The game had ended at least a half hour ago.

The gym was now empty, the custodian the only one still in the cavernous room, emptying trash cans and cleaning the floor before locking it up for the night.

But Alaina wasn’t going anywhere.

She’d raced back to the school as soon as she’d gotten off the phone with Lucas.

Garrett Grimmer. Her mind turned his name over and over again. She didn’t know much about him, but there were two indisputable facts she kept returning to. One, he was Rob Grimmer’s son. And two, his fingerprints had been on her brother’s window.

Those were the only things she knew. But she was about to find out a whole lot more.

Alaina glanced at the closed door she was standing next to. The team was still in the locker room, but she knew they’d be coming out sooner or later. It had been a close game—they’d lost because of a three-pointer just before the final buzzer—but they’d played sloppy all night. She wasn’t a huge basketball fan, and her mind had been on everything but the game, but even she knew that they’d made a ton of unnecessary fouls and had turned over the ball so many times, the home crowd had actually started booing them.

The door finally pushed open, and Alaina watched as boys filed out of the room, dressed in their warm-ups and freshly showered. The smell of shampoo and soap wafted out with them and she searched the sea of tall boys. She’d done a quick scan of social media accounts and knew who she was looking for.

The locker room door banged shut and Alaina frowned. Garrett hadn’t come out. Had she missed him somehow? Was there another exit to the room?

She took a step toward the door when it pushed open again.

Garrett strode out, a gym bag in one hand, his car keys in the other. Another boy was walking with him, and she recognized him right away. Jack, the kid who had stopped to talk to Mariah Coates. Alaina tried to remember if Garrett had been one of the guys with him that afternoon, but she was drawing a blank. She shook her head. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was Garrett and his fingerprints.

Alaina’s insides twisted, and she tried to take a deep breath but she couldn’t inflate her lungs. She stepped in front of Garrett, blocking his path.

“I need to talk to you.” Her voice sounded frail, even to her own ears.

Garrett’s eyebrow raised. “Oh yeah? What about?” His eyes roamed over her body, and even though she was dressed in a thick winter coat that hit her mid-thigh, she knew he was trying to imagine what she looked like without it on. Probably without anything on.

“Why were you in my brother’s bedroom?” she demanded.

Garrett looked a little taken aback. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“My brother,” she repeated. Her voice was stronger now. “Why were you in his room?”

Garrett tried to move past her but Alaina stepped in closer, her eyes barely at his chest level.

He grinned, almost as if he were amused by the whole situation. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His insolence, his indifference, was maddening. She’d lost her brother, dammit, and she wanted answers. This kid’s prints had been in his room, and he was acting as though he didn’t have a clue as to what she was talking about.

“You’re lying!” she said, her voice rising. She fought the tears that were threatening. “What did you do to my brother?”

Garrett’s expression faltered.

“What did you do to my brother?” she screamed.

The door burst open and the coach came flying out of the locker room.

“What’s going on out here?” he demanded, his gaze shifting from Alaina to his players.

Her chest heaved, and she tried to get her emotions under control.

“This lady just started accusing us of all this crap,” Garrett told his coach. “She’s insane, man.”

The coach looked at his player. “You know her?”

“Never seen her before in my life.”

The coach studied Alaina, a deep frown on his face. “The game ended a half hour ago,” he said. “If you don’t know these boys, I suggest you leave.”

Alaina struggled to find the words she needed. “But—”

“No buts,” the coach said gruffly, shaking his head. “You’re harassing my players.”

“I’m not harassing them.”

“Oh yeah?” His bushy eyebrows lifted high on his forehead. “Who am I supposed to believe?” he asked. “A complete stranger or two boys I’ve known for years?” His lips thinned. “I suggest you leave now…or I’ll call our resource officer and have you physically removed from this building.”

Garrett smirked at her, and Alaina had to fight to not lash out. She clenched her keys tight, wishing she could stab him in the eyes with them.

Punk-ass kid.

She huffed out a breath and the three men just stood there, waiting for her to leave. Frustrated, she spun on her heel and stalked down the hall. Thirty seconds later, she was outside, the cold air chilling her face and filling her lungs. She tried again to pull in a deep lungful of air but ended up coughing and sputtering.

“Are you alright?” a voice asked.

A girl was leaning against the wall, a backpack next to her feet.

Alaina recognized her immediately.

“Lindsay?” she whispered. “You’re Lindsay Hopkins.”

The girl nodded.

Alaina’s eyes raked over her. She was dressed almost all in black, down to the big snow boots on her feet. She wasn’t wearing a hat, and her long brown hair hung freely down her back and shoulders, blowing slightly in the brisk breeze.

“Why are you here?” Alaina asked. She knew what time it was—too late for pretty much anyone to be hanging out at the school.

“I saw what you did,” Lindsay said.

“What are you talking about?”

Lindsay nodded toward the school. “I saw you through the window. In there. With Garrett and Jack.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “That bastard deserves to go to hell for what he did.”

Alaina’s breath hitched in her throat. Her heart began to hammer, thumping hard against her rib cage.

“What did he do?” she managed to ask.

Lindsay’s expression was murderous, her eyes dark with rage, her lips twisted into a scowl.

“What did they do to my brother?”

Lindsay stiffened. “To Noah?” She shook her head. “I…I don’t think he did anything to Noah.”

Alaina’s head was spinning. This girl wasn’t making any sense. “I don’t understand.”

Lindsay’s eyes glistened. “He deserves to go to hell for what he did to me.”

Alaina’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak, to ask the rush of questions that were on the tip of her tongue.

But Lindsay didn’t give her a chance. She sucked in a breath and spun away from Alaina.

“Lindsay—”

“No.” Lindsay’s one-word response was forceful.

Before Alaina could react, could reach out to stop her, Lindsay broke into a sprint, tearing away from the school.