Page 140 of Finish Line

“Basement?” I growl, knowing how that will affect my firefly.

“What was I to do? A student came to me and said Shelby hit her,” Santos blusters.

“Julia had two black eyes while Shelby could barely stand from her beating,” Laurie spits, growing a backbone with each word. “They always believe Julia, no matter what.”

“You’ve got some audacity, girl.” Mav chuckles.

“I do now. It’s always Julia this, Julia that. I’ve been sent to the cells before because of Julia, so I understand the conditions.” Laurie lifts her chin. “I snuck down and gave Shelby a sheet to sleep on—because you don’t want to sleep on those disgusting mattresses—and a blanket to cover herself up with since it’s damp and cold. I couldn’t sneak back again, so I don’t know what happened, but she looks worse now than when I saw her.”

Cam stiffens at the mention of the basement being damp and cold, and Mav grips his shoulder.

“Laurie, did she hit her head during the fight?” Nick checks Shelby out.

“Yes. Shelby said one of them slammed her head against the bunk bed,” Laurie says.

“Who?” I growl.

Laurie jumps and wraps her arms around herself.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I need to know who hurt her,” I say.

“Pablo. You’ll find him on the couch by the phone. He makes the girls perform sexual favors to use it,” she says.

I roar and take off for the hall. Someone calls my name, but I don’t care.

A new guard walks up.

I push him out of my way. “If you’re smart, you’ll stay back.”

When he steps in front of me again, I knock him out.

“Which one of you is Pablo?” I ask, a crowd forming in the hallway.

A stocky guy pushes through the crowd. “Who wants to know?”

“You like to beat up on innocent girls, huh? Make them give you sexual favors to use a public phone?” I relax my stance, ready if he makes a move.

“I watched you sucker punch the guard. I won’t let it happen to me.” He jogs toward me, taking the first swing.

I duck before I slam my fist into his side, making him grunt. He is undisciplined and arrogant. I taunt him, giving him light jabs each time I evade one of his hits.

The crowd circles us.

Someone trips me, causing me to lose focus. Pablo takes this moment to charge. We crash together, falling to the floor. I put him in a headlock and hook my leg around his torso.

The crowd cheers at the violence.

He hits my temple and nose and rolls free. That will end up giving me a black eye. I kidney punch him while he swings at me from the side. He’ll be peeing blood for a while.

I smirk as I knock him to the ground and flip him on his back before I straddle him and wail on his torso.

“How many other girls did you welcome, huh?” I jab several more times in the same spot.

Pablo cries out when I crack one of his ribs.

“Enough, Dom.” Luke and Mav pull me off him.

I scan the crowd and find a girl with her nose taped. I point to her. “You. Who else is in your group?”

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