Chapter 4
Safe And Sound
LEV
“Zara, you can ride with me.” Heather offers when we get back to our vehicles parked on Greek Row.
“Hmm, I’m not going home. I’m staying at Lev’s tonight. I already texted my mom to let her know.”
The sheriff’s daughter rolls her eyes. “Duh, I know. If we’re discussing the situation, I think I should come too.”
I look at Chance and Ares, and by the look on their faces, I know we’re all on the same page. It’s nice that we can still agree on some things. Maybe there is some hope that Chance and I will be able to salvage our relationship with Ares despite the events of the last twenty-four hours.
“Actually, Heather,” I use my gentlest tone.
“It would be better if you went home. It isn’t that unusual that Zara and Chance spend the night at my house.
And no one ever keeps tabs on Ares’s whereabouts since he got his own place.
If you don’t go home, your parents might start asking questions, and that’s the last thing we need right now. ”
“But I—”
Zara intervenes. “Lev is right, babe. Look, the guys have practice in a few hours anyway, and you have an early class on Friday mornings. Right now, we’re all going to bed. I’ll see you later today and update you on everything we discuss at breakfast, is that ok?”
“Fine.” Heather relents. “But you need to tell me everything.”
“I promise.”
With Heather on her way to her house, Zara climbs in the front seat of Chance’s truck. Ares follows us in a car I don’t recognize.
“That isn’t Ares’s Jeep.” I observe, turning to look at the sedan he’s driving.
“The dipshit went all out on a full covert operation on us. Maybe he rented a car.”
I can see Chance’s glare through the rearview mirror as he drives out of the campus main entrance.
Chance isn’t the only one who’s mad at Ares.
I really didn’t appreciate the way he acted when he walked in on us and Zara.
He can be possessive all he wants when it comes to the outside world, but he doesn’t get to do that with me and Chance.
Zara made it clear that she doesn’t want to choose, and if Ares gave her an ultimatum, he might have a bad surprise.
I don’t want to see my best friend get hurt, but he needs to understand that Zara’s happiness is mine and Chance’s priority, and it should be his own too.
He also doesn’t get to judge us for what we do in bed.
The ride home is a short one, and I’m relieved when neither of my parents’ vehicles are anywhere in sight.
They were going to the same fundraiser Scott and Kelly were attending at the Country Club, so my bet is that they either got a room there or they went back to their office, where they stay more often than at home.
Usually, that bothers me. Scott and Kelly might be causing problems for Zara, Chance, and Ares by being too involved in their kids’ lives, but they meddle because they care.
To my parents, I’m not much more than an asset, like the artwork or the stock portfolio they invest in.
For once in my life, though, I’m glad my parents don’t care that much about what I do.
I’m tired, and all I want is to go to bed with my girl in my arms. Without parental prying eyes, I don’t have to worry about whether Chance is going to join us.
That isn’t really a hypothetical though; if Chance had wanted to sleep alone, he would have dropped us off and gone home.
“Does anyone need a snack before we head to bed?” I ask as I grab a few bottles of water from the fridge in the kitchen.
“No, thank you.” Zara yawns. “I’m beat. But I need a shower before bed. I smell of exhaust fumes and grass.”
She accepts the bottle of water I offer her and then heads toward the stairs.
“Not so fast.” Ares steps in her way, his arms crossed over his chest and his usual scowl on his face. “We have a lot to talk about.”
I open my mouth to tell him that we’re all too tired to talk, but Zara is quicker than me to react. It shouldn’t surprise me after seeing what she’s capable of on the racetrack.
She’s also not easily intimidated, and that’s as hot as her sexy body and her beautiful face.
“The shitshow we’re in is still going to be here in a few hours, Ares. Right now I’m too tired to even care, to be honest.”
“Fine.” Ares bites out. “But I’m staying here tonight. If you think going to bed will get you out of an uncomfortable conversation…”
She crosses her arms over her leather clad chest, mimicking Ares’s stance. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” She snorts. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go upstairs.”
He moves out of her way, and I’m hot on her heels, followed closely by Chance.
“Are you two trying to sneak into bed with Zara?”
She turns to return Ares’s glare over her shoulder. “They are coming to bed with me. You have two choices. Join us or shut the fuck up.”
Chance and I grin at each other at the way Ares’s jaw hits the floor.
“No? I didn’t think so. Good night, Ares.”
She climbs the stairs without another look at him.
“Well, fuck.” I say to Ares. “You know where my room is if you change your mind. If not, there are plenty of guest rooms. Pick one and we will see you tomorrow after practice.”
Zara
I’m furious and exhausted at the same time. That isn’t a good combination, especially when guilt is part of the mix.
I exhale, relaxing just a fraction when Lev closes his bedroom door behind him.
“Your brother.” I bite out, looking at Chance. “I love him to death, but sometimes I swear to God.”
Chance chuckles. “You aren’t the only one who feels that way about him. He’s a good guy; he would do anything for the people he loves. But he can be such an asshole.”
“You tell me.” I roll my eyes. “I know I’m not exactly innocent in this situation, but Ares makes up his mind about things without even letting other people explain.”
“That’s exactly the problem.” Lev agrees. “Even Atlas used to tell him that he needs to be more forgiving. And not just with others. Ares is tough on others, but he holds himself to some fucking impossible standards and carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
That’s exactly how Ares is.
My mind goes to the tattoo of Atlas with a globe on his shoulders that my stepbrother recently got. While the design portrays Atlas holding the heavens on his shoulders, that picture describes his personality to a T.
“I just hope that the night will help him see that there’s more than one side to this situation.
I know I fucked up by not telling you guys that I was on the racetrack that weekend in Bridgeport, and I’m sorry.
But I hope you believe me when I say that I have no clue who the person who hit Atlas is. ”
Chance takes my hand, pulling me closer. “I know. We believe you, baby.”
“I don’t know anyone who might want to harm me. And I haven’t even started processing that it happened again.”
Lev closes the ranks on my other side, pressing me closer to him and Chance. “We need to figure it out, though. They’re obviously out to get you, Zee. So it must be someone who has been watching you this entire time.”
I’ve given it some thought during the ride home. “The only person I can think of is Cal. The attack in Bridgeport was on one of his bikes, and he was furious with me after I ditched him. Even though he looked genuinely surprised earlier tonight when he saw that I was JJ Smith.”
“So he’s a better actor than he is a racer. I don’t think that motherfucker has one honest bone in his body.” Chance says. “And he doesn’t even have the guts to come after you openly. It’s exactly what I’d expect from a coward like him to get someone else to do his dirty work.”
That’s true. “Yeah, that’s how he’s always acted.
The day I met him a few years ago, he was being questioned after a race in San Francisco about some damage done to another team’s bikes.
He had gotten into an argument with their team captain over something stupid before the qualifiers and the day of the race, and the guy’s bikes were all fucked up. ”
“I remember that!” Lev says. “They couldn’t prove anything because Fox had an alibi, but you’re right. We spoke to those guys. They were a team from Sacramento. They thought Fox got one of his maintenance guys to sneak into the other team’s paddock and damage those bikes.”
Chance nods. “So it’s Fox’s go to, getting someone else to do his dirty work. But I can’t believe you were at that race and we didn’t get to meet. Did you race? I don’t remember hearing of JJ Smith before Bridgeport.”
“I was there with DJ and Wren’s family. They were visiting his grandmother in the city, and I tagged along and convinced them to go see the race.
DJ was helping me restore my dad’s old Aprilia and my pride and joy, the Ducati.
I wasn’t ready to race yet, but I wanted to see how things worked in the Super League since my only racetrack experience was with the MotoGP.
Not racing of course, but I grew up following my dad whenever possible. ”
Chance traces my jaw with gentle fingers, his blue eyes dark and intense. “It sucks that we didn’t meet that day. If you had met us before meeting Fox, maybe now we wouldn’t worry about your safety and you wouldn’t be forced to race for Morelli.”
I know what he means, but this isn’t how life works.
“It’s hard to tell. Yes, maybe we’d have met and we would’ve ended up here together, anyway. But there’s also the possibility that things had to happen the way they did to bring us here today.”
Lev knows what I mean. “Yeah. If Zee hadn’t met that piece of shit before us, we wouldn’t have stepped in to yank Fox away from her. And without that tragic incident during the race, Scott would have never run for mayor, and he wouldn’t have hired Kelly as campaign manager.”
“I like to think that I would have asked Zara out before Fox did,” Chance says.