The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 159

10:56 Tue, Jul 28

Chapter 159

Chapter 159

ZANE

I hadn’t slept.

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Every time my eyes closed, the same sequence played behind them, Astra fighting, teeth sinking into his arm, her body twisting toward the academy gates, the exact moment her limbs went slack.

Then the bastard lifting her like she was some sack of flour and walking into the dark.

Over and over.

The sun had been up for hours but I only noticed when light finally cut through the high windows of the gym and painted the black mats in pale gold.

I didn’t stop.

Leather met leather in a relentless, ugly rhythm. Sweat burned my eyes and my blood had already turned the wraps dark and sticky, but the sting in my knuckles was the only thing sharp enough to cut through the loop in my head.

The bag swung hard after every impact, chain rattling overhead. I hit it again and again and again, harder each time.

Find her.

That was the only thought left with any weight.

CRACK.

The chain finally tore free and the heavy bag crashed to the floor with a hollow boom that echoed through the empty gym.

Silence rushed in behind it.

I stood over the fallen bag, chest heaving, blood dripping from my split knuckles onto the mat in slow, steady drops.

“Enough.”

Dad’s voice came from behind me.

I didn’t turn.

“You’re bleeding.”

“So?”

“You won’t help Astra by destroying yourself.”

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10:56 Tue, Jul 28

Chapter 159

My jaw locked. “I’m not destroying myself.” I finally looked at him. “I’m warming up.”

The mansion no longer felt like home. It had become a command post.

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Detectives moved from room to room, speaking in low voices as they compared notes with uniformed officers and private security. Phones rang without pause and maps covered the long dining table-satellite images of the forests around Harrington, search grids marked in red, K-9 routes, volunteer staging points, and helicopter flight paths. Every television in the house showed the same image: Astra’s smiling face beneath the banner LOCAL STUDENT MISSING AFTER HALLOWEEN PARTY.

I looked away then looked back.

The academy had been locked down before dawn and emptied within hours. Every student had been questioned. Every teacher interviewed. The buses were searched, and the grounds combed over inch by inch. Beyond the school gates, the surrounding forest had become a maze of flashing lights as police dogs, mounted officers, drones, and search-and-rescue teams swept through the trees.

They found nothing.

Not a footprint. Not a scrap of fabric. Nothing that told us where Astra had gone.

Jason hadn’t gone home. Neither had Chloe or Priya. Curfew had stopped mattering to any of us.

Mom cried whenever she thought no one was looking. Most of the time she was wrong. Lucas and Mason kept asking when Astra was coming back, their voices growing quieter each time. None of us knew what to tell them anymore.

By noon, the house had grown quieter.

Not because it was empty. Detectives, officers, and members of the search team still moved from room to room, but the conversations had become shorter. The optimism that had filled the house that morning was beginning to wear thin.

Detective Hayes stood over the dining table, studying another map.

“We’ve covered almost eighteen square miles.”

Dad folded his arms.

“And?”

Hayes shook his head.

“No footprints. No vehicle. No witnesses. Nothing beyond what we recovered at the academy.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Whoever took her knew exactly what they were doing.”

No one disagreed.

We already knew that.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

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10:56 Tue, Jul 28

Chapter 159

Another officer.

Another question that led nowhere.

I ended the call before he’d finished speaking.

The afternoon dragged by.

Every update ended the same way.

Nothing.

Then Detective Hayes’s phone rang.

The room fell silent as he answered.

“This is Hayes.”

He listened without saying a word.

“What did you find?”

A few minutes passed and then he spoke.

“Keep the scene secure,” Hayes said. “We’re on our way.”

He ended the call.

Dad was already on his feet.

“What is it?”

Hayes slipped the phone into his pocket.

“We’ve got our first lead.”

Every nerve in my body tightened.

“What kind of lead?”

He looked from me to Landon.

“Not a lead. A witness.”

The room fell silent.

“A witness?” Dad asked.

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Hayes nodded. “A delivery driver. He was making a late drop about three miles north of the academy around nine-thirty last night. He didn’t think anything of it until he saw the news this morning.”

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10:56 Tue, Jul 28

Chapter 159

A knot twisted in my stomach.

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