He rips them off the door: Swastikas. “Burn baby burn.” “Kikes and dykes not welcome here.” He tears them in half, shoves them into his pockets, and begins to pick off the rest.

Logan joins him, clawing at the notes, littering the ground at their feet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I know you’d never—”

“Don’t worry about it,” he murmurs.

“Do you have any idea who could have done this?”

Mason’s neck prickles. He glances back. Spencer, Reg, and Jesse watch him with disbelief and contempt. To hell with them. He’s sick of them, sick of having to toe the line and keep the peace at home and in the locker room. But what makes Mason sick most of all is the painful gut feeling that several of his so-called teammates are probably—if not definitely—responsible for the disgusting messages in Cade and Logan’s lockers.

“Who knows your combinations?” Mason asks.

Logan turns around. “Only Cade and me. Whoever did this must have somehow gotten their hands on the master list.” Her eyes narrow. “Doesn’t your girlfriend work in the office?” It’s not a question.

Mason flinches. His brow furrows. “You think Kerrianne did this? Or me?”

“No.”

His gray eyes turn into a thunderstorm. But there’s more than frustration, there’s hurt and defeat. He’s tired of walking the tightrope that defines his life. He’s too much, not enough, and pleases no one, especially the tyrant and least of all himself. Shaking his head, he walks away, mumbling, “What the hell’s the point if no matter what I do, I can’t win?”

“Mason!” Logan calls. “Mason, I’m sorry!”

Ignoring Logan, Mason kicks himself for caring. He reaches the stairs leading to the second-floor math and science wing and conquers them two at a time. The seed Logan planted in his head grows. Could Kerrianne get the master combination list? Hell yeah. She’s worked in the school office for nearly four years. Miss Wather has given Kerrianne plenty of responsibility, and even though Kerrianne has her own login on the office computer, she’s smart enough to figure out how to access the locker combination list.

He slips a hand into his pocket, removes one of the crumpled sticky notes, and smooths it out. “Burn with the rest of them,” it says.

Mason knows Kerrianne’s handwriting, and it’s not hers. She may not have written the notes, but it doesn’t erase logic.

Did Kerrianne give someone the locker combinations? It’s highly probable, and he has a list of suspects. His conscience tugs at him. Should he confront her? Find out who she gave the combinations to? When she tells him, if she tells him, then what?

Chapter 35: Daniel