Page 34 of Finish Line

“What Shelby thought she saw didn’t happen. I just made it appear that way,” she says for Mav, Dom, and me, since we weren’t privy to this information.

“Just before Shelby walked in, Luke cried out that his head was hurting and dropped to his knees on the floor. I heard her coming, so I lifted my skirt and wrapped my legs around Luke’s head, pulling him toward me. But the truth is, Luke wanted nothing to do with me. Even kissing hurt him.” Hannah sniffs, but doesn’t cry.

“After Shelby stormed out and Luke left, Carrie and I got into a big fight. I ordered a ride from a car share, not knowing it was Roger who was driving. He stopped the car about a mile away from the Ball and put a rag over my mouth. When I woke up, I was in a moldy, disgusting basement with Cam.” She shivers at the memory.

“I remember getting a text from you saying you were with your father,” Dom says to me.

I shake my head. “I was the first one Roger kidnapped. He had my phone. I was so stupid! If I had paid a little more attention to my surroundings, I wouldn’t have gotten taken.”

Mav rises from where he sits and kneels in front of me. “Babe, you were home in your safe spot, the one place where we all thought we were safe. Don’t beat yourself up. What happened when you came to?”

As Mav sits by my feet, I run my fingers through his hair. “When I woke up at the house he took me to, he came to the basement every day and tried to hypnotize me. But it never worked on me. He was pissed that he couldn’t put me under. I was alone for a few days before he brought Hannah down.”

“Why couldn’t he put you under when we went so easily?” Mav asks.

I lock my eyes on Mav’s before speaking clearly. “I didn’t have any doubts for him to prey on.”

“And we did, so we were easy pickings.” Luke curses. “What did he do to you, Cam?”

“Well, he beat me after each failed attempt. When Hannah showed up, I was already black and blue. He started talking about Shelby and how he was her first. I’m not going to go through all of it, but I pissed him off, and he stabbed me.” I lift my shirt to show them my healing cut.

Mav reaches out and touches it. “Babe.”

I put my hand on top of his. “I’m fine now, but it was infected in the basement. I was struggling to hang on when he brought Shelby down. I think it was a day after Hannah arrived?”

“No two.” Hannah corrected me.

“Two days, and I don’t remember what happened.” I pound my fist into my thigh. I should have been stronger for her.

Hannah takes over again. “Shelby realized Cam was in bad shape, and if he didn’t escape, he wouldn’t make it. She bargained with Roger to release him. Roger unchained me and told me to carry Cam, but I couldn’t pick him up. It pissed Roger off, and he backhanded me.” She cups the side of her cheek.

Nick stands and walks over to his sister, settling in Mav’s abandoned seat to take her hand in his.

She glances at her brother and then continues. “He threw Cam over his shoulder and left. That’s when Shelby noticed he didn’t chain me back up. She broke out the window and made me leave. I promised to bring help back, but I got lost.”

Hannah covers her face and cries. “By the time Nick and Frank found the place where we were held, Roger and Shelby were gone. What did that monster do to her?”

Luke leans forward and reaches over Nick to touch her knee. “You did your best. That’s all that matters.”

“The day Roger took her, I gave Shelby my jacket with a tracker in it. But we found it in the basement of the house Cam and Hannah were kept in,” Nick adds. “The tracker never registered as active, so Roger had a jammer on him. Do you remember Shelby breaking into your house?”

“A little.” Dom scratches the back of his head. “I remember being pissed that Frank let her go.”

“I didn’t let her go.” Frank walks back into the room. “I figured out what she was trying to tell us. You two were in danger if she didn’t meet with Roger. He would have killed you. I was able to place a new tracker in Shelby’s hair.”

“Why would you try if Nick’s jacket tracker didn’t work?” Cin asks.

“He couldn’t keep the jammer on all the time. It was a long shot, but it was a backup plan,” Frank answers.

“So, what happened? Where is she?” The color drains from Mav’s face. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

“No, Mav, she isn’t dead.” I grab him and hug him.

Dom sits down on the arm of the chair. “Continue.”

“It was three weeks before Frank’s tracker was activated.” Nick takes in a shaky breath. “I found Shelby naked, covered in dirt, blood, and God knows what else, buried under a pile of leaves in the woods.”

“Naked?” I swallow the bile that rises in my throat.

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