John’s smile fades, however, as he levels a hard gaze on us. I’ve seen that same look on Zara’s face, so I know that whatever he’s about to say, he means business.
“Like I’ve already said to Ares, however, the fact that I’m not going to always be physically present here, doesn’t mean I’m not gonna be here in the blink of an eye to make you wish you were never born if you ever hurt my daughter. Sorry, Scott.” He adds. “No offense to you, from one father to another, I hope you understand.”
“No offense taken whatsoever.” Scott reassures him. “It’s no secret that at first I was absolutely against my sons having any relationship with Zara other than a sibling one. But they convinced me and Kelly that they’re serious about her. So serious that they’re putting Zara’s happiness before their own possessive nature. The fact that I accepted their feelings for their stepsister doesn’t mean they can be less than perfect with her. I made that perfectly clear with both of them, and I’m confident they’ll behave the way we expect them to. Lev, on the other hand, is a gem, and I know we have nothing to worry about him. He’s the son-in-law every father would want.”
A smile spreads across my face at the vote of confidence I just received. “Thanks, Scott.”
“Dad!” Ares and Chance don’t look as satisfied with their father’s words as I am. “What the fuck?”
Scott winks at me. “The three of you have grown up together. And Lev has always been the one getting the two of you out of trouble. By the looks of it, things haven’t changed.”
“Gee, thanks.” Chance shakes his head, clearly offended.
“Don’t worry, babe.” Zara comforts him. “Your dad is just trying to get a rise out of you and Ares. See? He’s trying not to laugh. Anyway, now that we’re all caught up with who’s dating who, how about you tell us what you’re planning?”
Chance
Dad is the one who answers her questions.
“I think Zara should race. And we should be prepared to act when the mysterious biker shows up. The idea you guys had last time was the right one, but the only way I’m comfortable letting Zara take such a big risk is to amp up security. I already spoke to the sheriff and to Enzo Morelli, and they’re both going to put men on the lookout all over the racetrack. Every area—from the actual racetrack to the spectator seats, the concession stands, the paddocks, even the bathrooms are gonna be under surveillance. If that bike shows up during the race, we’re going to wait until it enters the racetrack and then stop it, ideally before it gets to Zara. We’ll be in constant contact with her through her helmet to warn her. In the unlikely event that we weren’t able to catch that bike before it got too close, we’ll work on Zara’s skills on her Ducati to maximize the likelihood of her dodging it or outrunning it.”
“That’s where I come in.” John says. “Aside from my twenty years as a professional racer, I did some exhibitions straight after I retired. Remember Doctor? It was after your mom and I split up.”
Zara nods. “I do. You did a few shows for that billionaire who wanted to create his own line of racing bikes. It was crazy acrobatic stunts.” She says to us. “There were rings of fire, highobstacle tracks, rows of trucks to jump over. It took my breath away, Dad.”
“And it took every ounce of the skills I developed during my career. You won’t need to jump through a hoop of fire, but we’ll work on your agility, on your control of your bike. We’ll make sure that if that motherfucker on a dirt bike makes it past security, you’ll be prepared to avoid being hit.”
Dad intervenes. “That’s just in case. We’ll stop him the second he enters the track. All we need is for him to invade the racetrack. We got ahold of the footage from the last two races on campus, so we have proof of their intentions. And once we have him, we’ll know why he’s trying to hurt you. I’ll finally know why my son died.”
I don’t know how to feel about all this.
And I’m also sure we already know why. That piece of shit of Zara’s ex wants to make her pay for dumping him and for being much faster than him on the racetrack.
I open my mouth to say that, but Ares precedes me.
“No.” He doesn’t raise his voice, but his jaw is grinding so hard that I’m surprised he doesn’t crack his teeth. “I don’t care that you think you’ve thought about everything and you’ve set up a perfect trap. Unless you can guarantee that the dirt bike won’t make it anywhere near Zara, she isn’t racing. I’d rather never know who killed Atlas than risk hurting just one of Zara’s hairs.”
“I’ll consider your opinion when I make a decision,” Zara bites out, her tone just as hard as Ares’s. “But it’s my decision, not yours.”
My older brother scowls at our girl. “Really, princess? I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re reacting this way because you’ve already made your decision. Am I right? If not, you wouldn’t have had that reaction.”
The look on Zara’s face is more eloquent than a thousand words.
“You don’t understand, Ares. I need to do it.”
“Why? Why do you need to risk your life? I’ve already lost my twin brother, and whoever did it has already gotten away with it for over two years. As far as I’m concerned, he can get away with it forever as long as I don’t lose you too.”
His voice breaks at the end, and Zara’s tone softens.
“Babe, you aren’t going to lose me.” She traces his jaw with gentle fingers. “You’ve seen that I can dodge that bike. And our fathers are going to do everything to stack the odds totally in my favor.”
“But they can’t guarantee you aren’t going to get hurt. Princess, I love you too much to even attempt to put it into words. If I lost you, I don’t think I could?—”
Zara pulls him into a hug, and my brother melts against her.
Seeing Ares like this is eye opening. He’s always been the silent, stoic type. For the longest time, I’ve thought he didn’t really have many emotions. Atlas was always the outgoing one, who wore his heart on his sleeve.
“Ares, look at me.” Zara says, pulling away so that she can look him in the eye. “If you want me to be safe, that’s another reason why I need to race.”
