Page 142 of Finish Line

“Thank you for helping me. I wish I could take you with me.” Shelby grasps Laurie’s hands.

“It’s not too bad here.” She glances back to where Julia lies unconscious on the floor. “At least I won’t have to worry about her anymore.”

“Please come to my office, Ms. Winters?” Mr. June says.

“Sure.” She releases Laurie’s hands.

Cam wraps his arm around Shelby’s waist and helps her to the office. Since Nick has the documents, we let him go first, the rest of us following behind them.

“These are a copy of Shelby’s emancipation documents.” Nick places the papers on the desk.

June picks them up, leafing through them. “Looks like everything is in order.”

He goes to a large safe behind him, enters the combination, and pulls out a bag.

He hands them to Shelby. “These are yours.”

“Thank you.” Tears fill her eyes as she opens the bag, takes her rings out, and slips them back on her ring finger.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, Shelby. I didn’t know she was doing that or what was happening in the basement.” Mr. June rubs the back of his neck.

“Make sure you run the place better than she did. These kids deserve a safe place to be.” I hand him a business card from my wallet. “Here’s our number if you ever need anything.”

“Oh, wow,” he says when he reads the last name on the card. “Thank you, Mr. Knight.”

Mav beams. “Can Shelby leave?”

Mr. June waves his hand toward the door. “Yes, she is free to go.”

“Thanks. Can I have a piece of paper and a pen?” Shelby asks.

“Yes, of course.” He opens his top drawer, grabs the items, and hands them to Shelby.

She writes her number and a short message on the paper and returns it to Mr. June. “Please give this to Laurie.”

Wanting her in my arms, I help her stand. “It’s time to take you to the hospital.”

“Do I have to?” she whines as I help her walk outside.

I nod. “Yes, you hit your head twice. Do you remember everything?”

“Of cou—” She stops at the door of the SUV. “Fuck. I forgot something. Get in, and I’ll explain.”

We pile into the SUV, and I drive toward home. I want her to go to the hospital near us.

“What did you remember, beautiful?” Cam asks.

Whatever she’s about to say can’t be good when she takes a deep breath and shivers. “While I was in the basement, Roger visited me.”

We swear, and I white knuckle the steering wheel, imagining it is Roger’s neck in my hand instead.

“How did he get in?” Luke asks. “More importantly, how did he know you were in the basement or even in that facility?”

“If I were to guess, he made a deal with Ms. Santos, Julia, and her crew, paying them, not hypnotizing them. Since he arranged for me to be picked up at the hospital by Mrs. Abney, he somehow convinced the heads of the group homes in the state to say they couldn’t take me. He’s had a lot of time to plan this.” She sighs. “I don’t know if this is true, or if he was bullshitting me, but he knew something even I didn’t know.”

Nick turns around from the front seat. “What do you mean?”

“He knew how I treated Mom and how we were with each other when I first arrived at your place last year. And how everything was when I returned home from the hospital after I escaped.” She looks down at her hands. “He also told me she was dying from cancer.”

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