Zara hands me the helmet she had just picked up and runs to greet Ares.
“Hey,” she surrounds his neck, pushing up on the tips of her toes to kiss him. “I thought you were on duty tonight.”
The stony expression on Ares’s face softens as he cups her jaw. “I was, princess. I asked one of my colleagues to cover for me. I would have been useless anyway if I had gone to work; my head would have been here the whole time.”
I don’t blame him. We’re all on edge after last week’s race. Ares was hoping that my parents would come through with somekind of magic solution that would allow us—or at least Zara—to skip tonight’s race. But when I spoke to my dad at lunchtime, he told us he needed a couple more days before we could make our move to end everything.
“Ares,” Zara’s voice is soft as she brushes his lips with hers. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”
The words intended to soothe him have the opposite effect.
“You can’t promise me that. What if that bike comes back? What if you get hurt? Maybe we should take our chances with Morelli and tell him that you aren’t racing, no matter what.”
“No.” She shakes her head vehemently, taking a step back from him. Her leather clad body is shaking. “I would rather risk being hit during the race than having to live watching my back for the rest of my life. You weren’t there when he confronted me at the Country Club. If I don’t race, he’s gonna hurt us all.”
Ares opens his mouth to argue, but I intervene, backing Zara.
“Zee is right. You heard my parents, Ares. I don’t think Morelli was bluffing. His aren’t empty threats.”
He knows that I’m right, but Ares is the most stubborn guy I’ve ever met. He could give his father a run for his money. “So what are we supposed to do? Let Zara risk her life? Either way, her safety is in jeopardy.”
“Chance and I will keep her safe.” I say after exchanging a look with Chance. “We have a plan.”
“What’s your plan?” Ares’s interest is peaked. “I’m ready to do anything to keep our girl safe.”
Our girl.
Not my girl. I stifle a smile at the thought that maybe there’s hope after all. Maybe Ares will come around to the idea that we’ll all be happier if we don’t ask Zara to choose between us.
“Chance and I will keep an eye on Zara. We don’t give a shit about winning the race. We’ll try to stay as close to her as possible, and if that bike comes back, we’ll protect Zara.”
Chance nods. “We won’t let anyone close to her.”
Ares doesn’t look entirely convinced. “I guess that’s better than nothing.”
I would take offense at his lack of faith in mine and his brother’s ability to protect the woman we love, but Zara’s reaction comes before I can say anything.
“Absolutely not.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Come again?” We’re all confused by her reaction.
Zara’s scowl darkens as she glares at each of us. “I appreciate the fact that you want to protect me. But I feel the same about each of you, guys. How do you think I would feel if, to protect me, one of you got seriously injured or worse?”
Fuck.
She isn’t wrong, but I would give my life to save hers, and I’m pretty sure Chance and Ares feel exactly the same way.
“We’ll be fine, Zee.” I try to appease her. “We won’t take unnecessary risks, I promise.”
“Bull-shit.” Her eyes are narrowed suspiciously when she calls my bluff. “I don’t believe you, Lev. I know you and Chance way too well, and you would totally risk your ass to save mine.”
I’m racking my brain to find something to say that will convince her that we know what we’re doing, but Chance decides to confront her head-on.
“You’re right. We will risk everything to keep you safe. So accept it and help us protect you.” He’s mimicking her stance, his arms crossed over his chest; the corners of his lips are curled in a defiant smile.
Zara’s mouth drops open with surprise. “What the fuck? You’re admitting that?”
Chance’s smile widens. “Yup. We love you, and we’ll protect you. No matter what. There’s nothing you can do to stop us.”
