Chapter 1 Royal Revenge

"Get in, then get out. Got me?" Tej yelled from the front of his truck as his street crew jumped out of the back of his crew to unload the cones meant to block of the streets for the races he ran. He ran these streets off Miami, just as he ran these races, he thought to himself smugly. His crew knew he meant business. They were hustling, much to his satisfaction.

22 year old Jaxx Romanoff blew her bangs out of her face and jumped down, her mind lost in her thoughts as she went through the motions flawlessly. She wanted so badly to fit in with this scene. She was newer to this town than most were allowed to be when working on Tej's street crew, but somehow she was his exception and her longing to belong had started from day one. Truth was, she didn't fit in with any scene. She didn't even have a car, much less one to race in. She didn't care to come to the races to be a racer chaser.

The only reason she clung to the racing scene was for the thrill of the races, the smell of tires burning on the blacktop, the pure adrenaline of being somewhere she could get caught was what she was all about. In her heart, she knew this was her scene She knew she wasn't a part of this scene because she didn't trust anyone to really let them know the real her and what she was about. She was often perceived as uppity by most people because of her quiet nature. The truth was, she just didn't see them wanting to waste their time with her.

"Jaxx, how you do that so fast, babygurl?" Tej asked, an impressed grin spread on his face, looking through the window of the back of the pickup truck's cab. She gave him a grin back along with a shrug. She was always the first one back in the truck, ready to go, her part done.

"It's how I roll." She joked.

"I'ma hafta move you up here and teach you how to drive and organize." Tej rubbed the bottom of his chin, looking thoughtful. He picked up his radio, ready to let the starting line know the cones were set.

The rest of the crew came jumping back in, their obvious buzz on their faces from what they had just done. Jaxx didn't really know any of them too well. The main reason she was out here on this crew was because she was such a good friend of Tej's. She had had known him for a little over six months.

It was starting to thundering and flashing lighting off in the distance as the truck roared back to the main starting point of the races. The smell of the rain mixed with the smell of the salty ocean mixed with the blacktop and burning rubber made Jaxx take in a deep breath, loving it. She was definitely a night person. The truck screeched to a halt, bringing her back to the present and out of her thoughts. She looked over at the four cars already lined up, ready for go time. She jumped down, her eyes still fixated on the line, waiting for them to take off.

"So, when you gonna start workin for me so you can get one of those cars to race on your own?" Tej came up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them.

"Tempting, but …I'm not." She grinned, looking down.

"Jax, Jax, Jax…." He shook his head. "What am I to do with you?" He asked as his eyes surveyed the scene going on around them, not looking at her.

"Tej, Tej, Tej." She giggled, her face turning red as she scolded herself for sounding like a giggly girl.

"Come on, you know you wanna be on that blacktop. Why won't you let me hook you up with a car? I know you got potential." He asked, puzzled by her friend. She wasn't your typical racer chaser, or typical kind of girl. She was a one of a kind, she couldn't be compared with any girl Tej knew.

"Because you don't mix business with friendship, it never works." She held up her head indignantly. "It always ends up badly and I don't want to owe anyone anything and have it to hold over my head." She said, hating how disciplined she could be sometimes. She really wanted a car to be able to race but having not by a friend loaning it to her. That wasn't her way. She could thank her uptightness, anxiety, standoff traits and trust issues due to her traumatic past. But she was who she was and there hasn't been much she can do about it now, she reminded herself. The only option was to accept life how it was and go on.

"You are so damn jaded, it's unreal. I'd love to meet the person who ruined it for you." Tej shook his head. Her trust issues would be the only fault a guy could find with this girl. He wished his friend could see it how he saw it and realize what she had going for her, but she was way too stubborn to ever listen to him.

"Yeah. Oh well. You wouldn't want to meet that person." She coughed lightly, hoping to change the subject. She leaned on the hood of Tej's truck, watching the lighting flash.

"We got cops up in this motha!" Jimmy came screaming over the radio Tej had been holding his hand. In an instance, ironically as the rain started to pour, the blue and red lights mixed with the colorful mix of different colored race cars. You could heard the engines growling as they sped away.

"Jaxx, get yo ass in!" Tej yelled, jumping in and starting up the truck . She jumped in and they took off like a bolt of lightning, a cop right on Tej's tail. Tej was making her want to lose her stomach for a quick minute. Things were flashing by her in one big blur and she laughed in enjoyment. Tej wasn't bothered at all as he was dodging the cop, he leaned up to the dashboard to put in one of his favorite cds.

"Relax, we'll outrun 'em. I don't get caught." Tej said smugly, giving her a confident nod.

"Imagine that. I wouldn't have guessed that." She joked, leaning back and looking more relaxed than Tej had ever seen her. "I'm enjoying this Need for Speed stuff." She said, her big blue eyes twinkling. They continued until they had lost the cop.

"I'm having a party at my place. You gonna turn me down for the 100th time?" He asked, looking at her in the eyes as they sat on a dirt road right on the outskirts of Miami. He was always trying to get her to come to his parties, to stop by the house, to hang out with him and his crew. Each time, he swore to himself he wasn't going to keep asking but each time, he did.

"I can't. I have to work tomorrow." She said, not mentioning what time she had to go to work. She just hated to keep turning him down. She knew he was just trying to be a good friend, but she wasn't going to chance trusting anyone. She couldn't handle being hurt anymore and the only way to not be hurt was to not allow herself to be hurt.

"When you gonna let your guard down, Babygurl?" Tej asked, knowing she had her reasons. He didn't want to push her, but he felt for her and knew she needed to allow herself to live a real life. She seemed miserable and almost tormented pretty much every time he saw her.

"I'm not." She sighed, knowing his intentions were good. She knew it was her own fault she was so miserable but she just couldn't allow herself to feel after all she had been through.