It's not too late for a Christmas present, is it?
Happy Holidays everyone :)
Chapter Thirty Seven; Race Night
Dom pulled up to the races in style with girls cheering in the backseat and all around the car. Men were waving money around to lure in the honey that patrolled for the next big thing. Music was blaring out of the speakers and the girls, high on candy and excitement, were dancing in their seats before the car could come to stop.
The night sky was the perfect background to the headlights that lined the makeshift racecourse. Any passing motorist would know exactly what was happening, but that was the beauty of being in the middle of nowhere; nobody was passing this way by accident.
The Supra stopped and its driver gave very explicit instructions to the girls in the backseat.
"You stay together at all times, you hear?" They didn't have the privilege of wandering free here. "With one of us." he added firmly.
Dom had some paranoia that one of them would piss off the wrong kind of visitor and things would turn personal.
Both girls rolled their eyes as they agreed, but their fingers weren't crossed behind their backs; this wasn't home turf, they couldn't risk any bold moves out here.
Unfamiliar faces painted the crowds and Dom's anxiety turned him around in his seat again.
"I am deadly serious; at all times. I don't just mean in line of sight, I mean within grabbing and shoving into the nearest car distance." He was expecting the worst.
Letty was going to taunt him, insist he stayed home if it bothered him this much, but his hard features said it wouldn't be the best move, so she wisely kept her mouth shut.
"Which one of you is up first?" Mia asked, already drawing out her mobile to load up the website Hector's ex-girlfriend had set up for the race, password protected of course. The password; thunderdome. The boys thought it was hilarious at the time.
"Leon." Dom answered, already mapping out the safety man for the girls throughout the tournament.
"Cool, who's he got?" Letty leaned over, her phone had crappy signal out here.
"Some guy who's calling himself Chocolate Thunda." Mia rolled her eyes at the nickname.
The idea was simple, each ticket had a fee, each ticket got you a number. The numbers were all in a pot and Hector's ex, who had mad computer skills, was drawing them and putting up the first round of contenders online.
In true tournament style, you lost a race, you were out. It would end with the best against the best.
If you couldn't race and your vehicle was too damaged to make it to the start line; you forfeit the win.
And then Hector came in. He sat himself atop the cars marking the start line with a notepad for his bookie side-career and took bets of the rides that approached the line.
Letty and Mia stepped out and straight into Vince's babysitting duty whilst Dom networked.
He took them to sit with Hector at the start.
It was one race at a time, and governed by the scores on the mobile and the projected image of the webpage on the old billboard with tattered remains of cinema adverts and jesus propaganda.
Humorously, the background stated that 'God was watching...' in the top left hand corner, then a rip straight down to showcase an old poster for Kill Bill. Guess God liked Quentin Tarrantino.
15 races had been and gone by the time Toretto had pulled up and plenty more were awaiting their turn.
Someone invited knew a cousin with a food truck and thus, the smell of burgers and fried onions once more greeted the girls.
Vince's stomach quickly made itself known.
"Seriously?" Mia huffed. "You must have eaten your body weight at the fayre."
"What, man's gotta eat." Vince grunted. "You two want anything?"
The girls declined and under Hector's eyes, they turned back to the race.
5 races later 'Rocket-man Robert' beat 'Alex D' and Letty's eyes started to look for something more interesting.
They found Dom after a few seconds, but he wasn't alone.
The woman who had come by the garage to try and seduce him for this event was next to him.
Black heels, tiny shorts that winked ass cheeks with every step and open checkered shirt that showcased the black bandeau bra she was falling out of.
"Who is she?" Letty asked Hector, knowing he had spoken to her. After all that had been her agreement of getting in.
"Who?" he asked, twisting himself to follow her line of sight. He turned back with an eyebrow raised. "Laura, why?" But his expression said he knew perfectly well why she was interested; jealousy.
"She give you anything good?" Letty followed up with, mentally assessing the female predating on her man.
"Real good, actually. Girl knows her stuff. Been around a bit." A smirk pulled on his thin lips, the double meaning obviously true as well.
"Who's the ho?" Mia's voice chirped up.
"Hector's guilty of insider information." Letty whispered in conspiracy, but loud enough Hector and a few gamblers (if they were listening) could hear.
"Don't you wanna go annoy someone else for a while? We've got a long way before the big betting races." Hector scouted his head up and found Leon narrowing his eyes at a car in the distance. "Leon, take the girls for a walk?" Hector's voice pulled the man's attention and the two girls ended up winding between people to view the car Leon was pitched against.
"So, what are my chances?" he asked the two girls, knowing their analytical minds were just as good as the guys when it came to these cars.
"Honestly?" Mia asked, cocking out with a hand on her hip. "They may as well just give you their money now." she laughed.
5 victories in for Dom, things were getting tense. And the man showed no sign of it.
Letty saw him pull the car back into its space with the boys'.
She watched him with wide eyes as he vibrated in his skin, bouncing with each step, weaving in and out of racers that had already been knocked out and heading straight for them.
Letty could feel his energy, she had been screaming her cheers from the sidelines along with Mia for every race he had.
Nobody was playing dirty despite the money at stake. It was a straight run to the end of the dis-used runway. Cars lined the path like people at a parade, lights filling the nighttime, stereo's competing for the best track, drivers atop their machines, throwing fists into the air as someone they knew beat someone they didn't.
Letty turned back to the road, where Dom had dominated the other driver. They must have entered with delusions of grandeur at the idea they could beat Dom.
Of course, Dom had reset the natural order quickly.
Leon and Jesse were talking loudly, busy discussing the monstrosity of a vehicle that had beat Jesse in the last race.
Letty hadn't seen it herself, she'd gone around the parked cars with Mia and Vince, attention drawn away by the machines and motors that challenged the limits of the possible.
But the boys had supplied a play by play of what Jesse had lost to, a machine that looked as much of a beast as it drove like.
Letty scanned the crowd again for such a vehicle. There was something kicking up smoke from an overworked engine that was disrupting her hunt though.
Hands settled on her waist and lifted her where she stood. Letty readied herself to seal a heel back into the groin of her assailant until a familiar cologne wrapped around her as she was turned to flop over a shoulder, an ass in her vision that was very very familiar.
"'m stealing this one for a few minutes. Need her little hands." Dom's gruff voice echoed over the chatter and the boys must have grunted acceptance as they regaled Mia with the story for the third time.
"The car alright?" Letty asked, raising herself with hands pushing at the leather jacket on his back.
"Yeah, don't mean I don't need your hands though." The voice was a tease, it came as he slid her down off of him again, hands on her shoulders and he walked her infront of him through lines of cars until they reached the Supra. He pulled open the backseat door and nodded her in.
His frame followed her and the door shut behind them, their bubble once again complete.
Letty stretched herself out over the backseats, enjoying the way his chest pressed heavily against her as he caged her.
"You're going on a date with me tomorrow." he stated.
"Where we going?" her eyes went wide with excitement. Finally, a date with Dominic Toretto.
"It wouldn't be the best date ever if there was no surprise." Dom muttered, nose pressing against her jawbone, urging her head back, lengthening her neck where his lips found her skin.
"Best date ever?" she repeated in a deep breath, fingers already under his jacket and shirt, settling on the way the muscles of his back danced with each shift of posture was his lips explored.
"Not that I have any competition." he chuckled to himself.
"Hey!" she swatted at his arm before looping around his neck, drawing him closer again. "I have high standards."
"Sure you do." he smirked against her neck before drawing back, eye to eye. "You gunna be my trophy tonight?"
Heat bloomed in her chest.
He wanted her.
His.
"Suppose." she teased, easily wrapping a leg over his, the way she wanted to be. "If you deserve one."
"Jackpots getting closer and closer to being mine." Dom held his lips above hers for a moment.
"Mia's leaving tomorrow at 5." Letty mentioned, the intent clear, she wanted to be there to say goodbye.
"I know, I'm dropping her off." Dom pressed a kiss to her neck again. "You'll be back in time to have your emotional goodbye" he chuckled against her skin, the air tickling her pleasingly.
"Dom, I errr, know you're busy but…" Jesse's voice came after a knock on the tinted window. Thankfully Letty was completely covered from sight, even if the tint hadn't been there. "You got a sec to look at my Jetta, think I've busted a valve or two." Jesse shuffled on his feet. "She ain't gunna make it home as is."
"Yeah, gimme a minute." Dom grunted back
"A minute?" Letty whispered, her hands sliding lower on his back, drawing their cores closer.
"I'll come find you." Dom corrected and Jesse's footsteps followed him leaving.
"Can't he fix it himself?" Letty grumbled against him.
"Duct tape's in my trunk." Dom rolled his eyes. They'd each brought an essential piece of patchwork car repair with them in case they needed to limp their cars back.
"So throw it at him and we can talk about you claiming your trophy properly."
"You have no idea how crazy you make me." he chuckled. "Com'on, Vince is probably out after this round, he's gunna need someone to mock him for being a shit driver."
Letty straightened her clothes and reluctantly left the bubble that was the paradise of Dom's back seat. Fingers wrapped around her wrist as she was walking away, pausing her.
"You're good for sleeping over, right?" Dom asked softly.
"Yeah. When do you want to pick me up for tomorrow?"
"I'll let you know." He grinned and turned back to get into the trunk for the mechanics best friends. Letty headed back to Mia, but spotted Jesse's eyes directed her way, jaw dropped, understanding crystal clear as to what had transpired.
Jesse knew.
Letty avoided Jesse for the rest of the night, sleepily swaying and singing with Mia as midnight rolled on and past and the last stage of the tournament took place.
Dom was against the beast that had beaten Jesse's Jetta to pieces.
It was a mutated version of a car if Letty had ever seen one.
The insides had been ripped down to the bare essentials, additional seats removed, electronics stripped and re-wired. All in the name of compromising for the oversized engine.
In Dr Frankenstein form, the mechanical mind behind this monstrosity had taken parts from a variety of different cars, bets were that the engine was hybridized from part supercar, part truck. The growl it made with the depression of the gas was enough to shoot a shiver up spines.
The hood of the car didn't even fit, it had got exhausts cut through the framework at odd angles.
The speed was impressive.
The power was phenomenal.
But the car itself was hideous.
The driver was a built man, shoulders wide, ego even larger.
He said very little to anyone, a smug expression like he wanted to be the best and didn't care what it cost.
Leon noted a tattoo on his neck, a rattlesnake with a key between its fangs, the keys naturally had a skull engraved on it. Classy as hell.
A gang tattoo was the running theory. It explained the variety of 'friends' he had congratulating him with each win.
"Probably built with drug money." Leon offered in comfort to his sulking best friend.
"It shouldn't run." Jesse argued softly. "It shouldn't even be a working engine." he continued, as he had several times before. "It's too fucked to run that."
"Hey, you seen those gang tats?" Vince asked, stepping back into the group's area from collecting a girl's number. "They're tied to that shitty 72'ers we had at that party before."
Letty felt her blood freeze for a second, her eyes turning back to the man parade around the beast for the man called Dune who deserved her angry glare and sharp avoidance.
Her eyes didn't pick him out.
Neither did Mia's, Jesse's or Leon's as they all turned to do the same thing.
"What?" Vince asked, noting the Meerkat response from all 4 listeners. "You don't remember them? There was this scraggy dude Dom punched out, black jackets, crappy haircuts and shitty ink."
"Who's the girl?" Mia asked, changing the topic the smartest way possible and playing on Vince's ego.
"She's cool huh?"
It was the last race, the bid for the crowning glory. Dom was stoic in appearance, standing beside his ride, leaning like a god against the reinforced metal.
But those who knew him picked out the fidgeting foot, the hands in the pockets to hide the way the fingers tapped together.
Dom was nervous.
Jesse had formulated a plan, a baiting to guarantee a win, but it wasn't without risk. It could backfire.
Mia swore the other driver's ego wouldn't let him down with this idea conceived.
But, he had been unexpected all the way throughout.
Hector was finally closing off all bets, taking the last seconds of gambling from those around him, throwing money, big, big money at the presumed winning name.
The website was playing video clips of their previous races, the way these two machines and their drivers had battled their way to this finale.
It was a quarter mile ahead of them, and Dom stared down it with trepidation instead of excitement.
Mia and Vince had roamed across the concrete, closer to where the gang's member were, a not-so-quiet conversation about a few insults to the gang leader and it would feed back and rough up the wrong ego.
Letty watched as the gang members listened in to the purpose of the conversation before informing their favourite racer that the Toretto clan were stomping down on his giant ego.
He took it the way they'd liked, gritting his teeth and curling his upper lip with disgust to the competition.
Music changed and Hector stood atop his position on the car, introducing the final race with flare, the reigning king versus the monster.
The driver of the tormented vehicle was nothing extraordinary.
He stepped up to his machine like any other man would.
He stared at his competitor with frozen features, a man without a care, without nerves, without compassion.
"He's kinda scary." Mia's voice came in a whisper as she returned to Letty's side.
The girls were both feeling the drag of the long night, leaning against each other for comfort.
It was the deep set eyes that did it for Letty, emotionless entirely.
His black eyes cut from view as he yanked open the door, heavily landing in his driver's seat. "Kinda angry too." Mia added softly, wrapping her arms around Letty, chin resting on her shoulder as they both looked on, attentioned now focussed on Dom.
Vince was passing some information to Dom, his hands moving as he talked. He was too far away to catch the quiet exchange of words, but it caused Dom to look over at his competitor once more before clapping his brother in arms on his shoulder and settling into his own car.
This was it.
Letty felt her nerves sizzle up.
What if he lost?
Dom had never lost.
Not in the history of knowing him, not in a match like this anyway. There had been close calls, and there had been friendly races with pals which he had conceded victory on. But never, when money and pride was on the line.
"He's gunna be a pain in the ass if he loses." Mia's voice was barely audible, a secret thought only Letty would understand. Family support would always wish Dom to win, but, nobody except the girls even contemplated the outcome could be anything different. It was bad luck Vince would say. Don't put the thought out into the universe.
"You'll be alright, you're going tomorrow." Letty answered back, feeling arms tighten around her in support as a response. "Besides, he won't lose."
But even Letty heard the question in her tone.
It was possible.
Hector slapped his book of bets closed and into his backpocket.
It was serious now; no turning back.
The money on the line was wrapped up to a figure the girls couldn't comprehend where to start spending.
Not that the girls were likely to see any of it.
Maybe Dom would buy them a few sweets.
Letty twisted her lips up into a smile.
"What d'ya think he'll do with the money, the garage is all fixed with Sonja right?"
"Yeah." Mia had heard her dad finalising things before he left for the races. "I don't know…"
"New jacket? He can afford to have good taste – Armani." Letty elbowed her pseudo-sister lightly. Mia's laughter came over her shoulder quickly as she wriggled away from the elbow.
"Please, my brother needs a whole wardrobe re-vamp. He could hire me as his personal dresser and finally you won't be ashamed to go out in public with him." Mia was in midnight madness from tiredness, already finding ways to spend her brothers money. "And as his personal dresser, I would need a car, and more wardrobe space, and access to a sexy black card."
"Yeah" Letty drawled. "He's probably going to spend it all on the car and garage, you won't see a dollar." Letty laughed.
"But maybe his super secret girlfriend might." Mia nudged Letty again.
"Not so super secret. I think Jesse knows…"
"Jesse knows? Ho-"
"Riders, are you ready?!" The crowd roused with cheers and whistles of encouragement as Hector stood centre of the start line with a half dressed girl on either arm.
"Did he say anything?" Mia continued under the roar of the audience.
"Not yet, do you think he'll tel-"
"Ready!" Hector called "Set!" The girls rose their arms with him. "Go!"
All attention went to the vehicles, supporters cheering on their side competing for the loudest scream.
The engines cut through the sounds of shouting and with a jolt, the race truly began.
The idea was simple, the boys were convinced the monstrosities build was not stable for such heat and power. Pushing such an engine too far would, with all hope, overheat the cooling system and stop the car in its tracks.
Of course, that was the theory.
But the voice inside the mechanics head's was screaming 'what if it didn't?'.
Dom was pushing the tip of the car in line with the front of the mutated vehicle, neck and neck.
Letty and Mia turned their heads to the screen behind them with the live feed on, unable to see the action properly.
Dom was starting to lose ground, first by a nose, then a full hood, now, there was half the car length affront him.
The camera caught a side shot of his face, Letty could see the firm features, the gritted jaw.
It didn't look good.
Mia's grip on her arms tightened with the anticipation and nerves.
"He's got this." Letty whispered, mostly for herself. Dom couldn't lose. He never had.
"He's got this." Mia parroted, finding her hand wrapping with Letty's in a half attempt at a prayer.
But God wasn't on the racetrack.
Dom was.
And Dom had another plan.
The girls saw his car lurch forward and knew the NOS had come into play, crawling paces infront of the other vehicle, passing driver to driver and continuing beyond.
Dom was clawing it back and the other driver knew it.
There was a reason he didn't come equipt with nitrous, because his car couldn't handle it.
Not with all the hacked manipulations and tentative experimentation.
It didn't have the power to survive such extreme.
Dom did, and he had the skill.
Albeit not one he liked to use often and not one he wanted to ever rely on to win.
The cameras caught the glorious moment Dom's vehicle took the official lead, approaching the finish line closer and closer.
The girls gripped each other, a squeal coming out from Mia.
And then there was the clash of metal.
All eyes pinned to the live feed.
The Supra was turning tyres over roof again and again.
It crashed through the light markings with a cloud of smoke.