Prologue

I hated him.

Not that fluffy feeling of dislike that makes you mock them when they weren't around, but hate.

Every time I thought of him I was furious.

I was disgusted.

I felt sick.

I wanted to kill him.

Homicidal.

I was afraid that I'd kill him.

Not figuratively. I had told Mia to put all the knives away. In the drawers and if I could have locked them I would have. It was the only way I could be sure I wouldn't take to him with a knife.

Have you ever felt that kind of rage?

I had once before.

That was enough for me.

I knew the warning signs.

But I still hated it.

One other person I'd hated like this.

Linder.

He'd killed my father and I was furious.

I know it was wrong. time in prison gives you a lot of time to think. I'd promised I'd never be that mad again.

But I was.

Right now.

At my best friend of all people.

Vince and I had always been best friends.

Ever since we met.

Always we'd gotten along and he was the most loyal man I'd ever met. I knew he'd take a bullet for me. I didn't think, I knew.

That's why hating him hurt a hundred times worse then hating Linder.

The worst part was it was over the most stupid thing.

I couldn't even understand it.

Where the rage came from.

But watching him, this very second I had to force myself not to take to his neck with my bare hands.

Luckily he was oblivious.

Everyone was.

Except Letty.

She knew something was wrong.

She had that instinctive intuition that Vince missed.

We had always been like that.

She understood, even if neither of us. actually understood anything, she just knew exactly how I was feeling, ESPICALLY when I couldn't explain it to myself.

I watched her.

Both of them were sitting on the couch watching some stupid movie.

She was pressed in close to his chest

His arm was just loose around her shoulder. Good friends. They looked like it until they started kissing, and touching and groping. You'd think her ass would be sore from all the times it had been grabbed by his beefy hand.

"You look like you wanna kill something?" The still unfamiliar voice said above my shoulder.

I looked up from where I sat piercing Leon with a look. Not really a frown. but I was questioning how much he actually knew.

"Try a beer." He offered the beer to me, the cap already popped off.

I took the beer and looked away from Leon.

Not back at Vince and Letty, I wasn't that obvious, but I settled my eyes on the TV. Screen watching the movie.

Pretending to watch the movie.

I heard him move away from me.

I knew he was still unsure of me.

Hell what person wouldn't be a little on edge in the presence of a beefy ex- con such as myself?

I knew that's how everyone saw me.

The ex-con.

Everybody saw me like that except Mia, Letty and Vince.

The three of them and myself.

I didn't see myself as Dominic Toretto Ex-convict at Lompoc.

I was just Dom Toretto. insanely jealous of my best friend.

I know I sound a little crazy.

Okay.

I know I am crazy. I also know that Vince doesn't have a clue why I keep snapping at him, why I keep making off-handed insults and closing him out. And I know Letty has no idea what I'm really feeling. She might know that I'm upset. but she couldn't know why. She'd want my head if she knew the things I was thinking about her.

I should be happy for them. Vince asked her out first. Okay. even if she was free, and hadn't been dating Vince. I wouldn't have asked her out. but now that she WAS with Vince I wanted her for myself so badly. I wanted to tell her that I wanted her. But I couldn't. She was now Vince's woman. She was off limits, like all my girls where to him. But I couldn't help it. I wanted her for me. Just me, and the more time she spent being his woman the more I wanted her to giggle up at me. make me smile that smile that said I was the luckiest bastard in the world to have her all wrapped up in my arms.

God I hated him.