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Grasping her chin, I looked into her emerald eyes and smiled. “I think it’s cute.”
Grinning, she jerked her chin out of my hold. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
A car came up behind us, so I pressed the gas. It wasn’t long before we were on the highway and headed east toward Wilmington.
“What were you and Ripp talking about?” Peyton asked, breaking the silence. “And like I said earlier, I could tell something was wrong. You don’t have to keep things from me.”
Reaching over, I threaded my fingers with hers. “I don’t plan on it, Peyton. Although I’m not gonna lie, I am a little worried about how you’ll see me after I tell you.” I glanced over at her, and she froze.
“Just tell me, Ethan. It’s better to get it all out, and we’ll go from there.”
With my other hand clutching the steering wheel, I kept my eyes on the road. I had no idea what she would say when I told her my secret. There were selfish reasons why I did what I did. I had let the money get to my head. Did I care about the money now? No, but it was bad for a while.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. “You know Ripp and I used to go back and forth to Vegas often, right?”
“Yeah,” she replied, drawing out the word slowly. “You spent a lot of time at the Labyrinth. I know that.”
“You don’t know all of it,” I said, glancing over at her. “We signed up for a lot of fights. More than what we should’ve.” It wasn’t healthy or safe to fight as much as we did.
Peyton squeezed my hand. “That’s not surprising. Was it every day?”
“Pretty much,” I replied.
“Well, at least you’re taking a break now. Did you think that was going to make me mad? You’re a big boy, Ethan. It was your decision to make.”
With a heavy sigh, I peered over at her. “That’s not all.”
Her face fell. “Oh, God. Now you’re scaring me.”
I turned my focus back to the road. “A lot of people placed bets on me, Peyton.”
She snorted. “Of course, they would. You’re amazing and they knew you’d win.”
I decided just to let it out. “Seth Michelson was involved.”
The car grew silent, and when I looked over at Peyton, her mouth dropped. “Are you fighting for him?”
“No,” I stated adamantly, “it’s not like that. However, he is the one who brought in the extra people to watch the fights.”
“What does Kase say about it?” she asked. “Surely, he doesn’t want the mafia overrunning the club.”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t. But he loves the money, just like Ripp and me. I didn’t want anyone to know what I was doing because I was ashamed.” I tightened my hold on her hand. “I let the money seduce me. There was so much of it that I became addicted to winning it.”
“How much are we talking? Is it more than when you compete?”
“Way more,” I said, meeting her gaze in the darkness.
Her brows furrowed. “How much are we talking? Like hundreds of thousands?”
“No.” I turned my attention back to the road. “Millions.”
She gasped. “Millions. Holy freaking shit! Ethan, that’s insane. You’ve only been going back and forth to Vegas for a few months.”
“I know.” I’d earned enough in those few months that I could stop everything and just retire.
“And Seth isn’t forcing you to fight?”
“No,” I replied truthfully. “Seth and I would have a huge problem if he tried to force me. I did it all on my own. The last time I fought was before Reagan and Braden’s wedding.”
