Page 51 of Little Bunny

Slowly, the door to Percy’s room opened. Santiago stepped out, glancing toward Diablo. “Ready to head out?”

Diablo glanced from Matias to Santiago. “Yeah. It’s been a long day.”

“I think we should head back too,” Matias said to Elijah. Then he turned to Tito. “Mind keeping an eye on Percy’s room tonight?”

With a casual shrug, Tito replied, “Like I said, I have nothing better to do.”

Trusting Matias, Elijah followed him, although he hadn’t wanted to leave Percy. Not yet. He still wanted to sit with his best friend, be there when he fully woke up.

When they reached the elevators, Matias took Elijah’s hand and slipped into the hallway beside it but not before he hit the “down” button.

Elijah’s eyes rounded when he saw Diablo and Santiago in the same small hallway.

“What’s going on?” Santiago asked, brows deeply furrowed. “Why was I pulled away from Percy’s room?”

“It’s a setup.” Diablo studied Matias, understanding in his eyes. “Percy didn’t accidently lock himself in that shed.”

“I knew he didn’t!” Elijah seethed. “It made no sense.”

Santiago tilted his head in a slow motion, eyes narrowed, voice low. “Who found Percy?”

The realization finally sank in. Elijah’s mouth dropped open slightly. “Tito,” he whispered. The same man they’d just left outside of Percy’s room.

The same man Elijah had vehemently defended.

Matias started from the hallway, Santiago and Diablo following. Elijah hurried behind them, his mind racing. He didn’t recall Percy being there when he’d bandaged Diablo.

The tavern, when Matias had left Tito in charge of watching over Elijah and Percy.

“I can be drunk and highly functional at the same time.” Then he’d finished whatever he was saying in Spanish.

“Matias?” Elijah touched his arm, and Matias stopped. So had Santiago and Diablo. All three were glaring at him, an intimidating sight, but Elijah knew it wasn’t aimed at him.

“What does ow demo stray—” Elijah racked his brain to remember what Tito had said. He’d repeated it in his mind a few times when Tito had uttered the words, telling himself he would use the translator on his phone to find out what it meant. “Quindo are reba stay…” Elijah ground his teeth, desperate to remember.

“I proved it when I snatched…” Diablo translated. “Go on.”

“I’m trying,” Elijah argued. “He’d said it so fast.” He squinted, like he could squish the thought out of his head. “S, ice cream. No.” Elijah shook his head. “I used word association. Ice cream. Oh yeah. Dulce.

“That candy?” Diablo frowned.

“What?” Elijah wrinkled his nose. “He proved something when he snatched some candy?”

“Do you recall any other words?” Matias cupped Elijah’s jaw, smiling softly at him. “What was going on when he said that?”

For just a second, Elijah became lost in Matias’s pretty eyes. The touch grounded him, helping to bring the moment into sharp clarity.

“He was drunk and told me to stop nagging him.” The word surfaced. “Bo cabo…camo…”

“Bocado?” Matias asked.

“Yes! S dulce bocado.

“Lo demostré cuando arrebaté ese dulce bocado. Is that what he said? Diablo asked.

“Exactly what he said,” Elijah replied, proud of himself for remembering. “What does it mean?”

“I proved it when I snatched that sweet morsel,” Santiago snarled.