Page 137 of Finish Line

My head spins. What little light is in the room fades.

“You should be more worried about the family you still have left. Dear old uncle and that mouthy cousin of yours. Too bad you won’t have them for lo-ong,” he sings.

He releases me, and I crumple to the floor, passing out.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

DOM

My house buzzes with activity as the guys use their resources to help Shelby obtain her emancipation papers.

I’ve been dealing with our lawyer. Everything’s lined up, but the judge can’t sign it for two days.

I hate leaving her alone, but she can survive two days, especially since day one is almost over.

Peter’s at his house, working to acquire his foster license if the emancipation fails.

We converge in the living room, where Ava provides us with sandwiches.

“Every time I call Shelby, the person who answers the phone tells me they have no one there by that name.” Mav throws his phone onto the couch, then paces the room.

“Babe, the place only has one phone, and Shelby warned us about this. She’ll call us.” Cam grabs Mav’s hand and pulls him into his lap.

“I know, but I want to hear her voice,” he whines.

“We’ll try later.” Cam rubs circles on Mav’s back.

After we eat, Nick disappears to connect with his hacker friend, who is searching for Roger. The rest of us hang out in the living room, staring at our phones and waiting for them to ring.

Because I’m impatient, like my brother, I call the stupid home but am unsuccessful.

My heart racing wakes me up, and I glance at the clock.

It’s about three in the morning. I don’t remember having a nightmare, but I can’t go back to sleep. The last few nights have been hard since the judge who will sign the paperwork has been out on personal leave. What we expected to be a two-day wait to rescue Shelby has turned into four days.

I slide out of bed and head to our gym.

After exercising for a couple of hours, I tire.

As I head back to my room, the smoky aroma of bacon hits me, so I hurry to the kitchen before the rest of the guys eat it all.

In the kitchen, the guys sit around the kitchen counter, picking at their food.

“Why do you look so awake?” Luke yawns around a bite of eggs.

“I’ve been up since about three. I couldn’t sleep, so I went to work out.” I stuff bacon that tastes like dirt into my mouth.

As we leave for school, I receive a text from our lawyer that the judge signed the paperwork.

“Change of plans. We’re off to get our girl.” I do a U-turn. “One of you call Nick and let him know we’re picking him up.”

After picking up the emancipation papers, we head to Milestones Academy. Everyone except me is excited for Shelby to be back with us. I want her back in my arms, safe and sound, but I can’t shake this worry that something’s wrong.

“You’ve been quiet, Dom,” Nick points out.

“When isn’t he quiet?” Luke punches me in the shoulder.

“More than normal,” Nick replies.

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