Page 74 of The Royal in Room 3

What else could I do but stand trembling as Aaron secured the handcuffs around my wrists. Who could have done such a horrible thing to me? Had someone made a mistake with the wrong locker? But how would they have gotten my key?

My stomach rolled.

“I didn’t do it,” I whispered. “I really didn’t do it.”

Aaron guided me toward the door, speaking over his shoulder. “Let Jude know what happened and get him a lawyer. The sooner the better.”

24

JUDE

I didn’t sleep all night. I couldn’t. Not when the sweetest boy I knew was locked up in jail for something he didn’t do. And there was no doubt in my mind that Soren was innocent. A boy who had no idea how to use a dishwasher to save his life didn’t suddenly become a drug dealer, which meant someone had framed him, but we had no idea who.

After the incident, Phoenix had called it a night at the club, staff staying behind while guests were asked to leave, but no one knew anything. Vale was too close to the investigation, and Phoenix was pissed off at him, so he had to stay as far away from the club as possible. A part of me was torn that he wasn’t doing anything after he had arrested Soren, but I was also grateful that at least Soren had someone inside who would keep an eye on him until we figured this whole mess out.

Several employees at the club had confirmed they’d seen Soren visit the locker rooms during his break. He always did that, and while that ended up looking bad on Soren’s part, as if he always used his break to deal drugs, I knew this wasn’t the case. In fact, it meant everyone knew his routine and could have used that against him.

We usually texted each other when he was free, but last night he hadn’t. That piece of the puzzle was solved when Dean revealed that he and Soren had talked during his break, and he had the text messages to prove it, although they hardly explained away the drugs.

The most frustrating part was that no one knew anything, and for some reason, the surveillance camera feed from that area had been blank. We couldn’t even rely on the footage to prove Soren’s innocence, but it also meant that there was reasonable suspicion that someone had framed Soren. It was too much of a coincidence for the video feed to be unavailable.

Given it was too late for me to visit Soren, I ended up spending the rest of the time at Halo House, unable to return home and face a house—a bed—without Soren in it. Early the next morning, Vale showed up, looking grim. We all met in the kitchen, Shannon making everyone coffee, which might not have been a good idea given how wound up everyone else was. Phoenix was still steaming mad at Vale and wouldn’t even acknowledge the other man. Vale looked ready to cry at Phoenix’s dismissal, but I didn’t have the time to pander to their problem when they wouldn’t even confess how they felt about each other.

“How is he doing in there, Vale?” I asked, accepting the cup of coffee from Shannon with a grateful nod.

“Frightened,” Vale answered honestly, which I was thankful for. I would have hated it if he had lied to me to make me feel better. “He’s aware the charges against him are serious and will attract a stiff penalty. We’ve been cracking down on drug distribution this quarter, and I’m afraid anyone caught up in this mess will face the stiffer side of the penalty.”

“You could have warned us,” Phoenix mumbled.

“I had to do my job, Phoenix,” Vale replied, his tone begging to be understood. “I wasn’t even supposed to be there last night, but I convinced Cook that he would get better cooperation if I were with him. I did everything I could to ensure Soren was comfortable. If it’s any consolation, he’s being treated like royalty in there—well, as royally as you can treat someone in jail. He’s not even sharing a cell with anyone.”

“At least that’s something,” I said, scrubbing a hand over my stubbly cheeks. “I don’t blame you for doing your job, Vale. I just need to know what we should do.”

“Did you speak to your lawyer?”

“Yes, and he’ll be at the station as soon as we’re permitted.”

“You know you won’t be able to see him,” Vale said.

“I don’t care. As long as I’m close.”

“Someone in that nightclub planted those drugs in Soren’s locker,” Vale said. “It has to be an inside job. Does anyone know who would want to target Soren? Has he offended anyone? Did he have any altercation with anyone last night or any other night?”

“No, Soren has been a wonderful server in the VIP lounge,” Phoenix said.

“Did he by chance turn someone down?”

“He never mentioned it.”

“Wait a minute,” I said, my pulse throbbing at the idea forming in my head. “Soren talks to me about his nights at the club, and the only thing that pops into mind is the first night he worked there. Didn’t he have an altercation with one of the boys?”

Phoenix gasped. “Evan. Is it Evan? He’s been at the club every night this week, but how would he have pulled this off?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” I said.

“Wait, we can’t accuse him without proof,” Vale said. “We have to be very careful with this.”

“And what do you suggest?” Phoenix snapped. “Because you haven’t been a lot of help in this. What was the sense of bringing him here to Halo House if you were just going to throw him under the bus the first chance you got?”