Page 294 of Bad for Me

I couldn’t breathe as I drove up to his once nice house, but similar to his office, it was a disaster. Broken-down cars cluttered his yard. How was he one of us? The lack of class alone separated him from the rest of us.

I reached the door before the others to find it locked. I stepped back and ran at the door just to crack it and have a sharp pain go through my shoulder.

Steve moved me out of the way, turned his back to the door, gripped the door frame and brought his foot full force against the door, cracking it more before it flew open.

Fifteen minutes later, we stood in the living room, all coming up empty. She wasn't here.

Steve ran his hand through his hair. “We're looking for other properties, but nothing’s coming up.”

I had to find her.

“What the fuck is going on?” Trevor’s voice came from the front door.

I turned to go get the bastard, but Steve held me back. A moment later, Trevor entered the room, and we watched as his eyes went wide.

Steve dropped his hand off my shoulder, and I lunged at him, pinning Trevor against the wall. “Where is she?”

“Who?” he asked, his voice cracking. On campus, I had to hold back, but here, no one would say anything if I beat his ass to a bloody pulp.

I slammed my fist into the wall not even an inch from his face, breaking through the drywall. “Where’s Natalie? One of your sleaze bag teammates took her.”

“So? That doesn’t mean anything.”

I closed my hand on his throat as he clawed at my arm.

“Murphy?” Steve called.

I ignored him. “A suspension is going to seem like a cakewalk when I’m done with you. You won’t ever be able to get it up again. Do you understand?”

He gulped, and I saw it in his eyes when he realized he wasn’t going to get help from the others.

“My dad has a new girl, but I didn’t see her.”

“Where?”

“Downstairs.”

I glanced at Steve and his partner. We hadn’t come across any downstairs.

I tightened my grip again, cutting off his air supply. When he knew I was serious, he pointed to a bookcase behind me. I let him go, and he fell to the floor, gasping for air.

Standing in front of the shelf, I ran my hand over a few books. Nothing looked out of place. Then I saw it. Old push button light switches on a section of the shelf. When I pushed a button, I heard a crack and a click, then the shelf opened a crack as if it was a door. She’d better be in one piece, or someone was going to pay.

20

NATALIE

I shiveredwhen I woke up. It was dark, and I had no idea how long I’d been down here. All I knew was I was cold and hungry.

Footsteps overhead caught my attention, and I hid in the corner by the door. After the coach had left, it had taken a while, but I’d gotten out of the zip ties that bound my hands and feet, though cutting myself in the process. I ended up ripping part of my top to wrap my wrist because it wouldn’t stop bleeding. After that, with no other option, I was forced to relieve myself in a bucket in the corner. Was I the first one to be down here? What had happened to the others?

All I could think was maybe if I was quiet enough, I could slip out the door when he came in and make a run for it? I knew I needed to get out of here and all I wanted was to be back with my professor.

A loud thump came from overhead. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. What did Coach Wolfe have in store for me? I closed my eyes tight, knowing exactly what he had in store for me, and there wasn’t much I could do to stop it.

Footsteps got louder, and I shrank into the corner.

“Natalie?”

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