Past

It all came back so easily. Driving a car at high speeds through crowded streets, avoiding cop cars, it was all muscle memory. Switching gears as smoothly as I had before the crash. Drifting corners and speeding through the straights was like riding a goddamn bike. I had lost the cops over ten minutes ago. It was too late for them to get a helicopter to follow us.

They didn't think the robbery would succeed.

They were more than wrong.

Even though the engine was off, I kept my hands on the steering wheel. They had directed me to a warehouse, where I drifted the car to park and the door closed behind us immediately. That meant there was another person here, at least one, but I was in shock. I just made the most impulsive decision in my life.

"Is she going to get out?" There was a voice coming through the open windows of the car. I snapped my eyes away from the steering wheel, realising the three idiots had gotten out of the car already. I watched a woman with blonde hair walk down a set of stairs from an office. She must have spoken.

I finally let my hands off of the steering wheel and got out of the car, the pain in my back coming back as soon as the ecstasy of being behind the wheel left my body.

"I take it the mission was a success?" The woman asked next, her ice-blue eyes turning to Leigh.

"Went exactly as you said it would." He said. The slight playfulness he had in front of the bank was gone. And he was no longer limping. The bullet wound had been an act, the blood fake. Fuck. "First thing she did was point out what we did wrong." My body froze.

"What?" I asked. The woman ignored me.

"So, the position I had in mind for her?" She asked. Leigh looked at me for a split second before he nodded. "Perfect. Are you ready to take her in, then?"

"She'd be a great addition." He replied.

"And you two?" She turned her attention to Jaxon and Kieran. If they were their real names. It wouldn't shock me if it was all a lie. It must have been an elaborate... an elaborate what?

"I think she'll fit right in." Jaxon said. Kieran just nodded. He seemed to speak the least.

"What the fuck is going on here?" I asked. The woman finally turned to me with a smile on her face.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Sierra Hyde." I flinched at my name, the memories that come with it flooding my mind but disappearing a second later. "Sorry, you prefer Max..."

"That I do." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Now, who the hell are you? Why do you know who I am? And again, what the fuck is going on here?"

"Well, let's work backwards, shall we? What's going on is that you were just put through a test. One that I put you through because I like to monitor up-and-coming criminals in most areas. I have an operation going on here, and I need a broad range of skills to make it work. To make it grow." The woman said like it cleared anything up.

"I know who you are because a friend of yours essentially sent me your resume. Brought you to my attention and told me you were looking for work. Was he wrong?" Jake. It had to have been him. There was no one else.

"No." I was looking for a different job. I couldn't keep working this office job that I had. Although I was content, I knew I could be happier, could use my time to do the things I loved. Like driving fast cars to their limits.

"Okay then, I have an opening. While these three here are all good getaway drivers in their own right, I need someone with skills higher than theirs. They might not want to admit it, but they can't do what you did today." She said, walking closer to me. "I am not only offering you a job, I am offering protection from the law, which is easily bought with the money I have. I can buy you a clean record. To get your back sorted, I am offering to get the best physiotherapists in Europe for you. I am more than happy to invest money into whatever is needed for your recovery. I'm more than sure that you will make it back for me in no time."

"What the fuck?"

"And don't be afraid of getting stuck in your position as a driver. There is plenty of opportunity to climb the ladder of power in my Court. Making sure everyone has the opportunity to climb means different ideas come to the table. Different ideas mean bigger profits. Bigger profits mean new recruits. Cycle begins again." The woman explained. "I plan to take my enterprise further than any other criminal organisation in history. Do you have the ambition to match that?"

"I was the best street racer in England. I didn't get there through luck." I said, staring her in the eyes. She nodded.

"Good. You can call me Queen. Together, I think we are going to accomplish great things."