Page 83 of Furious
The way she beams at both of us as we usher her into Lev’s house gets me to relax even more.
Maybe this could really work. Maybe we don’t need Zara to choose just one of us. If Ares has a problem with this plan, he’s the one who risks losing it all. I just hope for his sake that he can be open-minded about it and hear Lev out.
Sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways. If we sort things out with Morelli and we get to quit racing, there’s going to be no need to tell Zara how many stupid risks Lev and I have been taking lately.
We could be together and just be happy. We’re going to tackle our families eventually, but at least between the four of us, there would be no more secrets.
Chapter 22
Total Insanity
ARES
What the fuck are Lev and Chance doing at Noel’s barbershop again?
At first I felt guilty about following them, but my gut tells me that I was onto something and now I know I was right.
My spidey-sense is confirmed when they walk out of the shop looking tense and, upon waiting a few minutes, I see who else was in the barbershop with them and Fox.
If Mason Morelli is involved in whatever is going on, I’m sure something is definitely very wrong.
A part of me regrets that I didn’t think about using some surveillance equipment, so I would have heard whatever was said in there.
But I couldn’t have really taken equipment out from the sheriff's station without justifying the reason. And when I almost ordered some online, guilt made me hesitate.
Now, however, I wish I had listened to the little voice in my head that Chance and Lev are up to no good.
Guilt comes back to bite me in the ass, as I get into the car I borrowed from Olivia—my Jeep would have been way too recognizable—and follow Chance’s truck. I make sure I keep enough distance that it isn’t blatantly obvious that I’m tailing them.
My brother and Lev don’t know Mason Morelli as far as I’m aware. Morelli is around my age. He came to town to join his uncle’s “business” a couple of years ago after a stint in jail in Florida. He was caught on a yacht with enough drugs to supply a place like Star Cove for decades. Something like that should have put him away for years, if not for life. The fact that he was out in a couple of months on some bullshit technicality is testament to the reach of his family’s influence.
So the fact that Chance and Lev were talking to Mason Morelli for several minutes is worrying to the point of alarm. If anything, Fox being involved is all the confirmation I need that they’re involved in something fishy.
That rationale helps me swallow down my guilt as I follow them out of the old marina and through downtown Star Cove.
Should I confront them or wait until I have a better idea of what they’re doing?
If this was anyone else, I would have told the sergeant at the station. I wonder if going directly to Sheriff Pullin would be a better option, but I immediately scrap the thought. I had to work really hard to get my peers and superiors at the station to see me as another cop, rather than the mayor’s son who grew up having BBQs with the sheriff and his family every weekend. So skipping the proper chain of command wouldn’t make my life at work any easier.
The other con about informing the sheriff of my suspicions is that my father would hear about it within a few hours since Chance and Lev were involved.
My best bet is to get a better idea of what exactly is going on before I make any decisions on how to handle the situation.
I know I’m skating on thin ice here, and if a crime is being committed, I might not be able to protect my brother and my best friend.
When it’s obvious that Chance is going to Lev’s house, I slow down to make sure they don’t spot me.
Once I’m sure that they’re not making any other stop, I make up my mind that I should confront them head on.
I’m about to round the corner into the final stretch of road that leads up to Lev’s house when Zara’s car drives past me.
I hesitate as I watch her driving through the tall wrought-iron gate that surrounds Lev’s family home.
They better not have gotten Zara mixed up with whatever the fuck they’re doing with Morelli. If they did, so help me, God.
We had agreed to keep Zara as far as possible from Fox. The ominous feeling in my gut worsens with every passing minute, and I finally park next to Zara’s brand new Audi.
Hesitation hits me square in the chest once again as I take the key out of my pocket. Lev gave it to me to let myself in whenever I want to use his house to be alone with Zara. Even without considering that we’re vying for her heart, using the key to sneak up on them would be an asshole move. But I want to drop in on them without warning to see what they’re talking about.
