I drove around for a while before deciding I should find a place to stay for a few days. After asking around a bit I heard about an apartment that was rented out by the week and decided to go check it out. When I arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The inside of the apartment was nicely decorated and already had furniture provided. Out back there was a small garage for those that were staying in the apartment, and right next door there was a garage that looked slightly run down.

After settling in I decided to make a run for more parts. I had decided to upgrade the engine in the Nova before heading out of town. Just because I was trying to stay away from the racing scene didn’t mean I couldn’t have a high class engine. After taking stock of what I had and what I needed I drove back over to the racers’ edge. After handing the new list over to Hector I pulled out the money and set it on the counter he was working on loading up my car.

After leaving the shop I drove back to my apartment and unloaded my car laying each piece out so I knew where it was then I got to work pulling out the old engine.

I had the stereo blasting through the garage and a case of beer off to the side while I worked on removing the old engine. Shortly after that I heard the first car pull up at the garage next door. I kept working on my car in piece until a few hours later. As I was pulling out a particularly stubborn piece of the engine I felt two hands grab my waist. I stood up quickly swinging out blindly with the tool in my hand. The person managed to duck just before the wrench in my hand connected with his jaw, but before I took stock of who it was I landed a solid kick to his thigh knocking him flat on his back.

As soon as I noticed who it was I walked over to where my radio was blaring and pulled the plug, before turning back to yell at him. “Are you fucking insane? You don’t just sneak up on someone like that. I could have killed you.” I said looking at Dom who was still lying on his back on the ground.

“Sorry. I came over to invite you out to lunch with me and the crew.” He said pointing in the direction of the open door where I noticed the rest of his crew gathered.

“And whose bright idea was it for you to sneak up on me. Especially with what you know about me.” I asked looking around. Everyone looked a little sheepish, but then Letty stepped up.

“For the record I’d like to say I warned them that this was a bad idea, but they didn’t listen.”

“Whatever, it’s done now. If I’m going anywhere I need to get changed first. Don’t touch my car.” I said before walking out of the garage and into the apartment. I quickly washed most of the grease off my body before throwing on a red cami and some daisy dukes with a pair of black ankle boots. I put on mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss, then I walked back out to join the guys. “Think I can catch a ride with one of you. My car is a little out of order at the moment.” I said pointing back to the mess of pieces that was currently my car.

“Sure, you can ride with me.” Dom said walking over to his car and opening the passenger door. I studied him for a moment before going over and climbing in the passenger seat of the 1970 black Dodge charger. As he started the car I could help, but smile when I heard the engine purr like a kitten. It was obviously well taken care of, and had a racer engine in it.

“How fast does it go?” I asked turning my head to look at him, knowing he could see the lust in my eyes. I don’t know what it is about cars, but something about them just gets me all hot and bothered.

“Fast enough.” Dom said with a smirk as he revved the engine. Seeing my eyes glaze over he laughed before calling Leon over.

“What’s up?” Leon asked leaning down to look through the window.

“We’re going to take a little detour. You guys go on ahead to the café.” Dom said before pulling out of the drive. As we started towards wherever he was taking me he started to talk. “You know we didn’t mean anything by the background check. We check out everyone that comes around the family. Over the years we’ve become a bit overcautious as to who we hang around with.”

“Hey fair is fair.” I replied in a husky tone. Between the sound of his voice and the sound of his car I was going to go nuts.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked glancing over at me and then back to the road.

“It means I looked all of you up to. After what I’ve been through I pick my friends a lot more carefully than most.” He nodded once before watching the road ahead.

A few minutes later he pulled to a stop and I opened my eyes to look around. It looked like we were at an old deserted race track. “You want a go at her?” He asked putting the car in park.

I debated for a moment before finally thinking what the hell. “Hell yeah!” I said climbing out of the car and walking over to the driver’s side door as he walked to the passenger side. Once I climbed in I couldn’t help, but caress the steering wheel lovingly.

“You act like you’re greeting an old lover.” Dom chuckled climbing in.

“I had a car like this once. It was the same car I was caught in so I guess in a way I am.” I said. “Cops crushed her because she was too much for them to handle.”

Once he was in and buckled up I shifted into first and stepped on the gas handle the car like a pro. I watched Dom start to tense up as we got closer and closer to the corner, before we drifted perfectly around it. I started to laugh as I continued to accelerate around the track.

“We should probably get back to the crew.” Dom said and I started to slow the car back down to a normal speed.

“You mind if I drive?” I asked once we were at a more maintainable speed.

“I guess it won’t hurt just this once.” Dom replied and then started giving me directions to the café.