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“My god. Girls actually let you assholes fuck them in that place?”
He waves me away, his face getting serious. “I need to talk to Emilio.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“It’s important.”
“What could you possibly tell him? You do realize a lot of people assume you lit those fires, right?”
He doesn’t look surprised. “Would it help if I said I didn’t do it?”
“No.”
“I didn’t do it.” He stands up straight and sighs. “But I think I know who did.”
That gets my attention. I hesitate, struggling internally. I could send Malcolm away—and probably should, considering how much trouble this asshole’s caused—but if he really does know who’s behind the fires then this might be the catalyst I need to bring Emilio back to me. In the end, I’m desperate and I want Emilio back so badly it hurts.
“If you fuck with him, I will kill you.” I jab a finger into Malcolm’s chest and glare into his eyes. “I’m not kidding around. I’ll find you at one of your shitty little beach parties and put arsenic in your fucking beer. Don’t you dare hurt him right now.”
Malcolm laughs and shakes his head. “That’s the last thing I want to do.”
“Good. Get inside.”
He steps past me in through the open door. I follow him and we stand facing Emilio, who slowly turns to frown at me then at Malcolm.
Nobody speaks for a second. Malcolm stares at Emilio and I wonder what he might be thinking. It must be strange to see the former king of the campus reduced to living in a crappy dorm that he doesn’t even own with nothing to his name, only second-hand clothes we scrounged up from sympathetic former customers, and a beat-up laptop he stole from the science lab.
“Ballsy of you to come here,” Emilio says finally. There’s a flash of his old self in his eyes—wary and intense.
Malcolm must see it too because his demeanor changes. He tenses, arms over his chest. “It wasn’t my idea.”
I glare at him. He hadn’t mentioned that.
“Who sent you?” Emilio asks, not looking surprised.
“Who else but our mutual friend, the dean? He sends his regards, by the way.”
“I’m sure he does.” Emilio doesn’t move. He doesn’t flinch. He’s so angry right now I’m afraid he might explode and kill Malcolm on the spot, but he’s doing a good job at hiding it. I can only tell because of the way his jaw’s working.
“Look, I know you won’t believe me, but the fire wasn’t Cask. I wasn’t involved and none of my guys were. You know I was too busy letting you into my damn house to light your boat and your house on fire.”
“I believe you,” Emilio says.
“You do?” he asks, and I feel as surprised as Malcolm seems.
“You don’t have anything to gain from ruining me. The dean’s still got you by the dick, doesn’t he?” Malcolm doesn’t reply and Emilio nods to himself. That was exactly my thinking and it feels good to be proven right. “That’s what I figured. The only person with the means and the motive is Dean Wotherspoon.”
“He wants to meet with you tonight.” Malcolm glances at me, looking uncomfortable. “Up on the cliffs. He says you know the spot.”
Emilio cracks a smile for the first time since the fire. “That’s poetic of him. What does he want?”
“He wants to make a deal. You give him whatever blackmail you have on him, and he leaves you alone. Rebuild Calico, become a regular-ass student, whatever you want. A fresh start, those are his words.”
“A fresh start,” Emilio echoes, leaning back in his chair. For a long time, he’s quiet. I stand there wondering what’s going on in his head. I want to scream at him, to beg him to ignore this. If Emilio gives up his blackmail material, there’s nothing holding the dean back. We’ll be ruined, and Calico really will be dead.
“Tell the dean I’ll come,” Emilio says finally. “Tell him I’ll take the deal. I’ll destroy the recording and he’ll leave me alone. Calico is finished.”
Malcolm’s face gets serious. He nods slowly. “I’ll tell him that, but are you sure? You’re really done with Calico?”
