the charities you sponsor every year. Spread some of this Evergreen wealth to people who need it.” My phone chimed. “One minute.
“Hello?”
“Rick.” A deep, unmistakable baritone rolled out of my speaker. “You busy?”
“No. What’s up, Aiden?”
What’s up, Aiden?
It still struck me cold that I was on a first-name/nickname basis with the guy. He called me up. We played poker and partied every other weekend. It was becoming commonplace to see his number on my screen.
“Listen. The guys are all agreed that we want you in. Come to the field tonight. Midnight. We’ll make it official.”
“An empty field in the middle of the night? Do you know what number they clocked my IQ?”
Val squeezed my hand. What’s going on? she mouthed
He chuckled. “Meaning you’re not stupid enough to come? After everything, you still don’t trust us.”
“You’re forgetting I know how you initiate people.”
“No one is going to make you spill your secrets in a basement, Rick. We do things differently in the club. If you want in, you’ll be at the football field tonight. Alone. I’m serious about that last part.”
Click.
“What happened?” Val asked.
I took a deep breath. “I realize that the next thing I say will cause you to want to come with me, but you can’t, so let’s get that out of the way.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Aiden told me to meet them at the football field at midnight tonight. It’s time for my initiation.”
“I’m coming,” she said predictably.
“He says I have to go alone.”
“I don’t give a fuck what he says.”
“If we show up together, he’ll forget the whole thing and not let me join. You know the guys are holding back with me. All they’ve done all summer is play poker, ask questions, and fool around. Surprisingly tame for the no-holds-barred club the book described. We can’t know what Aiden’s got them into until I’m in for real.”
Val nodded along. “I’m hearing everything you’re saying and it makes perfect sense, but here’s the thing”—she cupped her hand around her mouth—“you’re not going there alone! This guy kidnaps people. Six against one, Maverick. Even you would have trouble fighting them off.”
“Valentina—”
“My love, if you didn’t want me to flat out stalk you, you shouldn’t have told me where you’d be.”
“I— But—” Shit. Maybe I’m not a genius.
VALENTINA
“Mai, what are you still doing here?” Blair cried. “You were supposed to start your shift at the booth five minutes ago.”
Mai froze deer-in-headlights style. Olivia’s homemade caramel pretzel brownies hung half out of her mouth. Mom wanted to support me on my first day of welcoming new pledges, so she tossed in some goodies to go with the treats we put out for the looky-loos.
They were supposed to be for the Zeta Rho hopefuls. Instead, they were heading down my sisters’ gullets fast.
“I was just—”
“Go, Mai!”
She went.
I smothered a laugh as she grabbed her stuff and beat it out the door. I closed it behind her with a look to Blair. “I know you function on a steady drip of stress, but everything is going to be fine.”
“Fine?” she repeated. “How can you say that? These will be the first new sisters since us. It’s on our shoulders to pick the women who’ll carry on our legacy. And do I need to tell you what goes into making that decision?”
“No.”
“Extra bonding activities. Extra physical activities.” Blair rattled it off like I hadn’t spoken, fingers held up to illustrate. “We have to give them the test and take them to the obstacle course. You and I must keep eyes on them every second of every day to make sure our final ten are the girls who’ll represent Zeta Rho. And the initiation,” she burst out. “We’re not spilling secrets which means we have to think of another final test for the girls.”
“Blair.” I touched her temples, massaging tiny circles. “Deep breaths. In and out.”
“Be serious, Val,” she snapped even while she slowed her breathing.
“Everything is going to be fine. You’ll focus on the sisters and I’ll take on the pledges. I’ll book us the military obstacle course this week and for the initiation, we’ll do a game-show-style event where the sisters put together everything they’ve learned.
“Intellectual challenges that test them on the charter and general knowledge. And physical challenges like a tight rope, hurdles, stepping stones, or belly crawls. I looked it up and we can set all that stuff up in our backyard. They gave us a bunch of extra money in the budget to host rush and pledges. We won’t