Page 10 of Furious
Ares looks at me for a long moment and I almost shit myself.
“I have to tell you something,” He bites out.
That’s it. He knows. Don’t ask me how, but he knows about the bikes.
“Shoot.” I grin, hoping to project a bravado I don’t feel at all.
“In a second. I need to speak to both you and Lev.”
What the fuck? Is there any way he could know what we’re up to? Could Adam have called him even though he assured us that he wouldn’t tell a soul that we took our bikes back to Star Cove?
I guess there’s only one way to find out. The good news is that Ares is here alone and in his civilian clothes. So if he does know, he isn’t immediately turning us in for breaking the law.
“Hey.” Lev comes into the living room, cool as a cucumber, carrying two plates of loaded nachos. “We were about to watch a movie and eat something. There’s enough for you too, if you want to stay. What brings you here, by the way?”
Ok, maybe not as cool as I thought.
That question raises Ares’s hackles. “Do I need a fucking reason to come home to see my brother?”
Shit. Lev and I need to take a chill pill. We’re too jumpy, and the last thing we need is to make my brother suspicious.
“No, dude.” I try to keep my tone as casual as possible. “But we haven’t seen much of you lately and it’s a pleasant surprise, that’s all. What did you want to tell us?”
I brace myself for the other shoe to drop. The truth is that even if Ares didn’t somehow find out about the bikes, this can’t be good. He’s been avoiding this house like the plague since he moved out, so I’m sure he didn’t come here to invite us to a birthday party or something equally pleasant. If anything, Ares isn’t the party type. That would have been Atlas.
“I don’t know how to tell you guys this, so I guess I’m just going to come out and say it. I was out on a call earlier today and I bumped into Calvin Fox.”
Yeah. That doesn’t surprise us, but I gasp, trying to sound as shocked as possible by the news. If Ares is here to tell us that, he probably doesn’t know what Fox is up to. And we need to keep it that way. Hopefully we’ll beat him in next week’s race and send him back into whatever hole he crawled out from.
“The fuck?” Lev is an excellent actor. He must have had my same idea.
“I know.” Ares’s scowl deepens. “The piece of shit isn’t even from around here. I wanted to let you know, just in case you bump into him. After the last time we saw him, there’s a lot of bad blood between him and our family.”
Ok. I think Ares has no idea about next week’s race.
“Thanks.” I bite out. “It’s good to be prepared if we see him.”
My brother nods. “Look, I don’t know what he’s doing in Star Cove. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out why he’s here. I’m hoping he’s not here…”
Or maybe he suspects? Now I’m fairly sure his next words are going to be “to organize an illegal motorcycle race and get revenge on us for how things went down in Bridgeport.”
Ares, however, surprises me again. “I hope he isn’t here looking for Zara. I know she still has friends in Shell Cove. Maybe Fox heard that she’s back in California and wants to start trouble. If he heard about our parents’ wedding, he might be trying to get revenge on Dad and us by trying to hurt her.”
Holy fuck.
In a way, it’s good that Ares seems to be none the wiser about the race. But he’s actually right. I hadn’t thought about that.
Before being the twins’ old rival, Fox is Zara’s ex.
Lev is the first to recover from the news. “You’re right. Do you think we need to warn her?”
Ares’s mind isn’t made up about it. “I don’t know. Maybe she should know, so she isn’t blindsided if she bumps into him. On the one hand, I want her to be able to watch out. But I don’t want to scare her or make her feel like she isn’t safe.”
I know what Ares means, but I don’t think we should keep this news from Zara. I actually feel bad that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind until he mentioned it.
“This is a fresh start for her and Kelly, and I don’t want her to be worried.” I agree with him. “But at the same time, I think she should know.”
Lev backs me up. “Yeah. We can keep her safe. But it’s good if she’s aware of the situation.”
