Free The Nines (The Nines #1) by Sierra Avalon, Dakota Madison Page A

There’s a door open at the end of the hallway and boxes and other belongings are spilling out into the passage. It’s obvious someone is moving out.
    This time Julio doesn’t bolt away without me. He grabs my elbow and pulls me along with him. “You okay?”
    “Just trying to catch my breath.”
    “Do you need me to carry you?”
    “No,” I reply, even if the idea sounds tempting as my legs tighten.
    A petite blonde pokes her head out of the room when we approach. She’s definitely not Wendi. She looks back and forth between the two of us then frowns. “She’ll be gone in a few hours.”
    Now it’s Julio and my turn to look at each other.
    “Who do you think we are?” I ask.
    She purses her lips. “I thought…Never mind. Who are you?”
    “Look, we’re a little desperate. My roommate, Claire, disappeared…”
    The blonde gasps then quickly throws her hand over her mouth. She clutches her stomach with her other hand like she’s going to be sick. She takes in a few deep breaths before she turns her attention back to me. “Claire’s missing?”
    I nod.
    “Oh, my God.” Then she shakes her head. “I hope she’s not still there.”
    “Still where?” Julio asks.
    The blonde turns her attention to Julio. “Who are you?”
    “Claire’s boyfriend.”
    “We all went to high school together,” the blonde mutters. “Me and Wendi and Claire.”
    “Can we speak with Wendi?” I ask.
    She drops her head. “She’s in bad shape. Her parents are on their way. They want her out of here as fast as possible.”
    “What happened?”
    The blonde is now blinking back tears. “I told them not to go. But it was so important to Wendi. She wanted to be in a sorority like her mother was. That’s all she talked about. That and her boyfriend. He’s completely freaked out too. We all are.”
    “Please let us talk to Wendi.” Julio sounds desperate. “We need to find Claire.”
    The blonde nods then steps aside so we can enter her dorm room.
    Julio falters when the girl starts sobbing, but he follows me when I push past her.
    Wendi doesn’t even look like the same person we saw less than a week ago. If I didn’t know it was her I might not even recognize her. And not just because of the horrible bruise on her cheek and the black eye. Her entire demeanor has completely changed. She’s not the happy-go-lucky girl, so filled with life and promise, who we met at the pizza place. She looks like a ghost. It’s like the life has been completely sucked out of her and nothing is left but a shell of her former self.
    I’m thankful that Julio stays back behind me. Even though he’s a gentle soul I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that any male who she didn’t know might set her off.
    She is seated on her bed just staring at the wall. Her swollen cheeks are lined with tear stains that she hasn’t bothered to wipe away.
    When I sit down on the bed next to her she doesn’t immediately react. It’s almost like she’s in a trance.
    “Wendi,” I say quietly.
    As she turns to face me I notice her expression is blank. “I’m Claire’s roommate, Roxie. Remember we met at that pizza place, when you ran into Claire.”
    Even though she nods I’m not sure everything I’m saying is actually registering. I soldier on anyway.
    “Claire is missing. She was with you, wasn’t she?”
    Wendi nods and starts to shake a little.
    “Do you have any idea what happened to her?”
    Tears begin to stream down her face. I wait but Wendi doesn’t say anything.
    When I’m just about ready to give up Wendi speaks. It’s barely above a whisper so I have to strain to hear her. “I’m pretty sure what happened to me happened to her.”
    I gulp. I think it’s fairly obvious what happened but I need to be sure. “What happened, Wendi?”
    “They don’t like it when girls fight back.” Wendi’s voice is eerily hollow when she speaks.  “They said bitches who say no need to be beat . I knew I shouldn’t have