Page 5 of Furious (The Six Six Six Rule #2)

I Have To Tell You Something

CHANCE

“ C hance?”

Ares’s voice makes me literally crawl out of my skin.

“Dude!” I clutch my chest with my hand, willing my heart to slow down. “You scared the shit out of me. I think I might have just used one of my nine lives.”

He comes into the living room, where I was about to put on a movie while Lev makes us a snack.

“Stop being so fucking dramatic.” He plops himself on the couch by my side.

“No seriously,” I argue. “You need to learn to make some noise. Maybe I’ll get you a bell to wear around your neck for your birthday next week.”

Ares rolls his eyes. “I made plenty of fucking noise. Do we need to get your hearing checked?”

I flip him off, my heart still racing in my chest.

Maybe he’s right. I did hear some noise. The reason why I’m so fucking jumpy is that I didn’t expect to see Ares here today.

My older brother rarely shows up here as of late. It’s just my luck that he decided to pop in the day I’m doing something wrong.

“I wasn’t paying attention. I was concentrating on choosing a movie.” I explain, fighting the urge to squirm. “What brings you here?”

His eyes bore into me and I swear to God, it’s like he knows I’m up to something.

I hope the sheriff uses Ares’s bad cop look during interrogations.

He’d have the perps crying and confessing to any crime in no time.

And my brother wouldn’t even have to open his mouth.

That look alone is enough to make me want to tell him that there are two motorcycles in the bed of my truck inside my garage.

It’s just my rotten luck that Lev’s parents chose today to have the home security system upgraded and we couldn’t put the truck in his garage like originally planned.

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.”

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 make sure 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.”

Ares shakes his head as if he was trying to make sense of Lev’s words. “You just called her your girlfriend. So what are you saying? You’re happy to let me and Chance go out with her? Kiss her? Fuck her?”

I would be lying if I said that I’m not jealous of Lev’s confidence.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I know Zara and I are perfect for each other.

If she has feelings for the two of you, I’d rather her explore them and get it out of her system.

Like this, she won’t have to wonder if she made the right choice in the end. ”