Chapter 5 #2
Once each of us has a full plate of food, a coffee and a glass of orange juice in front of us, Ares crosses his arms over his chest.
By the looks of it, my brother has no intention of eating. I sense a lecture coming.
“I hope you know what an impossible situation you put yourselves and me in.”
He isn’t wrong, but his tone could definitely use some work.
“You wouldn’t be in this situation if you had minded your own fucking business and you hadn’t followed us incognito last night. You should have gone home after the game or whatever else you do when you don’t have to work.”
Ares’s jaw ticks as he shakes his head.
“Is this really what you have to say? Honestly, Chance. I don’t even know where to start in explaining to you how much you fucked up.”
“Hey now,” Lev intervenes before I can say anything in response. “Granted, the situation is pretty bad. But you should have all the facts before you blame everything on us. We had no idea that our frat president was Fox’s brother. The first race was just a handful of us on Rush Night.”
I back Lev. “That’s true, Ares. We were surprised to find out the bids had already been awarded and that would be an initiation task rather than just a rush event.
We had every reason to believe it would be just one race to get into the fraternity.
We had no idea that they were planning to use the initiation video to force us to keep racing. ”
He doesn’t see things that way. We shouldn’t be surprised when he doesn’t understand.
“That shouldn’t have mattered. You knew that initiation was fucking illegal. The second you saw a motorcycle, you should have walked away.”
I know he’s right, but I don’t want to admit it. “But how could we? Both Lev and I are legacies. Dad has been going on for years about how he loved his time in Gamma Delta Tau. How he was excited that one day I’d be his brother as well as his son.”
I’m full of shit and I know it. Of course, Ares doesn’t let me get away with it.
“Yeah, but let me take an educated guess and tell you that Dad would have rather you failed the initiation than break a law he’s put at the center of his campaign. He ran for mayor because he wanted to have a motorcycle-free town.”
I know all that.
“We wouldn’t have been allowed to reveal why we failed the initiation. Dad would have been disappointed in me, regardless.”
Ares rolls his eyes. “He would have gotten over the disappointment, Chance. Like he did when I dropped out of college and gave my fraternity pin back to the president. One thing to not follow in his footsteps. What you’re doing is fucking next level.”
“You know what?” A mixture of frustration and contrition swirls in the pit of my stomach.
“You’re right, we should have said no. Of course we would have if we had realized that it was a trap to have us racing.
But when I thought it would be just a one-time thing, I wanted to do it.
Any time I saw a bike, even on TV, I thought about what we lost. I just wanted to exorcise that fucking memory.
I wanted to go on a bike and prove to myself that nothing bad would happen.
That day, nothing would have happened if that stray bike hadn’t cut into the race.
Banning motorcycles in Star Cove is pointless.
It isn’t going to bring back our brother. ”
To my surprise, Ares agrees with me. “That’s true. But whether we agree with the ban or not, it’s the law. And now you and Lev are being blackmailed into racing and because of that, Zara has been pulled into this mess, too. With Morelli involved, this is much bigger than a fraternity prank.”
Zara intervenes. “Ares, blaming Lev and Chance for what I did isn’t fair. I had a choice too, and I decided to race. Maybe thinking I could protect them from Cal was stupid, but I thought I could find a way to help them get out of it. That’s why I made that bet last night.”
“Princess.” Ares’s tone softens.
By the way he and Zara were kissing when we came home, it’s obvious that they cleared the air between them.
“I know your heart was in the right place, but I wish you had come to me with this rather than resurrecting JJ Smith. When I caught up with Smith and I saw it was you, my heart fucking stopped. We could have lost you too last night.”
There’s a beat of silence in the kitchen and I hate to admit it, but Ares is right.
If something had happened to Zara last night, I don’t know what I would have done.
“I know.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry.”
Ares covers her hand with his on the table. “I know you are. But whenever you’re involved, I lose my fucking cool and fuck the damn consequences. You’re new in town, princess. You might not know that Morelli and his family aren’t people you want to mess with.”
“In what way?” Zara shudders. “Mason gives me a bad vibe, but I just thought he was a bit of an asshole, like Cal.”
Lev explains before Ares or I can. “They’re criminals, Zara.
The Morellis own several businesses in town and all over California.
Mason’s father has made quite a name for himself on the East Coast. The thing is, everything looks legit for the most part, but those legit businesses are just the tip of the iceberg.
A front to cover up their real businesses. ”
“Like what?” Zara asks.
“Like drugs. That’s what Mason’s father's real business is out East. On this side of the country, the family is into even worse stuff. Prostitution and human trafficking. Obviously those are just allegations because so far they have been very good at covering their tracks and at using their legit businesses to launder the money that comes from the other stuff.”
Zara’s curiosity is peaked. “How do you know all that if they’re so good at covering it up?”
I’ve seen that expression on my best friend’s face before.
“My mom is Enzo Morelli’s lawyer. My parents’ law firm covers pretty much every legal discipline.
Mom specializes in criminal law, Dad deals with corporate law.
My uncle is a family lawyer and his wife does everything to do with entertainment, cinema and sports.
If I don’t get to play professional hockey, they expect me to go to law school and work alongside my aunt. ”
I reassure him. “You’ll get drafted or even better, you’ll get offered a contract.
You’re too good on the ice not to make it as a pro.
And Dad has got plenty of contacts even though for now he passed all his clients to his business partner.
Being Star Cove’s mayor isn’t compatible with being a sports agent.
Hopefully Dad will get tired of politics soon and return to his old job. ”
Ares interrupts me. “You and Lev would have every chance to turn pro if you kept your fucking noses clean. Forget about Dad for a second. But what would have happened if instead of letting you come home last night I had taken you to the station? No NHL team will sign a rookie with a criminal record.”
I’m about to tell him to fuck off. I’m tired of his holier than thou attitude. “You speak as if you had never done anything wrong in your life, Ares.” I bite out. “Ever since you got that police badge, you act as if you’ve never had a drink when you were underage or done something stupid.”
The tick in his jaw tells me that I struck a nerve.
“One thing is using a fake ID to buy a keg of beer for a party, another thing is getting involved in an illegal racing and betting ring controlled by the fucking mafia. But even if bikes weren’t illegal in town, and even if Morelli hadn’t turned the whole thing into a huge event that will eventually attract the sheriff’s attention, have you and Lev thought about the possibility of getting injured? ”
His words hit me harder than if he had punched me in the face.
“What would you say to your coach and to your teammates if you fell off your bike and couldn’t skate for the rest of the season, or worse put an end to your career even before it started?”
Fuck. He’s right.
“Jeez.” Lev runs a hand through his hair. “Just the idea of having to break the news to Coach Harrison is scarier than getting arrested or than having to face our parents.”
There’s a resigned look on Ares’s face as he looks at both of us. “So the real question now is what are we going to do? We need to get you guys and Zara out from under Morelli’s thumb.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.” I tell him. “How do you suppose we pay up what we owe Morelli?”
“If I think how close we were.” Zara gripes. “This is all my fault. If I had won last night’s race, all our problems would be gone.”
Ares sighs, but his tone is soft when he speaks to our stepsister. “Do you really think that paying him will make Morelli go away?”