“What the fuck?” some dude groaned beside me.
“Boo,” a girl jeered.
“Gross,” someone else whined.
Riley slammed the laptop closed, making the screen behind him go black, and his nervous gaze darted around the room. Judging by his expression, he wasn’t seeing any faces of people who’d enjoyed what they’d just seen.
His eyes went darker than the screen as he found me. If he had any sense left in his brain, it seemed to abandon him now. Riley took off, storming toward me and Mads as his chest puffed up and hands balled into fists, readying to fight.
I was prepared for this and urged her to get behind me and Jorge.
“You fucking asshole,” he roared, pushing his way through the people.
I wasn’t scared. I was bigger, faster, stronger. “What are you talking about? I gave your video to Scott just like you asked me to.”
He’d nearly reached us when several of my former frat brothers intervened. The last thing they wanted was a fight breaking out, and they tangled together, holding him back as I stood my ground.
“You brought this on yourself,” I said. “You could have left us alone, but no. You had to keep pushing. You wanted to humiliate us, and instead you got a taste of it instead. How does it fucking feel?”
Riley squirmed against the arms locked around him. “Get off me.”
“Right now, you should be asking yourself, was that all the video you sent me?” I gave him the most serious look I had as a warning. “What if the full thing got posted somewhere, where everyone could see? How do you think your friends and family would like that?”
Well, that got his attention. Riley abruptly stopped struggling with his brothers and his face went blank. “You wouldn’t.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Don’t make us.”
“Come on, Riley,” said one of the brothers who’d been holding him back. “Let’s take a walk.”
Because the Sigs needed to defuse the situation. If they could get him out of the house, or at least out of the basement, and calm him down—it’d be better for everyone. Up front, the screen lit back up with the image of a desktop, and a Sig picked up the mic, declaring they were moving on to the next presentation.
Anything to get people’s attention away from us in the back.
I didn’t know what the plan had been for Riley, or why he’d thought showing the video of me and Mads together was a good idea. Jack had told us his brothers weren’t happy about him doxing us. Did he think forcing the video on them was going to somehow change their minds and he’d come out looking like a hero?
Maybe it was the other way around and he felt he had nothing left to lose.
He was realizing now that wasn’t true. He still had a lot to lose. Everyone had heard him confess to cheating, his solo performance hadn’t been well received, and any loyalty the Sigs had toward him?
It was gone now.
He stood rooted to the ground, tension holding him in a tight, unnatural pose, and stared at me, considering his options. If he broke free and tried to fight me, I’d win. I had the physicality and the support of the guys around us, and when that was done, I had the threat of posting his unedited video.
Riley shook off the guys’ hold, and his face twisted with a mixture of anger and fear, and for the first time ever . . . he seemed to acknowledge he was beaten. His chest heaved with his uneven breath, and then he abruptly turned. He stormed off for the stairs, going so fast and determined, he didn’t slow down when his shoulder collided with another guy’s and sent him reeling.
I blew out a long, calming breath as he plodded up the steps with two Sigs following close behind him, making sure he was going. Mads’ hand found mine, linking us together, and I gazed at her with relief.
“That went better than I thought it would,” I said.
“Yeah.” Her shoulders relaxed. “Same.”
Adrenaline had pumped through my body, preparing me for battle, and now that the threat was gone, I was riding a high. But we barely got a moment to ourselves before Charlie, the Sigs’ president, appeared.
“Colin, hey.” Even in the low light of the basement, I could see just how embarrassed he was. “I’m sorry about Riley, and what he tried to do.”
“Just so you know, Mads and I will be filing a complaint against him with the ethics board.”
He nodded. “That’s understandable, but maybe I can save you the trouble. I’ll be calling a house vote tomorrow morning about Riley losing his Sig membership.” He had a cup of beer in one hand and used the other to massage the back of his neck. “Given all the shit he’s pulled, I expect it’ll pass unanimously.” Charlie’s gaze slid from me to the girl at my side. “He cheated at the tournament?”