Chapter 13

The guys finished cleaning up the mess and we all collapsed in the living room on a couch, or on the floor. Letty and Vince raced each other on the PlayStation, while Dom lied down on the 3-seater with his eyes closed. Mia was nowhere to be seen, whereas Leon and I couldn't keep our eyes off each other.

He cocked the corner of his lips up slightly and waggled his brows at me; I bit on my bottom lip as I scanned my eyes slowly across his body.

"Woo!" Letty threw her arms up in the air after dropping her controller to the floor. She poked Vince mercilessly while chanting "I won! I won! I beat your ass!" over and over again.

Dom let out a low rumble of laughter, keeping his eyes closed only making Letty avert her attention to him. He opened one eye carefully when Letty suddenly went quiet and grumbles out an "oh shit" when she quickly stood and ran to leap on him.

Vince fell back to lie on the floor with a groan; he looked up at me and Leon behind him and smiled. "Either of you wanna play?" We shook our heads simultaneously. "Damn," he grumbled quietly before he stood and disappeared into the kitchen.

I looked over at Dom and Letty who were unusually quiet; Letty was lying on top of Dom and was whispering something to him while she fingered his shirt. They spoke in hushed tones and it seemed they were having a very intense and personal conversation.

Leon nudged me with his elbow, "I'm gonna head off down to the shop… wanna come?" He smirked mischievously again and raised an eyebrow. I stared intently as his tongue darted across his bottom lip. I nodded and we both stood; he mumbled something to Dom about the shop who only grumbled a response while still listening to Letty.

We both hopped into our respective cars and drove the short distance to the garage; Leon pulled into the driveway first and I parked close behind. He unlocked the back door and pressed in the code to disable the alarm and we closed the door behind us. I flicked a light switch and the garage lit up instantly. A hot pink BMW M3 glistened under the fluorescent lights, and next to it a deep navy blue Nissan Pulsar sat.

Leon headed towards the radio and tuned into a radio station letting a rock song echo quietly through the room. He grabbed a small toolbox and set it by the BMW; I popped the hood for him and sat in the drivers seat while he quietly worked under the hood.

"What do ya think we'll buy first with the cash?" I mused out loud.

I saw Leon pop his head from behind the hood with a grin, "maybe that pool Dom doesn't want."

My eyes lit up and Leon laughed before disappearing again. "Maybe I'll buy a new car…" Leon snorted and I nodded, "yeah, you're right. I'll never get rid of that thing."

I traced my hand across the leather on the steering wheel and over the emblem embedded in the center. With a sigh, I got out of the seat and made my way to the front; I leaned against the edge of the car and stretched my feet out in front of me and crossed them at the ankles. Leon looked up quickly from the corner of his eye but continued working; he leaned over and shoved his hand through a gap behind the engine. His face scrunched up as he worked on some wires blindly. "What are ya thinkin'?" I jumped when he spoke.

"Oh. Nothin'."

"I don't believe you." He pulled on something before standing again, wiping his hands on a dirty rag. Moving to stand in front of me, he forced my legs apart and stood between them, placing a hand on either side of my head on the roof of the hood. Automatically my hands reached up to fiddle with the hem of his shirt; I stared at the material for a few moments before he spoke and brought me out of my trance again. "Cassie? What's up?"

I shrugged and looked up into his eyes, the cool green instantly calming me. "I'm just scared about this whole money thing. And…" I took a breath and blew it out slowly as I dropped my head again, "Let's really starting to scare me." When he didn't make a sound, I looked up again. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I sighed again, "she's moody, erratic, and she's always up and down – happy one minute, sad and distant another, angry another. And that thing with the coke… I know she's always been a bit crazy like that, but this is different."

Leon raised his brows and moved one hand to rest on my shoulder; he played his thumb against my ear and I could see him thinking about his words before he spoke. He nodded slightly, "I noticed that. But I don't think it's anything to worry about. Her and Dom are going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment. They'll get through it, they always do." He smiled soothingly and my head automatically drifted towards his hand. Cupping my cheek, he ran his thumb along my skin, "promise me you won't worry about it so much. And as for the money, that we have to take as it comes."

I bit at my bottom lip nervously and looked deep into his eyes. After a moment, I finally smiled and nodded. Leon dropped his other hand to my waist and stepped in closer before dipping his head down for a kiss. Our tongues danced for what seemed a century before the sound of rumbling engines broke us out of our trance.

We separated and headed into the front of the shop and peeked out the front window. My heart jumped into my throat and it felt like the contents of my stomach was soon to follow. I could feel Leon's eyes burning into me and I forced myself to swallow as I stepped back from the window. I was shaking and I couldn't stop as I ignored Leon's stares and ran out of the shop through the back again.

Jason sauntered up the side driveway, running his fingers along the side of my car. I clenched my jaw and balled my hands into fists at my sides. "What are you doing here?" I forced out trying not to jump at him and aim for his jugular.

"Thought I'd come say hi," he said smugly, his voice more raspy than I remembered.

Before I had time to speak again, two other familiar faces made their way up the driveway to stand behind him. "Derek. Bruno." I said between gulps. The two men still looked the same, like they were hopped up on steroids and had just escaped from jail. It wouldn't have surprised me if they had. Jason on the other hand looked different, as though he had matured; he had bulked up, but his face still looked slightly sunken and his features more angular. His black eyes still pierced right through me and his smile still dazzled me. He had shaved his hair off to almost nothing and more tattoos adorned his neck and arms.

I felt Leon's presence behind me. I glanced over at him quickly, standing firmly with his arms crossed.

Jason pursed his lips. "Leon," He nodded as a greeting and I saw him clench his jaw slightly. "So, you two here alone?"

"What's it to you?" Leon spoke before I had a chance. The tone in his voice scared me. Protective and ready to kill.

"Wasn't Dom supposed to be the protective one?" Jason raised a brow mockingly and smirked. I saw his eyes dart between the two of us and I could see his mind register his thoughts before the smile faded completely and his jaw clenched tighter. The muscles in his neck tightened and I saw a spark of jealousy flash through his eyes before he looked away as he pushed his hands into his jeans pockets.

"What do you want, Jason?" I croaked out again.

Our eyes met again and he took a few steps forward, "we need to talk."