What Sinners Love (Sinners of Hawthorne University 3)

“You do know what I mean,” I murmur quietly. “And you’re going to tell me all about it. Maybe you’re the one who isn’t remembering things right. Do you remember being locked up in that bunker for weeks and weeks and weeks? You told me you wanted to escape. Do you remember that?”

It’s a lie, but it works. I know from seeing her with Alan that she’s truly in love with him, even if that love is based on nothing but Stockholm syndrome. The suggestion that she ever thought about running away from him makes her back stiffen, her eyes narrowing in anger as she turns toward me.

“That’s not true,” she whispers, her voice hoarse. “You wanted to escape. You tried to make me go with you, but I would never leave Alan. He promised me—”

She snaps her mouth shut.

So close. So fucking close…

“What? He promised you what?” I press, my heart beating faster. “Why were we there, Reagan?”

Before she can respond, there’s a slam from the other side of the dining hall. Reagan jumps, and a piece of lettuce flies off her fork and lands on the table next to my hand. I flick it away and glance behind me, my eyebrows shooting up when I see a group of uniformed and armed police officers. My throat tightens with nerves as I realize they’re making their way to our table.

Shit. What did Alan pin on me now? Is he trying to get me arrested for threatening Cliff?

But I realize as they near us that it isn’t me they’re after.

When they reach our table, two of the cops pull Reagan to her feet. Detective Banning is with them, his face grim.

“Reagan Hawking, you’re under arrest for the possession and dealing of drugs, abuse of private property, and the suspected kidnapping of Sophie Wright,” he intones.

Reagan’s eyes dart toward mine, panic and fear flashing across her face as one of the cops takes out cuffs and begins to lock them around her wrists. I want to shake my head, to tell her I had nothing to do with her arrest, but I can’t.

What the fuck is going on?

“We have a warrant of arrest, and you will be held for questioning,” Banning continues. “You have the right to remain silent until your lawy

er is present. If you cannot afford a lawyer…”

My mind races as he reads Reagan her rights, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Are Alan and Cliff trying to pin this entire thing on Reagan? She’s far from innocent—hell, she tried to kidnap not only me, but also my best friend—but she’s not the mastermind behind everything. She’s a fucking pawn in this game, and it looks like Alan just decided to sacrifice her to protect himself.

I watch in shock as they lead her away, her unfinished salad still sitting on the table, abandoned.

Banning lingers by the table for a moment, grimacing as he glances down at me. “You were right about the bunker,” he says, his voice low, even though the whole dining hall is watching now. Some people even have their phones out, recording the whole scene to be dissected and discussed later by those who weren’t fortunate enough to witness it in person. “We went back to the bunker to do another sweep, and we found a stash of drugs and cash. Forensic testing led us straight to Ms. Hawking. We have enough evidence to confirm that she’s the one who kidnapped you as well. Justice will come, Miss Wright.”

He gives me a tight smile and what I think is meant to be a reassuring nod, then follows after the other cops. The Sinners all step closer from where they were keeping watch while I spoke to Reagan, and I can see my thoughts reflected on their faces.

Alan. Fucking Alan.

He set her up, pinned everything on her. That’s what she got for being so fucking blinded by him, dedicated to him, wanting to please him. He knew the police were poking around, and he saw her as the perfect scapegoat, saw the situation as the perfect way to throw her under the bus and dispose of her.

Rage fills me as I shove my chair back and straighten, stepping away from the table to meet the guys.

I guess when she kidnapped me, Reagan became just another mess for Alan to have to clean up.

17

One thought keeps cutting through my mind as the Sinners and I join Max at a table in the corner of the dining hall.

How the hell are we supposed to stop Alan?

He’ll obviously stop at nothing to protect himself and his secrets. He’ll happily let Reagan rot in jail to protect his own interests. I’d bet anything that he went back down into the bunker after the cops interviewed him and planted evidence that would lead them straight to her.

“What the fuck just happened?” Max asks. “Did you get anything from her before…”

She trails off, glancing at the door the cops led Reagan through.

“Before she got arrested?” I ask dully, snorting. “No. I might’ve been able to worm something out of her if I pressed the right buttons. She’s even easier to rile up than Cliff is. But no, the cops dragged her away before I could get anything useful out of her.”