Page 12 of Furious (The Six Six Six Rule #2)

Like last week, a small group of us sneaks out of the fence at the end of the Gamma house backyard.

We walk down Greek Row, passing the dorms and getting toward the end of campus. It’s getting late and we don’t encounter anyone as we walk past the hockey arena and the football fields.

As we cross the same wooded area we navigated last week, Lev and I stay behind.

We didn’t trust Dave to keep our bikes safe, so I came here straight after the game and parked my truck behind a thicket of trees right before we come into view of the derelict hangar with the other motorcycles.

A noise makes me turn around, and I point the light in my phone, scanning the woods to identify the source. “Did you hear that? It sounded like a twig snapping.” I whisper to Lev.

“No, I didn’t. It must have been a bunny or something like that. These woods are full of small and not so small animals. Remember a few years ago there were those articles in the Gazette about sightings of a black panther in these woods?”

I roll my eyes, lowering the bed of my truck. “A fucking panther? That’s impossible. Panthers don’t live in California.”

Lev agrees. “They don’t. But the theory was that someone could have imported one illegally as a pet and then freed it in these woods when it grew too large.”

I lift the tarp and I’m relieved to find our bikes underneath, just the way we left them. “What kind of stupid fuck would get a panther as a pet? They’re predators, not kitty cats.”

“Yeah,” Lev sighs. “Some people have more money than sense. And to think that my parents never even allowed me to get a puppy.”

Another noise makes me turn. “Come on, you must have heard that.”

Lev doesn’t look worried. “Relax, dude. There’s no one here. Let’s hurry up and go meet the others. I left Zara with Heather and the other Zetas. She didn’t feel like drinking, so she was helping Candace run the game. I want to take her home when we’re done with this shit.”

I pass Lev the bags with our helmets and gear.

We aren’t bothering with race suits, but we have proper riding shoes and reinforced leather jackets.

“Oh, come on, dude. Can I take Zara home tonight? You got to dance with her, and I had to watch. If you’re going to be the official boyfriend for now, you’re going to get a shit ton of time with her, anyway.

Especially once our parents are back from their honeymoon. ”

“How about the one of us who places better in the race gets to take Zara home?”

I don’t think it’s fair, but I’m confident I can be faster than Lev, so I agree. “Fine.”

There’s another rustling noise but, again, I can’t see anything. “If that’s a panther,” I grumble, untying the cords we used to secure the bikes. “I hope it comes out and attacks Fox’s ass.

“Right.” Lev chuckles. “He’s such a piece of shit that I bet even a starving predator would pass on his ass. And that stands for both Fox brothers. If anyone found out that he used the fraternity’s initiation to trap us into racing, he would get kicked out. Maybe even expelled from college.”

I thought about it too, but it isn’t that simple. “Yeah. That would have worked if my dumb ass had listened to you last week and said no to racing. If we report him, I’m sure we’re gonna go down with him too. Dad would kill me if he knew.”

Lev is way more understanding than I deserve. “It’s not your fault, brother. Gamma initiations are always pushing the limits. We had no choice but to race or we would have failed the task. How could we know that it was a trap?”

Once the bikes are untied, we make quick work of unloading them and walk the rest of the short way down to the clearing where the old hangar is located.

“What the actual fuck?” I mutter under my breath when I see the people assembled in the clearing around the hangar.

LEV

I should have known that this thing would spiral out of control. I just didn’t think it would happen so quickly.

Last week, the only witnesses to the race were our Gamma brothers and teammates.

This week there’s a small crowd gathered around the starting line.

I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised that Fox would bring some sort of following with him. But these are way too many people to be sure that what’s about to happen will stay secret.

A blonde woman in a miniskirt so short that it looks more like a wide belt approaches me and Chance, holding a basket.

“Phones please.” She demands.

“Angela?” I gasp, recognizing Heather’s best friend. “What are you doing here?”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m working the event, duh.”

God, give me strength. “Yeah, I can see that. But this thing should have been a secret. How?—”

“Are these assholes giving you trouble, sugar?” Calvin Fox comes to stand at Angela’s side.

He’s in a black and yellow leather race suit, and a matching helmet is tucked under his arm.

“I’ve always known that you were a piece of shit.” Chance bites out before Angela can answer Cal’s question. “My brothers always said that. But you’re a fucking dumb ass too.”

The smarmy smile on Fox’s face widens. “Nice to see again too, Hunter.”

“Seriously.” Chance continues. “What the fuck is this? I know you’re aware that even keeping a motorcycle in your garage is illegal in Star Cove. A race between us was already risky, but what are all these people doing here? There must be, like, fifty people out here.”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself about,” Cal shrugs. “Like you just said, we’re taking a risk by doing this. Inviting some acquaintances who wanted to come and bet on the race just makes it worth my while. We even have a handful of people who want to race. I’m charging them an entry fee.”

This is bad.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” I intervene. “If news gets out?—”

“Calm your fucking tits, will you? First off, the people here tonight are just friends of friends. If they’re gonna bet, they’re breaking the law too.

And if we get caught, they won’t get paid.

So it’s in their best interest to keep their mouths shut.

And I’m taking precautions.” He points to the basket in Angela’s hands.

“Everyone has to surrender their phones. So no one will be tempted to film the race. There’s going to be no evidence once the race is over, and my crew is going to make sure that we leave this place the way we found it. ”

I’m not convinced. And besides, I wouldn’t trust this asshole as far as I can throw him.

“Friends of friends?” I challenge him. “Do you know that Angie’s best friend with the sheriff’s daughter? If Heather hears about this, we’re all fucked.”

The anger in Angela’s tone surprises me. “Heather can go fuck herself. She doesn’t need to know everything I do or everyone I hang out with.”

“Oh, come on,” Chance argues. “You two have been joined at the hip since kindergarten. You’re like clones of each other.”

“No, we’re not.” Her voice cracks, as her eyes fill with tears.

“I always considered Heather a sister; but since your stepsister arrived in town, it’s obvious our friendship was one-sided.

Did you know that she wanted Zara to try out for the cheerleading team?

Cheerleading had always been our thing. And she knew how much I wanted to be a Zeta, but she used her influence to score an invitation to pledge for Zara. I didn’t get invited.”

I intervene. “You shouldn’t be too hard on Heather. She’s just trying to make Zara feel welcome. Friendship isn’t a competition and you should get to know Zara too. She’s awesome.”

That was the wrong thing to say. “Yeah. So awesome that you couldn’t wait to date her. And Heather knew I had a thing for you for years, and encouraged Zara to go out with you. With best friends like her, who needs enemies?”

Shit.

I hate hurting people, but there isn’t anything worse than someone who won’t listen when they’re told the truth.

“Angie, we’ve talked about this a million times. You’re great, but I don’t see you that way, ok? It’s unfair to blame Heather for something she had absolutely no say in. And she encouraged Zara to go out with me because she realized that we liked each other.”

My attempt to smooth things over does more damage than good.

“Fine.” Angela snaps. “I hope you and Zara are happy together. But that doesn’t change the fact that Heather should have been more supportive of me and my feelings. I was sick and tired of being in her shadow, anyway. So I decided to find some new friends.”

One of the reasons why I was never attracted to Angela is that she’s always followed Heather’s lead. Her personality has always been what Heather wanted it to be. I’m glad for her that she finally decided to be her own person, but hanging out with Fox is a terrible way to assert her independence.

“Cal isn’t your friend.” I bark, grabbing her forearm to pull her away from him. “Do you wanna know how he treats his dates? Ask Zara how we met her.”

She shoves me off. “I know everything. He told me that Zara was a cocktease. Have fun with that, by the way.”

I raise my voice. “Don’t you get it? This fucker doesn’t take no for an answer. He’s gonna force himself on you if you don’t?—”

“You can’t force the willing.” She shuts me up. “Now, are you and Chance going to put your phones in here, or what? Like Cal said, no filming.”

I throw my phone in the basket, more eager than ever to show Fox that a lot of things might have changed in the past two years, but Chance and I can still beat him on the tarmac.

“Suit yourself.” I level her with a hard stare. “But when he fucks you over, don’t come crying to us.”