Page 4 of Finish Line

“So, we’re going to be saved? How long until they come and rescue us?” She claps her hand together and jump up and down excitedly.

I turn to Hannah. “Shh, not so loud. Roger can’t know about this. And I have no idea. But soon, hopefully.”

The room falls quiet as Cam and Hannah eat the energy bar.

Both Hannah and I sit down on the floor, Hannah wrapping her long cape around herself to stay warm. The day wears on, the room growing steadily darker as it turns into night.

Roger never shows back up that day or the next. Neither does the rescue team.

CHAPTER TWO

SHELBY

On my third day awake in the basement, Cam’s condition worsens, falling in and out of consciousness.

When he’s awake, he asks me questions about Roger since every detail will better prepare us to take him down. I cringe but hold back, leaving out the part where I think I killed someone.

Hannah stays quiet except to complain about something or, in her case, everything. She’s cold, then hungry, then needs to use the bathroom. That was a fun one, convincing her to go over to the bucket.

The following day, Cam doesn’t wake up when Hannah gently shakes him.

“Hannah, does he have a fever?” I ask, wishing like hell I could reach him.

She touches her hand to his forehead. “Yes.”

“Can you lift his shirt and tell me what it looks like?”

She lifts his shirt. Shit, the wound is more than a nick but a jagged gash.

Dammit, Cam!

“Gross. It’s all red and swollen. Puss is seeping from it.” She puts his shirt down and shivers.

“It’s infected. Fuck. Fuck!” I scream as I grab my chain and pull it as hard as I can. Why did he lie about this! I have to escape and save Cam. I try to wiggle my ankle out of the cuff, which makes my ankle raw.

“Stop it, Shelby. All you’re doing is hurting yourself, you idiot.”

I pace back and forth. What should I do?

Frustrated and pissed I can’t do anything, I slide down the wall and focus on figuring out when the guys started acting off.

I’m up to the day of the ball. When they picked me up, they were fine. Dom and Mav gave me a beautiful necklace. Everything was fine during dinner. Then, the king and queen announcement…

That’s right! Hannah stopped Carrie before she went up on stage, then Carrie said those strange words.

“Hannah…” I tilt my head. “What did you tell Carrie before she went up on the stage?”

Her eyes go wide for a second before she glances away. “Nothing.”

“I saw you, Hannah. She said those weird phrases. Nick told me what they meant. It was Latin for something like, She is mine. Forget.”

Hannah hangs her head and picks at the edge of her cape, not saying anything.

Son of a bitch!

“It was you. You gave Carrie the key to trigger them!” I yell.

This whole time, I’ve been worried about her, and she was the one who helped create this whole mess. This doesn’t surprise me. She’s been gunning for me since I moved in.

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