by Ruby Vincent
My eyes narrowed to slits. “And now you’re in their gambling and fucking club.”
“I think they... call them orgy clubs.”
“Maverick!” Romeo stirred on my lap, awoken by the noise. The puppy crawled higher up and I cuddled him under my chin. “At least you behaved yourself while I was away.”
“Actually, he peed in your shoe.” Maverick climbed onto the bed and rested his head on the spot Romeo vacated. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have told you.”
“Yes, you should have.” I smoothed a line over the ridges between his brows. “I wouldn’t want you barreling toward me on the football field, but I have a feeling even you’d have trouble getting through six guys.”
“They don’t want to hurt me, Val. What they want is to pretend they’re not like the average college guy chasing after booze and women. They’re intellectuals too. Elite. This question game they play is another way to up the high of winning or losing everything, but this way they get to prove who is the smartest guy in the room. It’s baboons showing off their butts.”
“Why do they want you to be a part of it so badly?”
He shrugged. “I’ve got money and I can handle my own with them. Sawyer was also brimming about having an odd number. They’ve been looking for a seventh.”
“How long would you guess they’ve been doing this? The gambling. The bets. The orgies.”
“Don’t know. Did you ever notice Aiden flashing more money than a guy with no job and middle-class parents should have?”
I tossed my head. “No. I’ve seen his car and it’s pretty sweet. Otherwise the guy keeps it low-key. He doesn’t flash gold watches or slide around in designer bomber jackets.”
“He wouldn’t. The bastard is too smart to draw attention like that.”
A thought occurred to me. “Whatever these guys are about... do you think it’s connected to the file he’s keeping on the Sams? And while we’re on the topic, were Nasir, Hayes, Rowen, and Winston in the file?”
Maverick’s eyes flared. “No. Holy shit! No! Sawyer is but there’s not one mention of those guys. Why in the fuck didn’t I notice that before?”
“Because we’re partners and this is what I’m here for.” I flicked his forehead. “That’s why you shouldn’t do this without me.”
His fingers curled through mine, bringing my palm to his lips. “The smartest person in the room... is always you, baby.”
“Don’t try to be sweet to me now,” I replied, but the smile tugging at my lips gave me away.
Nala trotted out of the closet. She sniffed around, clearly searching for her baby. In a single bound she was on our bed, staring me straight in the eye for what was hers.
“Here you go, Mommy.”
The dogs curled up on our pillow, making themselves right at home. I slipped away for two weeks and life continued on without me.
Ryder and I loved our time in Costa Rica, and as promised, we didn’t do a lick of sightseeing. Feeding each other breakfast on the canopy. Bathing under a waterfall. Shedding the craziness of work and school and just being Valentina and Ryder for a brief pocket of time. It was—in a word—perfect.
Then we came home and stumbled on seven puppies that Adam was so attached to, he was guaranteed to bawl his eyes out when they had to return home to their owner. My baby’s room was being gutted to remind me he wasn’t a baby anymore. Jaxson picked up a bug and was home sick. Ezra picked up an assignment and was barely home at all. And, oh yeah, Maverick got in deep with a group of underground hedonists who are led by a guy who makes people disappear. Suddenly, I was reminded why I don’t leave my boys on their own.
“Aiden and those four guys aren’t in the file,” I continued. “That’s gotta mean something.”
“We said the information could be used for blackmail. Well, what if the reason there isn’t a record of what he’s doing with the info is because he doesn’t do anything with it? He collects it for the guys with the money, power, and knowledge of what having dirt like that on all of your future colleagues and opponents could do for you.”
I nodded along. “Aiden is in the perfect position as president. He’s in charge of all the guys and digging up secrets isn’t a tradition he started, but it’s one he can take full advantage of. We all have to share one devastating secret to get into the house, but Aiden’s files have more than one. He has them all.”
“As well as the ability to hide their tracks,” Maverick said. “He buried their little black book so deep in his computer, I’m sure no one other than me could’ve found it.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “It’s just a theory, but if it’s true... Wow.”
“Proving it has been our sticking point from the beginning. We can’t get those guys on what the file doesn’t say. Just because Aiden didn’t collect information on them doesn’t mean they’re in on it.”
“But we know there is a ‘they’ who is a part of this somehow and some way,” I reminded. “I’ll assume it’s them until another batch of shady guys hanging around with Aiden and giving him seventy-thousand-dollar cars for no good reason, turns up.” I inclined my head. “I’ll also admit it can’t stop with them. Sofia and I rounded up a lot of names we couldn’t track down. This has been going on longer than your new friends have been around.”
“It’s like you said, Val. Tradition. They may not have started it, but they could be carrying on a scheme another Sally or Sam thought of. It’s not like we haven’t seen something like this before.”
A chill skittered up my spine.
Maverick flipped onto his back. “But why Sawyer?” he asked, mostly to himself. “If those guys are behind this, why have Sawyer taken off the street? Where has he really been all of this time? And why, when he comes back, would he hook up with the men who kidnapped him? Unlike the rest of them, Sawyer is in that file. If there’s a club, he joined it late.”
“Maybe his and Teagan’s silence about what truly happened is their admittance into the club.”
“They lost over a year of their life. Would playing poker and fucking in a basement be worth that to you?”
“Definitely not. There has to be more to it than that. Money,” I declared, “and probably a lot of it.”
“I have to find out what’s really going on here, Val. Whatever this is, it’s not good.”
“The sticking point for me is why it has to be you?”
“I’m in with them.”
“They let you in,” I corrected. “Invited you into their odd game out of nowhere. I’m supposed to believe Aiden doesn’t have another motive? He has a hidden agenda behind going to the toilet. You’re not a Sam, Maverick. Why would Aiden need a guy who is suspicious of him to be his seventh?”
“I can only find out by playing along.”
I huffed, dropping my head back on the pillow. “Are you seeing how that’s an extraordinarily bad idea? Please tell me you are.”
Maverick took my hand and placed it on his chest. His heart pumped a steady rhythm beneath my fingers, seeking me through his rib cage. I couldn’t tell you why that soothed me in every argument we had. All the same, it did.
“It’s not by chance they’re dragging me into this. The play is obvious. If they can get me on board, I—and therefore you—will drop it. The trick is to let them think their play is working.”
“You’re not doing this without me.”
Nala barked, chiming in with her determination to not be left out either.
Maverick shut us both down. “Nope. I won’t let you deeper into this than you already are.”
“Come on, love. I’m your girlfriend. Aiden is assuming you’re telling me every detail of what they get up to. He thinks I’m deep in this, so why shouldn’t I be?”
“Val—”
“You told me they have their girlfriends, dates, and duchesses down there with them. Give me one good reason I can’t be there too.”
“Because excluding that one time Ezra and I double fingered you in the backseat—”
My face lit on fire at the memory.
“—group sex isn’t my thing.”
I swatted him with a pillow. “I wasn’t suggesting we get naked with them. We’ll dip out when they unroll the condoms.”
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”
“Ooooh,” I crowed. “Now that I’m on board, it’s not a good idea?”
“We don’t know how dangerous these guys are yet. Granted Teagan and Sawyer came back without a scratch. It still doesn’t prove they’re not above hurting people.” He grasped my chin in a gentle grip. “And no one is hurting you.”
“Of course not. Because you’ll have my back and I’ll have yours. This is the only way we do this, Maverick.” I spoke over his oncoming refusal. “Say yes.”
He argued some more. Insisted it wasn’t safe and the best place for me was a thousand miles away from Aiden Connelly. I held firm.
“Okay,” he finally said. “Yes.”
Nala barked her acceptance.
“HOW WAS COSTA RICA?”
“It was magic. I’m serious. I’m pretty sure there were fairies flitting through the trees and sprites swimming under the waterfall. It was almost impossible to leave.”
“Wow. Your boyfriend just whisked you away out of the blue?” Kendra sighed over her bowl of ground beef mush. “Where do I find these romantics? I’m serious. Was there a number you called? Or a website I should be signing up with?”
I chuckled. “Trust me, I got those guys the hard way. A website or phone call would’ve been much easier.”
“Sawyer is romantic like that,” Teagan mused. “He surprises me with flowers on the doorstep and trips to the beach because it’s where we had our first kiss.” A grin played on her lips. “Don’t tell anyone—especially him—but I think he’s working up the courage to propose.”
Eve gasped. “Really? What will you say if he does?”
This is what my time with my stray sisters was all about. We got together, made yummy food, watched movies, and dished about everything that went on in our lives. I was shocked to admit how much I enjoyed it.
A big part of me wishes this could be every day with the Sallys. No pressure. No seventy-five minutes of clocked intense exercise or minimum grade point averages. No undercurrent of seriousness in everything we do—even bonding activities.
“How is it going in here, ladies?”
No Jade Ortega.
“Great,” said Sabrina. “Val dug up a recipe for meatball-stuffed garlic bread. We’re eating it in honor of our movie for tonight. Inception is a dream within a dream, so we’re eating a food within a food.”
“Clever. Anything I can help you with?”
Teagan looked around. “Kendra is on the meatballs. Eve and I are doing the sauces. Sabrina is rolling out the dough and Val’s putting the final creation together. Are we allowed to ask you to make the cocktails? Manhattans?”
Jade peeked at the whiskey and vermouth on the kitchen counter. “I definitely didn’t pick those up with this month’s groceries. But you are all over twenty-one.” She winked. “I don’t see why not.”
“All right.” Teagan clicked her tongue. “You’ve just earned yourself a spot on the couch eating calorie-laden heart attacks of deliciousness and feasting on Leonardo DiCaprio.”
“It’s my lucky night.” Charmed by Teagan, Jade joined our group. I didn’t blame her. Teagan was the charming sort.
But is she the sort to trade her silence in exchange for Aiden and his friends’ offer of... what?
I returned from Costa Rica a week and a half ago. Since then I settled into the same routine with the girls, and if Teagan noticed me watching her a little closer, she gave no sign of it.
There’d been another poker game the Friday that passed. Maverick up and decided not to go—likely owing to my promise to jump through the car window as he sped off, determined not to let him go there alone.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have forever to fob them—and me—off. We had a month left of summer vacation and who knew if they’d continue their weekly games with a bunch of Sams overhead.
I should ask her about it. Like Aiden, she’s gotta assume Maverick told me everything. I have always favored the direct approach.
“Teagan, can we talk after we’re done?”
“Sure,” she replied. She didn’t sound the slightest bit worried about the conversation. “How much should we make?”
“Let’s finish off the dough. If we can’t eat it all, I’ll bring it home to my boys.”
“You’re so mature and evolved, Val.” Eve slid in next to me, carrying her bowl of marinara sauce. “One relationship can be tricky. You have four and you make it look so easy. How’d you convince them all to be okay with it?”
“Believe it or not, they didn’t need convincing. I was the one twisting myself into knots about dating four guys and thinking I’d lose all of them if I suggested it. While the whole time they thought it was the obvious solution to being in love with the same girl.”
Kendra groaned. “Okay, seriously, prez. Do not hold out on me with this number! Where do I find guys like this?!”
“Kendra, you are adorable stuffed in Mary Janes and wrapped in a winning bow of smart and witty. You don’t need a number.”
“Ah. You’re so good for my self-esteem, Val.”
I snorted. I truly liked this bunch. I would protect them from Aiden and whatever his true motives are. Even if his rich buddies Hayes, Nasir, Rowen, and Winston are involved. Even if Teagan is too.
The girls finished off the prep and passed their creations on to me. One by one, they trickled out of the kitchen, moving into the living room, until it was just me and Teagan. She picked up a slice of dough and a meatball, working side by side with me.
“You wanted to talk to me about something?”
“It’s about the poker games.”
“Ahh.” She reached around me for the garlic sauce. “I wondered when you were going to ask me about that.”
“I didn’t really know what to ask. Maverick explained and I still don’t get it. A couple of guys playing poker. Sure. Partying in the basement with your friends, girlfriends, and boyfriends. I understand that too. But the questions? Betting it all? Maverick losing over a hundred grand because tribalism benefits society? What’s the point of all of that?”
“Honestly, I don’t know who started the club or why. It was here long before any of us came to Somerset.”
“The club?”
“They don’t have a name. Or at least, I haven’t heard the guys use it. All I know is they’ve been around since 2005.”
A memory flitted out and floated to the surface. “2005? That’s the same year the president of Nu Alpha Theta started the initiation.”
Coincidence? I think not.
She shrugged. “Maybe. Zeta Rho and Nu Alpha are about pushing us to our limits. The club is about having no limits. They can get pretty intense, but they’re harmless. In the end, it’s just friends having fun, and everyone likes Maverick.” She gave me a wry smile. “There isn’t some grand conspiracy behind asking him to join. He isn’t going to be taken.”
Teagan laughed at her joke. I didn’t.
“You can’t say who started it, but there’s a strong possibility—bordering on certainty—that it was a Sally or Sam. Aiden, Sawyer, and the rest of them are Sams. So yeah, I’d assume something is up when they suddenly ask a non-Sam to join.”
“It’s not in the rules that a non-Sally or Sam can’t join. You know that.”
I blinked. “I know that? Why would I know that?”
She expelled an impatient breath. “It was in the book. Didn’t you read it?”
“The book?”
“Yes,” she said slowly. “The book you got when you became president. It talked about the club and its rules. That’s what Aiden said was in his book anyway.”
“Teagan, I never got any book. I got an email forward from Jade explaining my duties, but no book.”
“Really?
But you were supposed to get it from—” Wincing, she stopped. “Oh. I’m sorry. Of course, you didn’t get it. I’m such an idiot.”
“Why?”
“Because you were supposed to get it from your predecessor... and she died.”
Leighton.
“On top of that, Reagan left,” she continued. “Without them here there was no one to pass it on to you.”
What Leighton said to me all those months ago in her bedroom came roaring back.
“I won’t talk to you or anyone. How I get my information is a presidential secret. If you want to know, you’ll have to take over Zeta Rho Sigma.”
“They pass it down from president to president,” I whispered.
“Yep. You should ask Aiden to let you see his book. He didn’t give us all the details, but he explained we’re just continuing what others started.”
“Messing around in a basement and discussing human nature is what they started?”
She smiled. “They do more than that.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“Care to join us and find out for yourself?”
I stepped back, studying her. “I do,” I said after a moment. “I’m more than willing to find out for myself, but I still want to know why you were too. Maverick says a lot of money is thrown around down there. Rich boys and their games don’t hold back, but I would’ve thought you, Sawyer, and Aiden had more to lose.”
“We do,” she admitted. “Isn’t that what makes it more fun? The only things worth having in life are the things you’re afraid to lose. Family. Friends. Careers. Love. Sawyer was looking at a life mapped out for him by his father. He’s only at Somerset because his dad pays his tuition, and he made it clear he was supporting one path and one path only. His.
“Sawyer didn’t have choices until he joined the club. The night they initiated him, he earned ten grand. He wins some and he loses some,” she continued, “but right now we’re sitting on enough to have a future.” Teagan stilled, hands frozen in the dough. “I watched my mom slowly lose a battle against her own body. Everything she worked for her whole life gone, and she couldn’t lift a finger to stop it. After going through something like that, you realize what’s truly important. And a little risk is worth going after it.” She dropped her gaze. “You probably don’t get that—”