A/N: I'm officially back at school, but fortunately for you it's only the first few days. However, that does mean updates will definitely slow down a bit from here on out. I will try for once a week at least, but no promises during exam periods. Thank you all for the amazing support!

If you have any suggestions, comments, concerns please please let me know! I love incorporating your ideas into the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Review!

"Ready?" Hector yelled at the two racers before him.

"Ready." Letty quietly hissed to herself as she revved up her engine.

"Remember the rules, don't get caught." Letty was up against a poor amateur who had no idea what he was getting into. He was a young suburban boy with naive expectations for the turn out of said race. The young man looked over at her repeatedly. She was not sure if it was out of nervousness or over confidence at the fact that she was female. Letty never thought much of her opponents. She focused solely on what laid ahead, the finish line and money. The thrill was something she could not explain. She loved speed more than words could say, but the gratuity that she received in her hand at the end of every competition put her over the moon. When they were off she raced easily passed the 1997 Ford Escort to her left, almost embarrassingly so. It was needless to say Letty's two-grand win brought her out of the sour mood she had been in since they had arrived that night.

She and Dom had gotten into a small argument over a bill payment, and things worsened when they noticed Johnny and Stacy had come out to make an appearance. They had not seen the siblings for a few weeks, but just the mention of them churned Letty's stomach. Dom became instantly nervous at seeing Stacy who had deemed herself unpredictable. He was in no mood to break up a cat-fight or get into any conflict with Johnny over his sister. When he had glanced over Stacy had given him a wink, and fortunately for Stacy's sake Letty had missed it. However, when Letty had gone off on her race Stacy had taken it upon herself to strut her way over to Dom though he pretended not to notice her.

"Hey Dom." She said coquettishly. He looked passed her and saw Johnny was nowhere in sight. "Where's your guard dog?"

"Stacy now's not a good time."

"Then when will it be a good time?" She asked in an overly sultry voice placing her hand over his chest softly.

"I don't know Stacy. We just need to stay away from each other for a while." Dom did not make eye contact with her as he spoke, but she still pressed on.

"I thought you said you weren't scared of my brother." She coyly pointed out as she looked behind her.

"He's not the one I'm worried about." Stacy rolled her eyes.

"You can't be serious. Are you talking about the classless bitch from the other night?"

"Watch it Stacy. You don't know her." Mia had been in earshot of the comment and felt her face get hot with anger.

"Please, she's just ghetto. You can do so much better, like me for example." Vince snorted at her comment. He had been right beside Dom through the entire conversation and knew Dom was pressed for time and patience.

"Listen honey. Why don't you go back to your little friends over there and leave us big boys to tend to our business?" Vince suggested. Stacy ignored him and turned her attention back to Dom.

"Why are you settling?"

"Stacy you need to go find someone else to use to piss off daddy because I ain't playing games with you." Dom warned her. "I can't have you on me like this. Trust me. It's for your own health.

"I'm not scared of her." She told him flatly, but before she turned to leave, she placed a kiss at the corner of his mouth. "Dom I always get what I want." She told him almost threateningly. As the two men watched her walk away Vince gave Dom a nudge.

"That bitch is crazy." He told him.

"I don't know what the fuck is wrong with her. I don't need anymore drama."

"Man you must have a dick of gold." Leon commented.

"Shut the fuck up."

"You always have girls fight over you. I don't get it." Vince chimed in.

"That's not true."

"Even before Letty, and they're always hot too."

"I'm blessed." He said simply while he looked around the crowd hoping Letty was nowhere in sight. He turned to Mia who had been nearby and glaring at him intently before saying "Don't tell Letty about this." She rolled her eyes and walked away. Mia detested being placed in the center of any romantic woes including her own. She, like Letty, did not stand for bullshit and called everyone out on his or hers. The girls were more similar than they let on. When Letty finally arrived from her race she had been blinded by the pressing crowd around her. People always gathered to see the money exchange and she, like Dom, would hand it over to Mia. When Letty spotted Mia she seemed a little unnerved, presumably caused by something her brother did or said.

"What did he do now?"

"He's a moron."

"He definitely can be."

"No he is." Mia insisted. "God, he's frustrating." Letty looked over and saw that Dom had been speaking with Johnny. Letty crossed her arms over her chest.

"Why the fuck is he talking to Tran?"

"Who knows."

"That bitch of a sister of his better keep herself in check." Mia swallowed hard at Letty's comment and cleared her throat.

"Yea, let's hope so."

"She knows he's taken so I don't get why she keeps coming after Dom. I'm pretty sure she's stalking him too. Did you know she showed up to that Italian restaurant we were at the other night by HERSELF?" Letty emphasized. Her patience was wearing thin, but she needed to be provoked in order to act on her desires to physically harm the brazen girl. Letty was trying to keep her composure when it came to the subject to prove to herself she had matured past her old ways, but she secretly prayed that Stacy would act so that Letty could pummel her at full force.

A few feet away, Dom was having a rather unpleasant conversation with Johnny as Vince, Leon, and Jessie overheard intently. "So here's my proposition. I need a few drivers to help me pull this job. You got the skills and it's a lot of money. If you're as good as you say you are then you have nothing to worry about." Dom stayed expressionless. "Listen, think about it and give me a call if you're interested." Johnny walked away confidently. Dom could not deny interest in his offer though he did not express it.

"Man $200,000 is a lot of money." Vince said pensively.

"Yea." Dom said quietly.

"You gonna think about it?"

"I don't know man I-"

"Cops! Cops!" They heard someone yell into the crowd and they all bolted to their car. Mia never took her own car to the races because she did not race, and up until recently did not own one. She got into Letty's passenger seat and they sped off at full speed.

"Shit." Letty muttered. "How the fuck did they get so close?"

"They're getting better at tracking everyone down. I think it's the helicopters." Mia said searching up into the night's sky. Just then sirens came from behind them. "Fuck."

"Don't worry. I got this." Mia looked back worriedly not fully confident in Letty's reassurance. There were three cars perusing them and Letty was running out of clear road. She was able to cause two of the police cars to crash into one another by throwing off their sense of direction and drifting into a deep curve. They had made it to the other side of town, but she still had the one cop on her tail. She knew if she did not lose him soon there would be more behind her.

"What if they catch us?" Mia asked petrified. Letty did not answer, but Mia knew the response. They would both get arrested for not only street racing, but also causing injury to the police officers in the crash they had enticed. Letty would have her car impounded and face real jail time depending on the damage done.

"That's not happening." Letty finally answered calmly. They were backed into an empty lot, and she knew that if she could get through the retainer wall she could lose the car behind her. Letty went for the only option she could think of and smashed her car through the wall. The airbag imploded and Mia's face slammed against it.

"Ahh!" Mia screamed, but she soon realized what had just taken place. "Holy shit! That just happened."

"Kick the windshield. I can't see." Letty commanded as she continued to drive. There was glass and stone all over the dashboard, and Letty had not slowed down to assess any damages. Mia did what she was told until the windshield was had completely gone. She began to rub her forehead in hopes of relieving the pain ignoring a small gash she had just obtained on her leg. When she looked over at Letty she realized Letty had blood coming from her left front shoulder.

"Letty! You're bleeding. Pull over." Mia insisted.

"Are you crazy?"

"You're bleeding!" She repeated.

"It's no big deal. I'll be fine." In all honesty, she had not felt any pain. The adrenaline in her system had completely numbed her from it. She had a couple scratches from the glass and concrete that fell on her through the cash, but she did not mind because they had lost the police officers that were perusing them.

"What's that noise?" It was a loud clunking sound that grew louder by the second.

"I don't know." Letty answered, but soon the car began to smoke and her engine began to power down. "Oh shit."

"Pull over, pull over!" Mia urged.

"Fuck." She said knowing full well the dangers of smoking cars with a tank of Nos. "You got the money?" She asked impatiently. Mia nodded hurriedly as she pulled over. "Let's get the fuck out this car." The girls quickly ran out of their seats and onto the street. Letty prayed with all her might that God would not take away her Torino Cobra, but it was not meant to be. While Mia had gone down a few blocks to call a cab the cobra became ablaze and Letty ran for her life. "Mia run!" She yelled as she past the brunette. Mia followed on Letty's heel without bothering to hang up the pay phone she had been calling from. A few seconds later, they saw the massive explosion at the distance.

"Oh. My. God." Mia worded. Letty looked in the direction of the heavy smoke, heartbroken at the sight of her baby's passing. "I'm so sorry." Mia told her softly.

"It's not your fault." Letty told her bitterly turning to walk away from the burn sight. Mia grabbed her hand and they walked until they found another pay phone. They were waiting for the cab on the stoops of some stranger's house before Mia finally spoke. "We can try to get you another car." Letty stayed silent. "It won't be the same, but at least you'll have something." More silence followed, but Mia could not bear it. She felt so hopeless knowing full well how much Letty loved her Torino Cobra. "I think maybe we should get you to a doctor."

"No." Letty finally spoke flatly.

"We should call Dom."

"No."

"You know he's looking for us. We should have been home long ago. We're usually the first ones there."

Letty gave her a simple shrug. "I'm out of quarters. Can you give me one?" Letty eyed her for a moment, but finally gave Mia what she asked for when she realized just how scared Mia had been. She ran to the pay phone and dialed home. "Hello?"

"Mia?" Jessie asked picking up the phone.

"Yeah."

"Damn, they got you didn't they?" He asked noticing the sadness in her voice.

"No. We're going home. I just wanted to let you know."

"I'll beep the guys. They've been all over town looking for you two."

"I figured." They made it home and Mia went to tell the boys what had happened while Letty stormed upstairs to the bathroom. She looked at her wound and realized that it was deeper than she had envisioned. After cleaning out the glass and debris, Letty hopped into the shower in attempt to wash away the stresses of her day. She heard the door open and close, and soon felt a cool breeze from behind her.

"A fucking retainer wall?" Dom accused.

"Yup."

"What the fuck were you thinking?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"How?" He exclaimed

"It was that or get arrested; and we wouldn't want Mia in handcuffs now would we?"

"And the Torino?"

"Toed the fuck up." She said solemnly.

"Damn." Dom said pensively as she stepped out of the shower. Dom stilled her and gave her a complete inspection. "You need stitches."

"It can wait."

"No, it can't."

"You do it because I'm not going to the ER over this shit." She compromised though her tone was evidently snappy.

"Mia!" He yelled out. A few moments later they heard someone running up the stairs.

"What is it?"

"Do you remember how to do stitches?"

"I'm terrible at it." She cautioned.

"Just do it." He told her and his sister nodded in affirmation. Within a matter of minutes Mia had sterilized a sewing needle and thread. She began to seal Letty's wound while Dom looked over them intensely.

Letty did not make a sound nor did she express any emotions though they all knew it was extremely painful with no anesthetic. She stared at the wall in front of her blankly just wanting the horrible day to finally end. When they were finished Letty silently walked into the room and began to furiously looking through her drawers in search of sweats to sleep in. Though he was angry, Dom knew Letty was beyond upset. He sat on the edge of the bed. "I'll get you another car. You're lucky you didn't blow yourself up."

"Not now." She warned him sternly. He took some time to determine the appropriate way to handle their current situation.

"Baby, come here." Dom beckoned softly, but she did not make any attempt to come any closer to him. He stood and tenderly grabbed her by the forearm.

"I don't want to talk right now." She said avoiding eye contact with him.

"You don't have to talk to me. I already know." He told her bringing her into an embrace. "I'm just happy you're ok." Letty held onto Dom for what seemed like ages. Tony had put a lot of wrench time and money into the Cobra. Dom understood how much his father had meant to her. He taught her how to dominate and control the power of her engine. In fact, Tony had taught her everything she knew and the car was the only link to him she had completely to herself. The Cobra also brought her memories of the milestones of her relationship with Dom, the good and the bad. It had gone through so much history in such a short period of time that it hurt her to part with it.

"I'm tired." Letty said into his chest after a long embrace.

"Let's go to bed." He said parting from their hug and pulling her towards the bed. Once in bed, Letty nestled herself into Dom's arms with one leg over his hip. They laid in silence until a thought interrupted Letty's meditation.

"Why were you talking with Tran earlier?" Dom took a deep breath. He had completely forgotten about Tran's proposition.

"He was making me a business proposal."

"Meaning?"

"He wants me to help him smuggle something."

"The fuck? He's tripping."

"It's a lot of money."

"How much?"

"$200,000."

"Say what now?" She said perking up. "Is it drugs? Because there is now way I'm giving you permission to do that."

"No. It's merchandise or some shit. He didn't tell me much. It wasn't exactly the best location for a business meeting."

"This must be that deep shit Hector was talking about. What did you tell him?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?"

"Exactly what it means. He told me to call him with an answer."

"You're not considering it are you?" She said boring into his eyes. Dom looked away for a moment. "Dom?"

"I know it's risky, but-"

"You could go to prison. We don't need the money that bad."

"You don't, but I do."

"What is that supposed to mean? Everything is basically covered."

"About that."

"Dominic." Her voiced was laced with anger at the thought of him hiding something from her.

"I haven't paid the mortgage in four months so that I could keep the garage open, pay Mia's school, and pay the other bills. That includes Linder's ongoing medical expenses. Then the boiler got busted, and now your car blew up. Shit keeps happening and I'm running out of money." He said exasperatedly.

"You mean to tell me that all this time you've been sinking in a hole of debt and you're just telling me this now." Her fist met with his chest. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Ow."

"What about all the shit you've bought me? You just bought Mia a new car, not to mention all the shit you put into yours."

"If I do this I can fix it."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"You mean like you told me about that time you and Ana got temporarily evicted from your apartment." She looked at him questioningly. "Yea, you didn't think I found out about that did you?"

"You were locked up. I wasn't going to stress you with shit that didn't concern you."

"You're my concern so I beg to differ."

"Dom you could end up in prison."

"I wont do anything that will put me back inside."

"Tran can't be trusted."

"I don't trust him." Letty put her hand to his face and caressed it.

"You promised me you wouldn't go back there."

"And I intend on keeping it."

"If you don't want any part of it I get it, but it's a lot of money."

"$200,000?"

"$200,000." He affirmed.

"Shit."