Page 81 of Furious
Mason laughs. “That video will protect my ass in case you decide to go tattle about the races to the mayor once you’re no longer involved. You two are lucky you made me a lot of money so far and that I like you. But don’t mistake my kindness for stupidity. Try to fuck me over in any way, and you’re going to find out how my family deals with rats. I promise you don’t want to do that. Now, do we have a fucking deal?”
His hand is still extended in front of him and the second I shake it, an ominous feeling weighs heavily on me.
Lev and I walk out of the barbershop in silence.
We don’t talk until we’re back inside the relative safety of my truck.
“You ok?” he asks as I grip the steering wheel with white-knuckle force.
“Not really.” I bite out. “So the Ducati is definitely the same bike that showed up in Bridgeport. This Smith guy was there when Atlas died.”
He clasps my shoulder and I turn to meet his gaze. Atlas might not have been Lev’s brother by blood, but Lev has always been one of us. Blinded by our own grief, we’ve failed to acknowledge that he lost someone important too on that racetrack.
“The police didn’t think Smith had anything to do with what happened to Atlas.” He reminds me.
“I know. They said if anything, he might have been the target of that unknown bike. But it’s impossible to tell. After that day, no one has ever seen anything like that happen again. And no one had seen Smith until now.”
Lev catches my drift. “So that’s why you agreed to approach him on behalf of Morelli?”
I bark out a laugh. “No. I agreed because I want out of those races. Did you hear what Mason said? He’s accepting online bets. Last time there were twice the people that showed up to watch and bet the first time. They’re greedy and cocky. They think they’re not going to get caught. But what if they do? What if we do? Dad might be unreasonable sometimes with his rules. And I don’t think banning motorcycles within city limits is the way to keep us safe. I don’t even care about getting arrested. I just don’t want to have to look into his eyes and see the disappointment if we get caught. I’m not going to back down when it comes to Zara, but this? Not breaking the law that he campaigned so hard for is the least I can do. And if the way to break free from Fox’s blackmail is to approach Smith and to convince him to hear Mason out, I’m game.”
Again, Lev reads between the lines. “And in the meantime, we could ask him what he knows about Bridgeport.”
It isn’t a question. “Can you blame me? I don’t think Smith is involved, but I want to know if he knows anything.” I don’t mention that since Smith reappeared on the tarmac, I’ve been having flashbacks of that day. I wasn’t even on the racetrack, but I can’t stop reliving that moment over and over again. Whether I’m awake or asleep. The only time when my mind has given me some respite is if Zara is asleep in my arms.
“Fine.” Lev agrees. “We’ll have to be smart about it, though. Smith is fast, but I have the feeling that for some reason, hedoesn’t want to be in the spotlight. He’s probably going to try to get away the second he crosses the finish line. So we’ll have to make sure we get in his way and stop him from driving away.”
“Sounds good.” I nod.
“Chance, do you really think that Morelli is going to keep his word and let us quit the races if we bring him Smith?”
The same question has been swirling around in my head from the moment Mason offered us that deal.
“I don’t know. I hope he’s gonna keep his word, but I have a bad feeling about this.”
Lev is on my same page. “Me too. I hope we haven’t made a deal with the devil and there isn’t going to be some hidden clause that ends up keeping us trapped.”
An ominous feeling sits heavily in my gut as I turn on the engine of my truck. I look left and right, relieved to find the rundown street of the old marina as empty as when I parked my truck earlier on.
I’m not built for lies and secrets. Between the races and having to pretend that I’m not head over heels in love with my stepsister, I’m in a constant state of paranoia. To the point that I always feel the need to look over my shoulder. Even now, negotiating my way out of the old marina, I check that I’m not being followed.
Reassured that there’s no one tailing us, I turn to look at Lev. “Where to? Wanna come to my place and play video games?”
He shakes his head. “Not really. Zara texted me earlier that her last class of the day was canceled. I invited her to come over to my place. Why don’t you join us?”
“That would be cool, if you don’t mind. Since our parents have been back, I haven’t had much time with Zara.”
Lev smiles. “Then hang with us. I have a little surprise for Zara, something she and I talked about recently. I think you’re going to like it, too.”
The glint in his eyes tells me that whatever his surprise is, it’s something that requires Zara to be naked.
The question tumbles out of my mouth before I can think better of it. “What are we doing with her, Lev?” I turn to look at him as I stop at a red light. “I get it that we all want her and she likes each of us, so it made sense to give her time to figure out who she wants to be with. But it’s been weeks. Are we any closer to an answer than we were when she moved in? I don’t know about you and Ares, but if anything, I care about Zara more now than I did two months ago. I’m falling for her and I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do if she doesn’t choose me. Judging by the way Ares looks at her, I think he’s as far gone as I am. Where are you at, man? If I had to take a guess, I’d say you have it for her just as bad as me and my brother.”
That’s it. I said how I feel, now the ball is in Lev’s court.
“I’m falling for her, too.” He says, confirming exactly what I was expecting to hear.
“Then why are you helping us? Why did you offer Ares to cover for him, and why did you just ask me to come along to your date?”
