Mercy (Somerset University #3) - Ruby Vincent Page 0,56

others’ faces. My expression was blank as I said, “Whose?”

“Yours if I’m as good as I think I am. Mine if I’m not.”

I surveyed them, and then cast a quick look up at the stands. “You brought me here to fight.”

“Ding, ding, ding,” Rowen mocked. “He’s got it.”

“Why?”

Aiden threw out his hands. “What have we been saying all summer, Rick? If you want something, you have to fight for it with everything you’ve got. Anything less and you deserve to have it taken away from you. Every new recruit has gone against me on this field and only one has beaten me.” Aiden cut eyes to Sawyer. “Caught me with a kick to the head that put me out for four hours. That’s what it takes, Maverick. No Mercy.”

I should’ve been surprised. Admittedly, I wasn’t thinking fight club, but still, I knew he didn’t bring me out here to blow bubbles and hold hands dancing in a circle. What truly worried me was Val’s reaction when it started going down.

“So no rules?” I asked.

Nasir stepped forward. “No eye-gouging, hair-pulling, crotch shots, or shit like that. Otherwise, yes. No rules.”

“All right, then that brings me to my final question. Why in the fuck would I fight you to get into this club? I’m not in your fraternity. I don’t need poker money, and while the ladies you trade off sleeping with are lovely, I’ve got a lady of my own. You have nothing to offer me.”

Moving back, I tipped an imaginary hat to them. “Goodbye, gentlemen. It’s been fun.”

“Wait,” Aiden snapped.

“For what?” I turned my back on them. My phone was already in my hand to text Val to leave.

A flash streaked across my vision. Aiden planted himself in front of me. “Don’t be so hasty, Beaumont. I can offer one thing that would be of interest to you.”

I lifted my shoulders. “And that would be...?”

Leaning in, Aiden put his head by my ear. “The truth,” he whispered. “The complete, honest truth behind why I collect the information in that file you’ve been snooping in for weeks.”

My bones turned to lead.

He tsked. “You can’t be surprised? Didn’t you think the guy capable of creating that encryption would devise multiple methods of warning if it’s ever broken? I should be pissed but honestly, I’m impressed you hacked me in the first place. You’re smart, Rick, and you’ve got balls. That’s what I’m looking for.”

Aiden stepped back. The smirk he shot me this time was real. “If you want to know why, you’ll accept.”

My breaths came in strangled pants. Sharp pinpricks of pain radiated from my palm. I dug my nails in harder to anchor me in the shock.

Aiden was on to me. Likely from the very beginning. He knew the entire time I’ve been after the truth about him and now he’s offering to give it.

Why? Why when he has nothing to lose either way?

“Why?” I rasped.

“Because I’m getting pretty tired of you and your girlfriend—who I’m sure is somewhere nearby—treating me like a psycho killer. If you become one of us, there’ll be no need to conceal the truth and we can finally put this behind us.”

“And if I lose?”

“I don’t tell you shit.” Aiden’s eyes narrowed to slits. “And you stay out of my business. Do we have a deal?”

I resisted the urge to look for Val again. With every muscle straining to stop me, I raised my hand and grasped his.

We shook.

“Deal.”

VALENTINA

“Why in the hell is Aiden taking off his shirt?” Sofia hissed. “It’s not that kind of initiation, is it?”

“What kind?” I shifted, jiggling my numb foot.

She shoved my shoulder, nearly dropping me on my ass. “Come on, Val. You’ve seen porn with the best of them.”

I choked. “I have not!” My whisper-shout bounced around the empty space. “At least I haven’t seen any where a bunch of dudes lure my boyfriend to a football field and have their way with him.”

“That’s called a gang bang.”

“Behave or go to the car.”

She clapped a hand over her mouth to cover her giggles. I was glad she was enjoying herself because two hours in I was cursing Aiden and wishing Maverick told him to stuff his initiation down his throat.

Stuck between the rows and balancing on the balls of our feet to prevent our bodies from coming in contact with the myriad of unknown substances, was not how I wanted to spend my night.

We slipped in to wait without a hitch. The guys arrived together a half an hour before