The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 201

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

“Get the fuck off me!”

“Sir, stop resisting!”

Zane managed to wrench himself halfway around, but another guard caught him before he could get back to hus father

Behind them, nurses dropped beside Landon. Blood covered his mouth, his hospital gown had pulled loose around the dressing at his side, and still he refused to give Zane what he wanted.

“Tell me where she went!”

“Hands where we can see them!”

The command cut through the shouting.

Two police officers entered the room, and Zane recognized them immediately. They had followed him all the way from the road.

He barely had time to register it before one officer took control of his arm and forced it behind his back.

“Let me go!”

The cuff closed around his wrist. His other arm followed seconds later despite every attempt to wrench himself free, and between the officers and security, they finally began forcing him toward the door.

Zane dug his feet into the floor.

Landon was right there. The only person who could tell him where Astra had gone was a few feet away, and they were dragging him out before he could get the answer.

“You think this is going to stop me?” Zane shouted over his shoulder. “I’ll find her!”

“Zane.”

His father’s voice came out hoarse enough that Zane almost missed it beneath the noise.

He stopped fighting long enough to look back.

The nurses were helping Landon upright beside the bed. Blood streaked his mouth, one eye was beginning to swell, and one hand remained pressed to his throat as he struggled to steady his breathing.

Landon swallowed painfully before forcing the words out.

“She doesn’t want to be found.”

The words scraped out of him, followed by a coughing fit that had one of the nurses reaching to steady him.

He’d known that from the moment he read the letter. Hearing it aloud only stripped away every excuse he’d been making for her.

Please don’t come looking for me.

She had meant it.

Not because she needed a few days. Not because she expected him to chase her down and convince her to come home.

She had left because she wanted him to let her go.

The truth tore through him, but beneath the hurt came something far stronger.

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He looked straight at his father.

“She can hate me when I find her”

The officers pulled him through the doorway.

Zane didn’t look away.

“But I’m finding her.”

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The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

The Other Side of the World

ÁSTRA

The plane hadn’t moved yet, which somehow made leaving worse.

With my forehead against the window, I watched service vehicles move beneath the gray morning sky while the last passengers settled into their seats. America was still on the other side of the glass, close enough to make leaving feel reversible.

I could still get up.

That thought had been tormenting me since we boarded. I could take Mom, walk back through the terminal, find a cab.and tell the driver to take us straight to the Ashton estate.

Straight back to Zane.

Another tear slipped down my cheek. I wiped it away before Mom noticed and kept my face toward the window.

Beside me, she was studying the safety card with surprising concentration.

“Do you think they serve breakfast?”

I swallowed past the ache in my throat. “Probably.”

“I hope they have eggs.”

A laugh almost escaped me.

Mom was excited. She’d talked about New Zealand the entire way to the airport, asking about Auckland, wondering what our apartment would look like, whether people drove on the other side of the road.

She was happy.

That was the only reason I was still sitting here.

My eyes closed, and Zane came back immediately.

Next year, I’m taking you somewhere without roller coasters.

Mr. Ashton waited until Zane and Mrs. Ashton had left the hospital room before turning his attention to me.

“You’re frightening me a little, sir.”

“That isn’t my intention.”

I managed a small nod, though the seriousness in his voice did nothing to ease my nerves.

He adjusted himself carefully against the pillows. “Astra, we need to talk about what happens after you leave the hospital.”

“Okay.”

“What happened with Mercer cannot happen again.”

My gaze dropped to the fading marks around my wrists. “I know.”

“Which is why I’ve decided you can no longer work for my family.”

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

My eyes returned to his. “What?”

“Your employment as Lucas and Mason’s nanny ends today.”

It took me a moment to understand what he was saying.

“You’re firing me?”

“I’m removing you from a situation that has already put your life in danger.”

“But I didn’t do anything wrong. Silas took me because he wanted to hurt you.”

“I know. This isn’t a punishment.”

“Then why do I have to lose my job?”

น

Mr. Ashton regarded me for a moment before answering. “Because Mercer used you to get to this family, and I’m not willing to risk someone doing it again.”

“But Lucas and Mason…”

“Will be taken care of.”

That wasn’t what I meant.

Somewhere along the way, Lucas and Mason had stopped feeling like part of a job. The thought of simply walking away from them hurt more than I wanted Mr. Ashton to see.

“Do they know?”

“Not yet.”

My eyes burned unexpectedly, and I looked down before he could notice.

“So that’s it?”

“As far as your employment is concerned, yes.”

I swallowed and nodded, although there was nothing about this I wanted to accept.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

“That is ultimately your decision.” He paused. “But there is something I want you to consider.”

I looked at him again.

“I’ve made arrangements for you and your mother to relocate to Auckland.””

For a moment, I thought I’d misunderstood him.

“Auckland?”

“New Zealand.”

“I know.” I shook my head, trying to catch up. “I just don’t understand. You want us to move there?”

“Only if you choose to.”

“Why?”

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“Your mother has been accepted into a neurological program there. Her treatment would continue with specialists, housing has been arranged nearby, and you would be able to continue your education.”

Everything I’d been about to say disappeared.

“They accepted Mom?”

“Yes.”

“When did you arrange this?”

“I began making inquiries before Mercer took you.”

I lowered myself back into the chair.

Of all the things he could have offered me, he had found the one I couldn’t dismiss.

Mom.

Better treatment. Somewhere for us to live. A chance for me to keep studying without constantly wondering how I was going to hold everything together.

And all of it waited on the other side of the world.

“How much would her treatment cost?”

“You wouldn’t need to worry about that.”

I immediately shook my head. “No, sir.”

“Astra.”

“I’m grateful. I really am. But I can’t let you pay for our entire lives.”

“You nearly died because of something connected to me.”

“That doesn’t mean you owe me everything.”

His gaze remained on mine.

“Please,” I added. “I can work. I’ve always worked.”

“I know.”

“Then if we go, I want to be able to take care of us myself.”

He was quiet for a moment before nodding. “We can discuss the details.”

It wasn’t exactly agreement, but I knew better than to expect more from Landon Ashton.

My gaze drifted toward the door.

Zane was right outside.

Suddenly Auckland felt impossibly far away.

“There is something else you need to consider,” Mr. Ashton said.

I already knew.

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“Zane”

“Yes.”

My stomach tightened.

Mr. Ashton rested back against the pillows. “You saw what happened when Mercer took you.”

“He was trying to save me.”

“I know he was. But nothing I said could stop him from going after you. Not the police. Not the gun. Not the possibility that he could be killed.”

I looked down.

“That frightens you?”

“It concerns me.”

“Because he cares about me?”

“Because my son has never understood moderation particularly well.”

Despite everything, that sounded enough like Zane that I almost smiled.

Mr. Ashton continued before I could. “Caring about someone isn’t the problem, Astra. Losing yourself in them is.”

The almost-smile disappeared.

“You think that’s what he’s doing?”

“I think both of you have been through enough that it would be very easy to mistake needing each other for the only way either of you can be okay.”

That hurt more than I wanted it to.

“You don’t know how I feel about him.”

“No. I don’t.”

His answer took some of the fight out of me..

“And I’m not asking you to stop caring about him,” he continued. “I’m asking you to think about what you want when he isn’t part of the decision.”

I looked toward the door again.

What did I want?

A few months ago, I would have known.

A safe place for Mom. A good school. Enough money that I didn’t have to panic every time a bill arrived. A future that belonged to me.

Now someone was offering me a version of that future, and all I could think about was the boy waiting outside.

“What are you asking me to do?”

“Choose for yourself.”

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The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

“And if I stay?”

Then you stay. I’ll make sure you and your mother have somewhere to live while you decide what comes next.”

I searched his face. “You really mean that?”

“Yes.”

That made everything harder.

He wasn’t throwing me out. He wasn’t threatening me or forcing me onto a plane. If I stayed, he would help us.

Auckland was simply another door he had opened.

“And if I go?”

Mr. Ashton hesitated.

“Zane cannot know beforehand.”

My chest tightened. “Why?”

“You know why.”

Unfortunately, I did.

Zane would argue until I changed my mind. If that failed, he’d follow me to the airport. If I somehow made it onto the plane, I wouldn’t put it past him to buy the next ticket and come after me.

“I can’t just disappear on him.”

“Then don’t.”

I looked at Mr. Ashton.

“If leaving without telling him is something you cannot do,” he said, “then perhaps Auckland isn’t the right choice.”

My eyes burned again.

“You think I should go, though.”