Page 11 of Furious

Ares runs a hand through his short hair. “Fine. You’re right. But we need to keep her safe. We should make sure she isn’t alone too much. At least until we know what Fox is doing here. He hinted at being desperate for a job.”

That’s news to me. I was hoping he would leave after next week’s race. But if Fox is here to stay, we definitely need to makesure Zara watches her own back, since we can’t be by her side 24/7.

“Do you think we should talk to Dad about this when he comes back from his honeymoon? There’s an easy way out of this situation, I think. Dad has a lot of influence in town and he could spread the word about Fox being trouble. If no one in town hired him, the asshole wouldn’t have any reason to stay, right?”

My older brother nods pensively. “That could be a solution. Fuck knows, I’ve never liked to ask Dad to use his name to get ahead, but this is for a good reason. We need to protect Zara and I’m sure Dad will agree with this.”

I’m so busy trying to solve the situation and to understand if Ares has any inkling about the race that I miss something equally important.

“You care about her.” Lev says, staring Ares down.

It isn’t a question.

I don’t even know what I expected Ares to say, but I’m surprised when he just admits it.

“I do.”

“I do too.” My tone is hard, just in case Ares is planning to call dibs or seniority or anything stupid like that.

Lev crosses his arms over his chest. “I asked her to be my girlfriend, and she said yes.”

Every time he says that, I want to punch him in the face. But at the same time, I’m happy for him because he deserves an amazing girl like Zara. And Zara is lucky to have Lev. He’s the best guy in the world and if I had a sister? I would be happy to see her with him.

The problem is that Zara isn’t my sister. I want her just as much as Lev does, and I’d do anything to be the one she chooses in the end.

I can’t picture myself without Zara by my side, but I also don’t want to hurt Lev. Or Ares.

Fuck, this is confusing.

Ares’s steely gaze flits from me to Lev.

“What the fuck are you doing with Zara?” he scowls. “What the fuck am I doing with Zara?”

Lev smiles, as if having Ares in the mix didn’t make the situation even more complicated than it already is. “So you want her, too.”

“I do.”

I don’t know why, but for the first time, I feel threatened. While I know Lev and I can share Zara for the time being, I’m not sure Ares is going to want to let us have a fair shot.

“Are you sure? You didn’t seem so determined about that when Dad told us what he expects from us.” I challenge him.

He doesn’t back down. “Strangely enough, I haven’t been so sure about something for a long time. Not since…”

Ares doesn’t finish the sentence. He doesn’t need to. I know what he means.

There’s a beat of silence in the room as we all stare at each other.

Lev is the first to break the silence. “We all want her. And Zara likes us all.”

I can’t remember the last time I saw Ares smile the way he does at Lev’s words. The smile reaches his eyes. “Did she tell you that she likes me?”

There’s no point in lying to him. “She did.”

Lev explains. “She said she likes each of us. She doesn’t know us enough to choose.”

My brother’s next question is predictable. “So, what are we going to do about it?”

“If we all want her, the choice is up to her.” Lev shrugs. “We all see her while she figures it out.”