Chance opens his eyes, and I realize that he’s been crying.
He blinks a few times as if he were having trouble putting his surroundings into focus. Then he meets my gaze.
“Atlas.” His voice breaks as he takes in my features. “It should have been me.”
What the fuck is he talking about? Does he really think he’s looking at my twin brother?
“Chance.” I shake his shoulder, trying to get him out of the daze he’s in. “I’m not him. I’m Ares. Atlas is?—”
He doesn’t let me finish. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It should have been me.” He says again. “You offered to let me race in your place since I was the one who qualified when you couldn’t make it in time. If I had said yes, you’d be alive. It should have been me on this bike. I should have been hit instead of you.”
Fuck.
I’m vaguely aware of the way Zara covers her mouth with her hand, unable to control her tears. Lev pulls her close, wrappinghis arms around her, but his own eyes are welling up as he bites his bottom lip to keep his composure.
My chest feels tight, the pain a physical entity as my heart aches.
“Chance.” I raise my voice, grabbing both his shoulders and shaking him a little harder, but not so hard that the bike between his legs could fall to the ground. “Wake up. It’s me, Ares. Atlas isn’t here. Chance, you’re scaring us.”
Nothing. He keeps looking at me, but he doesn’t see me. In the delusion he’s trapped in, I’m my late twin brother.
“You’re making Zara cry.” I say, in one last-ditch attempt to bring him back to reality.
Relief floods me when that does the trick.
“Ares?” Chance shakes his head. “I thought… I don’t know what the fuck I thought. You were him. You look exactly the same.”
Under any other circumstances, I wouldn’t be able to swallow the sarcasm at the obvious fact that Atlas and I were identical twins.
This isn’t the time or place to be an asshole, though. Not when the next words that leave my mouth cost me more than I think I can handle. “No, it’s Ares. Your other brother. Atlas is dead. Remember?”
Chance nods. “Yeah, I know.” He says slowly, his gaze becoming more focused. “But for a second there, I thought…” he shakes his head, then carefully dismounts his bike.
I don’t understand what’s wrong right now, but I’m worried. “Chance, what happened?”
My brother’s hands are shaking as he takes off his helmet. “I don’t know. This isn’t the first time it has happened. During one of the first races, when I saw JJ Smith, I choked. I thought I was in Bridgeport, on that racetrack where it all went down. I was in the lead, but I hesitated, and it cost me the race. When I saw thatdirt bike coming for Zara, it happened again, and I couldn’t keep going.”
Fuck.
I’m no expert on PTSD, but I think this is what happened to Chance. The realization dawns on me that getting caught racing and having to face our father’s anger and the legal consequences of breaking the law is the least of our worries. Chance could have gotten seriously hurt today. If the other drivers hadn’t seen him coming out of the curve, this could have really been a repeat of the worst day of our lives so far.
I don’t know how we’re gonna get out of this mess. I hope Lev’s parents really come through with some aces up their sleeves because the stakes just got higher.
Someone is hellbent on hurting Zara; this much is clear. And after what Chance just told us, there’s no way I can let him race again.
I can’t lose another brother, and Dad can’t lose another son. There’s no way I could ever look Dad in the eye if I let Chance race now that I know how he’s struggling.
“Well, well.” The reason why I’m going to have a problem getting Chance to stop racing is walking toward us. “If it isn’t today’s champion and her little harem. You made the house a heap of money today, Zara. Or do you prefer JJ?” Mason Morelli barks out a laugh but stops in his tracks when he reaches for Zara and Chance, Lev, and I close ranks around her to prevent him from touching her.
I swear to God, this guy is unhinged. Morelli doesn’t look intimidated by us; his smile widens. “There’s no reason to get all your panties twisted,” he chuckles at me and my brothers. “I just wanted to let Zara know that I’m pleased with her performance.”
“Yeah,” Lev says through gritted teeth. “You can say all that without touching her.”
“So if you made good money,” Zara says to Mason. “This means you can take a good chunk off what we owe you, right?”
Chapter 15
Ensnared
