The Sinners - Ruby Vincent Page 0,35

was curled up in her bed, music playing on low.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m not staying. You can have your space.”

I went to my nightstand and tucked the drawing Royal gave me into the music box.

“Don’t leave because of me.” Camila sat up, wiping her face on her comforter. “I’m glad you’re here. You won’t believe it, Ember.”

I sank onto my mattress. If Camila wanted to talk, I was here to listen. “What’s going on?”

“We went to Hart after the cafeteria and she called Officer Ramadi so we’d hear it from her. There isn’t enough evidence to make a charge stick. Leo wasn’t on the video spiking my drink or pouring alcohol down my throat.”

She sniffed. I passed her the box of tissues before she reached for it. “What happened after I can’t remember, so it’s your word against Leo’s,” she continued. “He told the police he brought me in the room, laid me down, and I started going on about getting into my pajamas. I began taking my own clothes off, too out of it to wait until he left, and then you busted in and got the wrong idea.”

“Bullshit,” I cried. “My screaming brought other girls out of their rooms. A few of them saw him scrambling to put his dick away. How does he explain that?”

“According to him, he wasn’t wearing a belt and his pants were sagging. They came down when he tripped. You catching him pulling them up was completely innocent.”

I scoffed. “You’re right, I can’t believe this. They swallowed that heap of lawyer-fed garbage and sent him right back here.”

“There’s no physical evidence.” It sounded like Ramadi’s words, not hers. “You saving me in time made the case difficult to prosecute, and I’m not sorry for that.”

I moved over to her bed. She let me take her hands. “I am sorry, Camila. I wish there was something I could do.”

She gave a smile that trembled. “Weren’t you listening? You’ve already done everything, Ember. I couldn’t be more grateful to you if you went back in time and stopped me from ever going to that damn party or dating Nolan Ives.”

I bumped her shoulder. “You are doing and you have done everything right, Camila. It’s those guys who’ve done wrong and them who will pay the consequences for it. One way or another, they are not getting away with it.”

Camila held my arm to her chest, tugging me close to put her head on my shoulder. “I know they won’t.”

She said that with such confidence unease trickled in. Does she know they won’t because her brothers are taking over?

“What happens now?” I asked.

“Cassius and Clay told Hart to transfer Leo out of my classes and install cameras in the dorm. Turns out she was going to do both of those things anyway. Leo is now on probation and she’s kicking him out if he so much as talks back in class.”

“What do Cassius and Clay think about it?”

“We’re relieved Hart is taking this seriously. It’d be even worse if she believed his garbage too.” She looked up at me. “Hey, are you busy? I thought maybe we can watch a movie or something.”

“I’m swinging by Royal’s,” I said. “We might be closer to figuring out who attacked Eli.”

“Oh, that’s good. I can’t wait to see those bastards expelled.”

“Me too. When I come back, we’ll watch the movie.”

I waved bye to Camila and crossed two locked doors to knock on Royal’s.

He opened the door in his usual state of undress—boxers only. He started in on the click of the lock.

“One thousand in a week,” he said. Royal returned to his bed. “They’re upping their game. Might ask for more the next time. Do you still have money from the Porsche?”

I nodded. “I’ve saved it for this, but if they are going to ask for more each time, I’m going to be out quick.”

“We can do another job, but not from the student parking lot. The Raveners have that Thanksgiving party coming up. That’s the best time. If it comes to it, I’ll cover you until then.”

I didn’t say anything at first. Instead, I rested my head in the crook of his neck. He was ready with the solution like this situation was our problem and not mine.

“You don’t need to cover me,” I said. “You’ve got an apartment, rent, bills, gas, and an endless supply of notebooks to buy. You have enough responsibilities. Draining your bank account for this blackmailing trash isn’t one of them.”

“I’m not draining