by Ruby Vincent
I followed her line of sight to the small wooden shed behind us. “And now it all makes sense.”
“What makes sense?”
“Why you’re happy with the night shift and why you’ve set up in this spot when we usually put the booth closer to the quad.”
She laughed under her breath. “I could deny it, but there would be no point. If he comes, he always drops by and we talk. I’ve been looking forward to those talks.”
I rested my head on her shoulder. “Still, it can’t be fun for you sitting around for two hours not knowing if he’ll show. This time doesn’t work for any of the other girls, but if you want me to keep you company—”
“Val, you’re doing the morning shift after Adam goes to school. That’s the only time that works for you. Being there for him is more important than slinging hot chocolate with me. Besides, I don’t mind the quiet. It’s well lit. I can read, listen to music, do homework, and when he’s here, talk to Hudson.”
I gazed around the cozy little pocket of campus. There were plenty of lamps casting a soft orange glow. We were positioned next to one of the walkways that led directly to Greek Row. Not as close to the quad, but I could see it in the distance.
We spent the hour and a half talking and selling treats to passing couples and stragglers heading back to Greek Row. Hudson didn’t make an appearance but I was content to meet him when Sofia was ready. She was feeling her way with the opinionated, handy Brit. I didn’t want to make it complicated.
“I have to pack up all this stuff and take it back,” she said. “I usually text one of the sisters to come and help. Do you mind?”
“Course not. I need to drop by the house anyway.”
It took only two trips. Sofia and I walked in with the food and then Reagan and Pat got up and followed us out to get the booth.
“How did it go tonight?” Reagan asked as we placed the stand on the back porch. “We’re sorry to stick you with the late shift. You’ve been such a good sport, Sofia.”
“I’m happy to do it,” she said. “Honestly.”
“You also clear about fifty to eighty bucks a night,” Pat added. “We’re going to hit our goal in no time.”
“Now that we’re talking about cruises,” Sofia said. “Just because we lost doesn’t mean we can’t go on our own trip. What if we fundraise enough for two spring break cruises?”
“Hmm. I like the way this girl thinks,” said Reagan.
The four of us entered the toasty house. Sofia shrugged out of her jacket and hung it on the coat rack.
“Are you staying, Sof?” I asked. “I’m just grabbing my notebook, but I can walk you back to the dorm.”
“Stay, Sofia,” Patricia spoke up. “We’ll walk you back.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Reagan pointed down the hall. “Your notebook is in the living room. On the coffee table.”
“Great.” I moved around them. The doors were shut, but the light peeked through the curtains. I stepped inside and lit upon Blair, Mai, Keily, and Palmer.
“Hey, guys. What’s up?”
Keily blew out a breath. “I’m shitting it over the test. I’ve read that charter backwards and forwards, but I bet it all goes out of my head.”
“Test? What test?” Blair and I asked.
“The pop quiz we’re taking on the charter tonight,” Palmer explained. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”
I looked at the coffee table and noted the distinct lack of a notebook. “I guess so.”
Blair shot up. “No one told me about a test. Pat was lending me her notes for my psych test tomorrow.”
A smooth voice sounded behind me. “You will get the notes and I’ve got your notebook right here, Val.” A cool hand gripped mine and placed something in it. “Sorry I had to steal this out of your backpack. We couldn’t tell all of you there was a test or you might have spread it to the other pledges.”
“Why shouldn’t they know?” I asked.
Patricia, Reagan, Devon, Sloane, Callie, and Leighton walked to the front of the room.
“Because they’re not pledges anymore,” Leighton said. “Congratulations, ladies. You’re our final six.”
EZRA
I parked my car a few houses down in front of Beta Kappa Delta. A guy in a dreadlocks hat lay passed out in a chair on the lawn.
Why didn’t I pledge this house? He’s not worried about anyone snatching his ass.
“Ezra?”
Austin stuck his head out of the car and waved. His ride looked a lot like Jaxson’s although I’m sure it didn’t run him one point four million dollars.
And if it did, the senator certainly has something to answer for.
Austin fell in step with me. We walked the short distance to the house in silence.
Valentina insisted I should give him a chance. Somehow, I wasn’t seeing the good guy under the asshat that namedropped his dad all over me to get close to Mom.
I bit back a sigh. What the hell. If Val wanted me to give him a chance, I would. But just one.
I reached the front door first and held it open.
“Ready for the test?” I asked.
Austin scrunched up his face as he crossed the threshold. “Test? What test?”
“Aren’t you here for the test?”
He shook his head. “I forgot my comparative government textbook the other day. Do we have a test?”
“Gentlemen.” Leo emerged from the dining room. “They’re waiting for you in the basement.”
“For a test?” Austin bleated. “Why didn’t anyone tell me there was a test? What’s it on?”
The brother just pointed down the hallway.
Groaning, Austin stomped off without a fight. I didn’t follow.
“Since when can we go in the basement?” I asked Leo. “I thought it was off-limits to pledges.”
A look crossed his face that I couldn’t read. “It is. Hurry up.”
My feet stayed rooted to the spot and soon his expression morphed into one I did know—annoyance.
“Is there a problem, Ezra?”
Something is going on.
Aiden isn’t going to pull anything, another voice said. He’s playing the innocent game and Austin is down there too as a witness. I’m sure it’s fine.
“No,” I said. “There’s no problem.”
Head up and body relaxed, I followed in Austin’s path.
I’d thought about going into the basement again every time I set foot in their house. Once or twice, I’d tried the handle just to see if I’d get lucky. It was always locked. Whether it was because of pledge points or something more sinister, Aiden did not let anyone down there.
Until now.
I closed my hand over the knob and turned. The door gave way under my touch, beckoning me through.
I stepped into darkness. A flickering glow crept up the stairs, but wasn’t strong enough to make it all the way. Neither were the murmur of voices.
Climbing off the last step, I took in the scene.
The basement itself wasn’t much to look at. The worn couches, television, and pool table were what I expected. The eight men in hooded blue robes fanned out before a kneeling Austin, Colton, Lincoln, Luca, and Miles were not.
“Ezra Lennox.” One of the robed men gestured to me. “Kneel.”
I surged back. “The fuck I will. What the hell is this?”
Austin shot big eyes at me, shaking his head.
“There is nothing to fear.” Aiden’s voice slithered out of the middle robe. “Join us... brother.”
“Brother?”
He can’t mean...
Austin nodded. It was us. We were the chosen six.
“Kneel.”
I knelt.
From my place, I peered into the hoods. Easton stood on Aiden’s right. He nodded imperceptibly as our eyes met. My presence here pleased him.
It confused me.
Why would Aiden choose me after what went down? I’ve kept quiet and maintained my mask while I
waited for Maverick to dig things up, but the two of us are far from friends. This doesn’t make any sense.
“Ten weeks,” Aiden began. “For ten weeks we tested your strength, stamina, intelligence, and bonds of brotherhood. And in those ten weeks, you six have proven yourselves to be high above the rest.”
Shared smirks passed down the line of kneeling boys—all except for me. I fixed on Aiden’s shadowed face.
“Membership in Nu Alpha Theta is not given, it is earned.” Aiden passed his hand over us. “You, gentlemen, have earned your place here. You have earned the right to take the final test.”
I stiffened. Final test?
“Easton, they’re ready.”
Easton’s hand disappeared into his robe and emerged holding six envelopes.
“Open it when I say,” Aiden ordered.
Easton placed the sealed blue missive on my palm. My name was written in neatly printed letters on the top.
“We’ve tested you for many qualities,” Aiden continued, “but tonight we test you on the most important quality of all: trust.
“If you do not trust your brothers and know deep down that they trust you, then Nu Alpha Theta cannot thrive. We are only as strong as the bonds we share.”
It was difficult to see his eyes through the hood and candlelight. All the same, I could have sworn Aiden was looking at me.
“Brother Ian, please begin.”
The brother at the end of the row stepped forward and dropped his hood. He cleared his throat and said, “I’ve been sleeping with my stepmother since I was eighteen. My father believes the baby she had last year is his son. He’s mine.”
My jaw dropped. What the fuck did he just say?
“Thank you, Brother Ian,” Aiden said calmly. “Brother Matthew, if you will.”
My eyes widened as Ian stepped back and Matthew took his place. “My parents were bankrupt and on the brink of losing their house. I burned down our family grocery store for the insurance money. They still don’t know it was me.”
Austin whipped around, gaping at me like I could explain what was going on here.
One by one, the brothers stepped forward and revealed awful, dark, deep secrets.
“I was in a hit-and-run.”
“I was in a gang. We knocked over every mom-and-pop store on my street.”
“I paid someone to take the SATs for me,” said Easton.
Aiden stepped forward.
I held my breath. Is this it? Will he admit what he did?
“Thank you, brothers,” he said. “We honor the trust you’ve given here tonight.”
Disappointment burned in me. Of course not. That would be too easy.
“The test is simple,” he said to us. “To become a brother, all you have to do is return this trust with your own. In the envelopes... are your secrets.”
“What?” Luca blurted. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing is truly hidden,” he replied. “I found the secret you keep buried and I put it in those envelopes. If you stand up and share it with us, you’re in.”
I flung the envelope away like it burned.
A secret I keep buried? What could he know? He couldn’t know!
Sickening emotions flooded me to a parade of horrifying possibilities.
My off-track racing with Jaxson. My love of risky sex with Val.
Or a secret on the level of the horrible ones we heard. The woman who molested me all those years ago... and where her body is.
My stomach heaved at the thought. Aiden can’t know about that. He couldn’t know anything about me. I’m too careful.
The little blue envelope leered at me from the carpet, the information within taunting.
“No one knows what is in those envelopes except for me.” Aiden’s words slid into my ear. “Not the brothers. Not anyone. If you refuse to share it, I’ll let you walk out of here right now and no one else will ever know what that note said.”
He swept out his hands as if to embrace us. “But if you stand up and return the trust that was given to you, you can count yourself a brother, and a Sam, for life.
“Colton.”
Colton looked at us for help. None of us could give it.
With hands that shook, he opened the envelope and took out a single cream card. His face went white as a sheet.
“N-no,” he rasped. “I can’t—”
“Then leave.” Aiden’s tone was unforgiving.
“This isn’t the whole story! She—”
“Read it or go, Trent. Those are your options.”
Colton squeezed his eyes shut. I thought he might cry.
“I... was—” He stopped. Yes, he was definitely crying. “I was accused of r-rape.”
Luca shot away from him. The shock on his face mirrored my own.
“I was never charged because my accuser disappeared. But it’s not what you think!” he burst out. “I didn’t do anything! She was my ex. She lied to get back at me for dumping her.”
Aiden acted like he didn’t hear him. “Luca Esposito.”
Luca straightened. “I don’t have any secrets,” he croaked. “None like that.”
Aiden waited.
Slowly, Luca opened the note. His jaw slackened as he read. “How did you...?”
“Read it or leave, Romano.”
“But I haven’t told anyone,” he cried.
“I won’t repeat myself.”
Luca flushed red under the candlelight. Every muscle of his being strained to keep his secret in.
“I’m gay!” he shouted under the white flag of surrender.
“Miles Beck,” Aiden continued.
Miles opened his without protest. Aiden would not grant mercy, so why plead?
“I stalk my neighbor,” he said tonelessly. “She doesn’t know about the hundreds of photos I’ve taken of her.”
“Lincoln Iona.”
Lincoln read his so softly we barely heard, but it was still loud enough.
“My father cheats his clients. We bought our third beach house with the pension he stole from an elderly couple.”
“Austin Worth.”
Austin looked at me.
Why does he keep looking at me?! I can’t save him! I can’t stop this!
My nails dug sharply into my palm as he tore open his envelope. A sudden urge to snatch and tear it up overcame me. This was wrong and their supposed “show of trust” didn’t change it.
“Austin, don’t—”
“My father, Senator Worth, funnels foreign aid money into his own businesses overseas? That’s not true!” Austin reared up. He threw the card in Aiden’s face. “You have no proof!”
The president didn’t flinch. “I have proof, Austin, but I doubt you want to see it. Sit.”
Austin stumbled back onto the couch like the command was a physical blow.
Then Aiden turned to me. “Ezra Lennox.” He reached up and finally dropped his hood. Aiden bore into me with an intensity that put my hairs on end. “Read it.”
He doesn’t have anything on me. I know he doesn’t.
The envelope whispered to me, daring me to test that theory. Or maybe that was Aiden.
“Read it, Ezra.”
My body moved of its own volition—bending, reaching, closing around the final secret.
I opened it.
My brother’s gambling problem landed him in deep with a dangerous cartel. If they find him, they’ll kill him.
The words blurred. A loud, high buzzing sounded in my ear, drowning out Lincoln’s cries.
It’s a lie.
The paper crumpled in my fist.
It has to be a lie.
“Read it, Ezra.” Insistence made Austin’s voice louder. “Go on. Tell us!”
I didn’t get the choice to refuse.
“Don’t you trust your brothers?”
The swirling emotions. The stomach-wrenching pain. The sheer horror of this cruel act. I took it all... and locked it away.
Getting to my feet, I gazed c
almly into Aiden’s eyes—the mannequin man once again.
“No,” I said evenly. “I don’t.”
His brow twitched. “What? Do you think it’s a lie? It’s all true, Ezra. I have proof.”
“I’m sure you think you do.”
In front of everyone, I folded the note and put it in my pocket.
“It’s been a fun semester, gentlemen,” I said to the room. “But on further thought, I don’t believe this fraternity is for me. Good luck to you.” I glanced at the men kneeling on the floor. “You’ll need it.”
I turned my back on them.
“I didn’t say you could leave, Lennox,” Aiden snapped.
Giving no sign I heard him, I marched up the stairs. Heavy footfalls followed me.
“Ezra!”
I threw open the door. I made it as far as the front hall before he seized me.
“You’re not even going to ask how I found out?”
I spun around and roughly knocked him off. Aiden recovered fast. He grabbed my collar and shoved me against the living room door. I gasped as his forearm pressed down on my neck.
“You were smart not the read your secret. I was never going to let you become a brother,” he hissed. “Did you think you were the only one who has hacker friends?”
My eyes flared for more than lack of air.
A grin spread across his face. “Yeah. I know you haven’t stopped digging into my life, Lennox. Lucky for me I can play that game too. Finding Luca’s porn stash and Miles’s creepshots took a minute. You weren’t so easy.” He punctuated his sentence by pressing harder.
“A little rich boy like you can afford the best of Maverick Tech. I couldn’t get into your computer, but your big brother isn’t nearly so protected.” Aiden tsked. “He’s really been incredibly stupid. It’s amazing he’s made it this—”
My hand flashed. I viciously jabbed my thumb in his soft, vulnerable eye.
“Argh!”
Aiden released me instantly. His arms flew up to clutch his face and I grabbed hold of one and twisted. Changing our positions, I shoved Aiden face-first into the door and yanked his arm behind his back.
“You fucking move and I’ll break it,” I said into his ear. “Now who’s the stupid one? You didn’t think the little rich boy would pay someone to teach him to fight?”
Of all the responses I expected from Aiden, laughter was not one of them.
