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“What kind of traps?”
He shrugged. “It was his thing when we were younger. He was jealous of us and always tried to make us miserable.”
Damon looked around but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
The tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and a shiver ran down his back. Was someone watching him? The room didn’t offer much in the way of hiding places.
He lowered himself to the ground and shone his flashlight underneath the chairs. It cast odd shapes in the shadows, but nobody was hiding anywhere. He rose then turned to the group. “He isn’t here. We should find the others.”
Ariana and the twins agreed. Javier just shrugged.
“Are you up to this?” Damon asked. “Your best friend was murdered earlier. Maybe you need some rest.”
“It’sbecauseMateo’s dead that I need to be here! If our roles were reversed, he’d do this for me.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
Damon turned off the lights. They made their way back to the stairs. It was getting to the point where he didn’t need a map of the building anymore. He’d walked around so much of it, he could almost find his way around in the dark.
He shoved that thought from his mind. The power had already gone out twice. If that happened again, there was no telling if the generators would kick on again. In fact, if the lights went out, it could be because someone did something to it.
Once they reached the top of the stairs, voices sounded not far away. The conversation sounded heated.
Grayson.
Javier stepped in front of the group. “It looks like they found Trey.”
Damon didn’t even notice himself running, but he found himself next to Grayson.
The groom held his cousin against a wall.
“I didn’t do anything!” Trey squirmed but couldn’t get out from the bigger man’s hold.
“You killed Mateo!”
“No, I didn’t!” He spat on Grayson, who wiped off the spittle without losing his grip on his cousin.
He leaned closer until their noses nearly touched. “Why did you frame him for the murder, then?”
“Ididn’t.” He continued struggling. “I’m the one whofoundthe bloody knife.”
Grayson laughed bitterly. “You mean the ketchup-y knife?”
“You have the wrong guy! I didn’t put it there. I wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“Except Mateo!”
“No!” Trey’s voice cracked, then tears trickled down his face. “I swear, I didn’t touch him! Yes, I was jealous. But I’d never do anything to hurt family — ever.”
“Then why did you blame me?” Grayson demanded.
“I don’t know!” He trembled, and tears streamed from his eyes. “I needed someone to be mad at, and after Javier told me that you were behind that prank my freshman year in high school—”
“Prank? What prank?”
Trey’s eyes narrowed, and he stared at Grayson. “You don’t even remember? It ruined my life! The time I was duct taped to the flag pole upside down in my underwear. Ring any bells? Everyone who passed by laughed at me. It was all anyone talked about until I graduated. I couldn’t get a girlfriend after that.”
