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Chasing Football Dreams (Diner Girl #2) Chapter Twenty-One 71%
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Chapter Twenty-One

Duncan

“D uncan!” Eliza came running towards me, out of breath and her eyes wide. I didn’t want to think the worst when she grasped my arm.

“I need your help,” She didn’t beat around the bush.

“What’s wrong?” Andrew instantly appeared next to me—a child half asleep in his arms.

“It’s Zoey,” In an instant, our team got up and surrounded us.

“Where is she?” I asked.

“She’s okay for now but she needs a diversion,”

“What is going on?” Andrew pressed.

Eliza threw him an annoyed glare. “I don’t have time to explain. Zoey can get into big trouble with what she’s about to do. I just need you to fucking stop asking questions and help her,”

“What do have in mind for a diversion?” I asked her, giving Andrew a look to settle down.

“There is a man in the office with Candice—one of the caretakers. They have proof of Zoey’s kidnapping and as you know Zoey as well as I do,”

“She wants the proof,” I grumbled.

Dammit, Zoey.

“We can get the kids to ring the alarm,” Eliza said, patting the boy in Andrew’s arms and waking him up with a soothing voice.

“Hey, buddy, do you want to play a game?” His eyes immediately lit up.

“Aren’t you going to get him into trouble?” I asked.

Eliza shook her head. “One thing you have to learn is there are no cameras around and the kids do this all the time. Ask Zoey, she’ll tell you,”

I can imagine a younger version of Zoey rebelling and I smiled.

I handed Andrew my car keys. “Round everyone up and meet us outside,”

“Where are you going?” Freddie asked.

“Making sure Zoey stays out of trouble,” I jogged up the stairs, hearing the alarm blazing down the halls and sidestepping the rush of energized kids.

I ducked into a room when Candice and a man ran out of the office. I dived into the office shutting the door behind me and found Zoey climbing through the window.

“I am starting to see a whole different Zoey than I met months ago,” I noted with a smile walking over to her, snaking an arm around her waist, and finding her lips.

“As much as I want to kiss you, we need to leave,” She pulled the door open, her head darting from left to right. “Come on,”

I followed her down the corridor and pulled her into a bedroom when I saw the man from earlier making his way back to the office. I pressed her against the wall and covered her body with mine, not wanting the man to see her.

“Who is that?” I asked.

“No, idea but he has been working with Candice working for someone who arranged my kidnapping,” She explained holding up the big envelope.

“We need to get to the police as soon as we get out of here,” I suggested.

"No,"

I frowned at her. "Isn't that why you are taking the evidence?"

She shook her head. "We can't give them stolen evidence. What if they are involved?"

"Someone had to give them a fake accident report to cover their tracks," Zoey continued explaining.

"Why did you take the photos?"

"Maybe it will help me to remember what happened that night,"

"We need to get out of here without getting spotted," They were going to come and look for us sooner than later.

She then handed me the envelope. “Head out. I will meet up with Eliza and we’ll meet you outside,”

“But they will suspect you of taking the envelope,”

“Yes, but they can’t do anything when I don’t have it,”

“Dammit, Zo. You can’t expect me to just leave you out for the wolves,”

She smiled up at me. “I am strong and fast enough to outrun them,”

I rested my forehead against hers and kissed her softly. “I love you,”

“I love you too, now get your butt out of here,” She pushed me towards the exit. It was difficult to leave but I did as she told me to. I met the guys outside the orphanage and noticed Andrew was as frustrated as I was.

“There they are,” Freddie exclaimed pointing to Eliza and Zoey running out from the building and making their way towards the fence.

“Get in the car,” I ordered everyone watching Zoey help Eliza over the fence. She tried to take Eliza’s hand but Eliza wasn’t strong enough to pull her over.

“She’s stuck,” I muttered in disbelief wanting to go over there to help but she shocked me when she took a few steps back from the fence. It looked as if she counted before, she ran and jumped, and pulled herself over the fence.

“Are we going to pretend that we didn’t just see that?” Andrew asked, shocked as I was. Zoey must have done this before to make it look so damn easy.

I got behind the wheel bringing my SUV to life and met Eliza and Zoey down the street.

“Hey,” Zoey greeted with a smile.

“Hey,” I greeted back pulling us out of here and headed straight home.

“Do you want to alert Shane?” I asked, watching her hold tightly onto the envelope.

She shook her head. "He's going want to go to the police station,"

"That sounds like a good idea since they can skip town and disappear,"

"I don't trust anyone. So many people were involved in my abduction to cover the kidnappers' footsteps. They will only alert the person that we are on to them,"

"They already must suspect since you took the file,"

Zoey shrugged and looked out the window unbothered. "They must first prove that I took the files,"

I looked in the rearview mirror as Andrew had his arm wrapped around Eliza. “Zoey pulled the alarm as a kid as a prank,” I noted, looking at how chilled they were.

Zoey and Eliza chuckled. “Eliza snuck out at nights with boys and when she had to sneak back inside but one night, she was almost caught and I rang the bell to safe her ass,”

Eliza giggled. “Zoey was always the protector while I was sabotaging everything,”

Zoey rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You knew from the moment you met me that I was far from a good girl,”

“Poor Kelly and Brenda having to deal with us,” Eliza muttered.

“What was the punishment when you got caught?” Freddie asked.

Zoey rolled her eyes while Eliza shot him a blank stare. “Who said I got caught?”

“Where do you think Zoey learned to throw such accurate passes and run at the speed of lightning?” Eliza asked, shooting Zoey a knowing smile.

I looked at Zoey who was smiling.

From the first time I saw her, I misjudged her. Blinded to see her love for football and see her rebellious side even though she was expressing it quite vividly. I was lucky to have found my match. A girl as mentally strong as her has suffered through life and yet, she still selflessly shares her love with everyone.

Zoey showed what she found, and I saw the guys battling to stay composed when they saw the terrified little girl in the pictures. It was difficult to grasp the girl in the picture was the same girl sitting next to me.

As much as Zoey wanted to uncover her case, I could see she was tired, and everything was taking a heavy burden on her.

I also know she was avoiding Angela and Shane after they agreed on the blood tests. Shane wasn't pressuring her as he was giving her space as he too was trying to comprehend everything.

Zoey disappeared upstairs to take a shower, but I knew she wanted to be alone and by the looks of it, so did Eliza as she didn’t rush after her.

“What are we going to do? You heard what Zoey said to the officer. She’s not safe,” Eliza said, her eyes gazing up the stairs where Zoey disappeared.

“I would rather want that girl whose parents passed away instead of this side where her life is in danger all the time,” Eliza muttered, wiping away a fallen tear.

I felt powerless knowing someone was hunting her and wanting to take her away from us. Shane and Angela have already battled the truth of their daughter’s death and now they have to hear how she’s in danger all over again.

“I am just going to check up on her,” I said to them before going to look for Zoey.

I pushed the bedroom door open, finding her lying with her back to the door wrapped in only a towel. I shut the door softly behind me, only wanting to check on her but I couldn’t resist lying down next to her.

I lifted my head when I heard her sigh as I wrapped my arm around her waist. “Hey,” I pushed up seeing that she’s been crying.

“Everyone is suffering because of me,”

“No, baby. Everyone including you is suffering because of a selfish man. None of this is your fault,” I said, urging her to roll over and held her tightly against me.

“I have done nothing bad to anyone and yet, they want me dead,” She muttered.

“That’s what selfish people do,”

“What should I do?”

I wanted to tell her to stay put as it would be safer to protect her but that wouldn’t be fair of me to keep her locked up. “You do what you do best,”

“What’s that?”

I smiled at her, finding her lips. “You kick ass,"

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