roger waves me over.

As I step into the street, Dom screams and drags me back just as a car whizzes by, narrowly missing me. “Baby, you can’t cross here! The traffic is too heavy. You’d be killed for sure.”

“Let me go!” I buck against Dom’s arms. “He killed my mom! I’m going to kill him!”

“We’ll get him, angel, but not right now.” Luke moves to block my view of Roger. “Peter needs us.”

“Oh my God, Peter.” I gasp.

When I glance back across the road, Roger is gone, and I stop fighting. “You can let me go, Dom. Roger is gone.”

His hold relaxes on me, but anger fills his voice. “He stood there, knowing how busy that road was. He wanted you or one of us to be hurt trying to cross, and you almost did!”

Luke grips Dom’s shoulder. “Take it easy on her. She’s been through a lot.”

Dom puts me down, and we return to the room where Nick sits with his dad. I throw my arms around Peter.

“I’m sorry,” I say, crying. “This is my fault.”

He wraps his arms around me. “No, dear girl, it’s not. How could it be?”

I sigh and worry what I’m about to say could end our relationship. “Roger had something to do with this. I just saw him outside.”

Uncomfortable accepting his support, I remove his arms from around me and glare down at my hands. “So, it’s my fault.”

Peter moves forward, placing his hand under my chin and lifting my head so I look at him. Tears shimmer in his eyes. “She was sick, Shelby. She made her own decisions. No one forced her to take those pills.”

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