The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 173

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Before I could reply, Landon’s voice cut through the tension.

“Leave him.”

Every head turned.

Landon met Hayes’s stare without flinching. “If Mercer sees my son, he’ll know I lied.”

Hayes held his gaze for a long moment. Then he gave a curt nod.

“Riggs.”

The detective beside him looked up.

“He’s your responsibility.”

Riggs nodded once. “Understood.”

Hayes looked at me one last time.

“Stay behind Detective Riggs until I give the order.”

I said nothing.

Hayes didn’t wait for a response. He turned back to the map.

“Let’s bring her home.”

Within minutes the briefing was over.

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Officers broke away in different directions, climbing into unmarked SUVs, checking radios one last time, sliding rifles into locked racks. Engines turned over one after another, low growls rolling across the empty yard.

Landon walked alone toward a dark grey sedan parked several metres away. No escort. No visible protection. Exactly what Mercer expected.

A technician met him at the driver’s door.

“Final radio check.”

A soft crackle came through the concealed earpiece.

“Control to Alpha. Radio check.”

Landon touched the inside of his ear. “Loud and clear.”

Hayes watched the exchange, then gave a single nod.

“Good.” He stepped back. “You stop only where Mercer tells you. No sudden movements. No heroics.”

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10:22 Fri, Aug 7

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Landon didn’t answer. He simply opened the door and got in.

The engine turned over.

For a moment no one moved.

Then the sedan rolled slowly out of the lot and disappeared into the darkness.

Five minutes.

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That was all Mercer had demanded. Five minutes for Landon Ashton to appear completely alone.

Hayes looked at his watch.

“Clock starts now.”

Nobody spoke.

Those five minutes stretched longer than the last four days.

Finally Hayes lowered his wrist.

“Move.”

Doors slammed shut all around us.

Detective Riggs climbed into the driver’s seat of the SUV. Jason slid in beside me. The doors shut. No one spoke. The only sounds were the engine turning over and the steady rhythm of our breathing as we pulled

away.

“Seat belts,” Riggs said.

Neither of us moved.

He sighed. “I’m serious.”

I clicked mine into place without looking away from the windshield. Jason did the same,

The convoy didn’t leave together.

The first SUV rolled out. Another followed a minute later through a different exit, then one of the unmarked vans. Each vehicle took a separate route, melting into the night instead of traveling as a convoy.

Riggs was fourth.

He guided the SUV onto the empty road, the headlights carving a path through the darkness. The radio

crackled to life.

“Alpha is en route.”

“Bravo moving into position.”

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10:22 Fri, Aug 7

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

“Charlie copies.”

The operation was underway.

I turned my gaze to the darkness beyond the window.

Astra was out there.

So was Silas Mercer.

One of them was coming home.

The other wasn’t.

7/7

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10:22 Fri, Aug 7

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

We’ve Been Waiting for You

ASTRA

My heart wouldn’t slow down. Every beat felt like it was trying to punch its way out of my ribs.

The room was larger than any he’d kept me in before.

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The first thing I noticed were the monitors. Four of them glowed across a long metal desk, each showing a different part of the property-the front gate, the long road leading in, the surrounding woods. Only after that did I register the bare concrete walls and the single bulb hanging overhead.

The chair beneath me was bolted to the floor. My wrists were bound tightly behind my back; every small shift made the rope dig deeper into already raw skin.

I blinked hard, trying to force the tears back.

They came anyway.

Silas stood with his back to me, typing something on one of the keyboards.

This morning he had finally removed the mask.

Just a man in his late forties with neatly combed blond hair beginning to grey at the temples. Clean-shaven and well-dressed in a simple dark sweater and pressed trousers.

If I’d passed him on the street, I wouldn’t have looked twice.

That frightened me more than the mask ever had.

One of the monitors showed the long road leading toward the property.

Another tracked the front gate and a third watched the woods.

He studied all of them eager, practically bouncing on the tip of his toes.

“They’re coming.”

My stomach twisted in despair.

Turning away from the screens, he crossed the room and stopped in front of my chair.

He lowered himself into a crouch until we were eye level, a lock of blond hair falling across his forehead.

One gloved hand lifted and every muscle in my body tensed.

Instead of striking me, his thumb passed gently beneath my eye, wiping away a tear.

“Now, now,” he murmured. “Don’t cry, Astra.”

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10:22 Fri, Aug 7

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Another tear escaped despite his words.

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He smiled, the look almost fond. “Unless they’re tears of happiness. Because today… I finally get the man I’ve waited years to see.” His eyes searched mine with something unnervingly close to childlike excitement. “And it’s all thanks to you.”

A fresh wave of nausea rolled through me.

“Please…” The word barely made it past my lips. “Please let me go.”

His expression softened into something that looked almost like sympathy.

“No.” He said it as gently as someone declining a second cup of tea. “I can’t do that.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“I do.”

“You’ll ruin your own life.”

A quiet, almost amused sound left him. “My life was ruined a long time ago.”

The room fell silent except for the soft hum of the monitors.

I swallowed hard. “What are you going to do to him?”

Silas glanced back at the screens, then returned his gaze to me.

“I’ve never wanted to kill Landon Ashton.” The answer caught me off guard. “I wanted something much rarer.”

He stood and began pacing slowly, fingers trailing absently across the back of an empty chair.

“I wanted him to remember. Men like Landon don’t remember the people beneath them. They sign papers, they shake hands and they move on.” His voice stayed calm, almost reflective. “But the people left behind… don’t always get to move on.”

I shook my head, more tears pouring down my aching eyes. “Please… don’t hurt him.”

Silas smiled with the weary patience of someone who believed he was being misunderstood.

“I’ve told you before. I won’t hurt you.” He walked back until he stood beside my chair. “When tonight is over, life will go back to normal. You’ll see your mother again, finish school, and become whatever you were always meant to be.”

His smile returned, gentle and certain.

“You’re a very sweet girl, Astra.” He rested a light hand on the back of my chair. “And none of this… was ever meant to be about you.”

My tears wouldn’t stop falling.

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10:23 Fri, Aug 7

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Silas returned to the desk without another word.

The soft clicking of the keyboard filled the room again.

I kept my eyes on the monitors because looking at him only made the fear worse.

For a long time the road remained empty.

Then a pair of headlights appeared at the far edge of the screen.

My heart skipped so hard it hurt.

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A grey sedan moved slowly up the long dirt road, dust rising behind it in the dark. It was the only vehicle in sight.

Silas leaned closer to the monitors, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“He’s here.”

The excitement in his voice made my skin crawl.

The car stopped at the closed gate. For several seconds nothing happened. Then the driver’s door opened.

Landon Ashton stepped out.

Even through the grainy camera feed I recognized the set of his shoulders, the controlled way he closed the door and stood beside the car.

He carried no visible weapon and there was no trace of urgency about him. He simply waited..

Silas pressed a button on the desk.

A low electronic tone sounded, followed by his voice, calm, clear, and carrying through whatever outdoor speaker system he had installed.

“Mr. Ashton. Leave the car door open. Raise both hands where I can see them. Turn in a full circle. Slowly.”

On the screen, Landon obeyed without hesitation. He lifted his hands, turned once, then again, letting the cameras catch every angle.

“Now walk to the gate and stop.”

Landon did as instructed.

Silas watched him for a long moment, eyes narrowed in concentration. Then he pressed another button and somewhere outside, a heavy electronic lock released with a dull clunk.

“Open the gate. Walk through. Leave it open behind you. Then continue straight to the front door. Do not stop. Do not look around.”

Landon pushed the gate open and began walking up the drive.

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10:23 Fri, Aug 7

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

My breathing grew shallow.

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Every step he took brought him closer to the house and farther from whatever protection the police might have positioned around.

I wanted to scream at the screen, to warn him that the man waiting inside was not going to play fair.

Silas turned his head slightly toward me, still watching the monitors.

“He came alone,” he murmured, almost to himself. “Good.”

On the largest screen, Landon reached the front steps.

Silas’s finger hovered over another button.

Then he pressed it.

The front door unlocked with a soft metallic click that I could hear even from inside the room.

“Come in, Mr. Ashton,” Silas said into the speaker, voice almost polite. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

I stared at the screen as Landon’s hand closed around the door handle.

My bound hands curled into fists behind the chair.

He was walking straight into it.

And there was nothing I could do but watch.

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