CHAPTER 6
Dom sat in his car and opened the envelope again -- he didn't even know how many times he had looked at these pictures, sure they weren't real. Now they most probably were. It was Nikki -- in every single shot -- and she was with a man that Dominic knew well -- Johnny Tran's younger brother Jimmy. She had on nothing in most of the pictures except a pair of tiny white panties, her arms were wrapped around his neck, he had his face buried in her breasts, he was on top of her and one of her legs was wrapped around his naked ass. Dom was so tempted to rip them into shreds but he couldn't for some reason. He did know, however, exactly what he was going to do. He was going to start racing again, beat Jimmy Tran in a race, and then eventually kill him. No one would find out -- he'd be smart about it -- this wasn't like the time he snapped and beat that guy that killed his father. This was different -- Dom was going to plan it all out, exactly what he was going to do and how and when. And when he killed Jimmy, when he snapped his neck with his bare hands, he would remind him of how he had fucked Nikki and that had been a mistake. But what could he do about her? She was the mother of his children and he loved her still, with every part of his soul. But he couldn't be with someone who had betrayed him. He'd divorce her and take the girls. She could visit but that would be it. And if she didn't like it, he'd take them and move out of the country. He'd give her enough money to live on and live well. And that would be it. No more women who spent more than a few hours in his bed -- he would never marry again, never fall in love. You lose your heart and soul to a woman and all it does is fuck you up. Dom sped out of the parking lot and toward home. He had to get dressed for the race tonight and he was going to tell her with a vicious joy. He knew she didn't want him racing although she always proclaimed that she wouldn't stop him. Every time his heart tried to get the best of him, remind him of his love for her, he would force himself to think of those pictures, of his wife having sex with Jimmy Tran, and the love, while it never left, at least felt like it faded. Dom walked into the house and slammed the front door hard. She was home -- he saw her Benz in the driveway. He turned on the stereo as loud as it would go and ran up the stairs. He didn't know where she was in the house and tried to pretend to himself that he didn't care. Rap music was shaking the walls of the house and he attempted to pump himself up for this race. He had enough NOS in the new car to blow himself off the planet, much less win a race and he was going to win. He heard the shower running and stripped off his clothes and slid the door open. "Dom, you're letting all the cool air in." "Move over, Nik -- I'm going out tonight." He got into the shower and turned on the other jets. He didn't speak to her but couldn't resist her, as much as he wanted to. He reached over and grabbed her around the waist, letting his free hand roam her body. "You feel sexy, were you thinking about someone, darling?" He had a tone in his voice that she didn't like. "Dom, I don't want to do this like this. What do you mean you're going out and who am I thinking about? What is going on?" Nikki tried to move away from him but it was impossible, he was too strong for her and was gripping her too tightly. "You don't want to do it like what, Nik -- in the shower? We've done it in the shower thousands of times, I'd guess. Hell, Glory could have been conceived in here, couldn't she? Although, at this point, I'd be a fool not to use protection with you." He was being mean and knew it and his heart tried to stop him. He ignored it. "You'd be a fool -- Dom, stop!" He got out of the shower and opened a drawer and got out a condom and got back in. She backed up against the tile. "I said no, Dominic, I mean it." He touched her the way she always loved to be touched but didn't kiss her and it wasn't working for her and he knew it. "You always want me, Nikki, don't pretend." "You're like a different person. Stop touching me like that." She tried to move from him and slipped and almost fell but he grabbed her and stood her up straight. "I could have gone right through those shower doors, Dominic -- first the wall and now this -- are you trying to hurt me?" She got out of the shower and he stood wondering what the hell he was trying to do. He showered and came out, a towel draped low around his waist. She was sitting on the bed, drying her hair with a big fluffy towel. "Look, I wasn't trying to hurt you, Nikki, I was just horny. Why can't you do your wifely duty and take care of me?" "Take care of you sexually, you mean, because you won't let me take care of you in any other way." She gave him a dirty look and he dropped the towel. "That's exactly what I mean. I've got a race tonight and I want to be pumped up -- a little attention from you and that smart mouth of yours might give me some luck." Her head was spinning -- he was being cruel, talking about sex like it was something so dirty between them, and now he was racing again? "You've got a what?" "A hard-on." "I can see that. Not as impressive as usual, though." He felt like slapping her -- he wondered how much she enjoyed Jimmy Tran's body. "You said you are racing tonight?" "Yep -- you heard me. Got a sweet little car all ready to go and I'm gonna be seeing lots of old friends -- there will be a party back here tonight, by the way. I'm betting one hundred large on this cherry and only one person out there is stupid enough to take the bet. Old friend of yours, in fact." Nikki looked at him in confusion. She knew no one from the racing circuit. "What are you talking about? Who?" "Don't play with me Nikki -- unless you're gonna play the way I want it, but obviously you're too busy talking to do anything constructive." He walked away from her and got dressed as she watched. "Dom, what friend -- why are you playing these head games with me?" He started laughing. "Oh no, you were the one who wouldn't play head games, Nikki. At least not with me." Dom walked back into the bathroom and she followed him. "I want to go with you." "Absolutely not and don't plan on making calls to find out where I am -- I already warned everyone we know that if you show up at that race, I'll be fucking bashing heads in." "You threatened our friends?" He pushed past her back into the bedroom. "You know something, Nik -- I just can't believe this. NO kids in the house, just us and a big bed and you're being a frigid little witch. I don't have time for you right now but when I get home, I'll let you make the choice." "What choice?" "When I win, I always get laid, honey. You or someone else -- take the choice." He walked away from her down the stairs. "Oh, and honey, when I get home, I have something interesting to show you." Dom slammed the front door and Nikki heard the engine roar and the squeal of tires as he floored it out of their driveway. What was wrong with him, she wondered to herself. He was actually talking about sleeping with another woman? This can't be -- none of what has gone on in the last three months could be happening. She thought of Letty -- locked up in that psych ward for all those months and wondered if this is what it felt like? Maybe none of this was real. Nikki shook her head at the ridiculous thought although it did give her some comfort -- being insane would be better than living life like this. Nikki turned off the stereo and sat down on the couch. No more tears -- she couldn't even cry any more tears. She picked up the phone and called Jesse and begged him to come over to the house. He showed up ten minutes later. He hugged her for a long, long time. "Jesse, what is wrong with him -- is he on drugs?" Nikki was totally serious -- maybe he was doing steroids -- she had heard of some sort of rage. Maybe it was speed or X or Special K -- she used to see all that stuff back in her days in Jersey and New York. Hell, she had been addicted to speed herself at one point long ago. "No, Nik, I don't think so. I don't know what's wrong with him -- I've never seen him like this. Never. Even when his dad died, he wasn't like this. I wish I could help you -- shit, I'm afraid if he finds me here, he'll beat the hell out of me." "He'd never ...." Neither one of them said anything because neither one of them knew the truth. Would he hurt Jesse or one of their friends? They didn't know. "Where is the race?" "No way -- I'm here because I love you but I am not a fool. He meant it when he said not to tell you." "All right, tell me this -- who is he racing -- he said it was only one guy and was for a lot of money." "Hundred grand. He's racing Jimmy Tran." Nikki's heart stopped -- he was obviously related to Johnny. She still shuddered when she thought about the night she stabbed him. "Who is he? Dom seems to think I know him." Jesse looked at her strangely. "I mean, he is related to Johnny, right, but I only knew Johnny and his cousin." "He's Johnny's little brother but I don't know why Dom would think you'd know him -- he just moved back into LA three months ago. He had been living in Washington for the past ten years or so. Yeah, he's only been back three months." "When Dom changed." "Yeah, you're right. Maybe something went down between the two of them?" Jesse was thinking and Nikki looked at him. "But if that is true, why would Dom be so mean to me? Why would he be so cruel to his friends and family?" "I don't know, Nik. Look I'm going over to the bar -- there's a party there tonight." "Wait -- Dom said it would be here." Jesse stared at her. "Honey, are you sure you are hearing everything right -- are you feeling okay? You can't know Jimmy, there is no party here. Where would all the booze and food be? Nikki, I'm worried -- about Dom, about you. Maybe I should stay?" "No, go to the bar. Call me if he's okay, all right?" "Absolutely. And don't worry -- he will be. No one drives like Dom." Jesse kissed her goodbye and Nikki sat on the couch. Dom did say it was an old friend of hers that he was racing and he did tell her he was having the party there. In fact, he made that comment about getting laid. Was that what he was doing? This was giving her the worst headache and she walked out into the kitchen and got a bottle of ice cold beer out of the fridge. This was the first beer she had had in a long time -- with two little babies, she didn't want to lose a moment of control, even to one beer. Nikki's cell phone rang and she grabbed for it. It was Jesse with a lot of noise behind him. "He's fine, Nik -- he won!! Everyone is totally psyched." "Is he there?" She asked but what she was really thinking was "is he with someone?" "No, I don't know where the hell he is -- after he collected his winnings from Jimmy, he told everyone he was done racing, the car was up for sale, and split. I'll talk to you tomorrow -- it'll be okay, Nikki." Nikki thought about what Jesse said -- that Dom won, that he wasn't there at the party for him, that he quit racing after coming back for this one race. That everything would be okay. Would it, really? Suddenly her cell rang again and she expected Jesse but it was Dom. "Make a choice now cuz I'm looking at a blonde." His voice was deep and resonated through her. Part of her wanted to scream at him to fuck the slut and leave her and her children alone, but most of her wanted him to come home. "Hurry up, Nikki." "Come home, alone, and do whatever you want to me, Dom. I don't care anymore." She hung up on him.
CHAPTER 7
Dom knew beating Jimmy would be easy but didn't think it would be this easy. Victory also didn't taste as sweet as he hoped it would. He was too angry -- he wanted Jimmy's blood, not his money. He didn't even bother with the party -- who cared. Everyone was cheering and yelling his name and he told them all it was his last race and his car was for sale. He got into the car and took off, driving around, thinking about what to do. He couldn't get his mind off those pictures -- how could she do this to him? After all they had shared and meant to each other? They had those two beautiful children and all that love that seemed to keep growing and she fucked another guy? The guy who's brother she nearly killed to keep from being raped by? So Dom called her, lied to her, and when she told him to do what he wanted to her and that she didn't care anymore and hung up on him, everything sort of hit him at once. He almost lost control of the car he had just won one hundred thousand dollars in. He decided to go home, to put the pictures in front of her, let her tell him why and then tell her he was divorcing her and taking the kids. No amount of asking for forgiveness would fix things either. Dom thought to himself that it was ironic -- he cheated on Letty constantly, and knew that she had on him but hadn't cared. But Letty had cared -- it had helped break her and she was still broken thanks to him. Maybe this was some sort of karma -- a royal payback for what he did to Letty. Dom parked on the street and walked slowly up the stairs to the house. The truck and Benz were in the driveway. It was dark except for the light coming from the nursery. The babies weren't home -- why was she in there? He walked inside and up the stairs, stopping only to take off his leather jacket and to walk into the office, open a locked drawer and take out the manila envelope. He walked into the nursery. Nikki was sitting in the rocker with a beer in her hand. She was in one of his tee-shirts that was way too big for her body and covered with a blanket. She was rocking back and forth slowly but looked as though she was ready to fall asleep. She didn't even hear him come in. His heart started to go to her and he clutched the pictures. "Hey, Nik." "Hi." "What are you doing in here?" "Missing our girls. Did you make it okay?" "I told you I won." "That really isn't what I was asking, but I guess congratulations are in order." "What were you asking?" "Does it matter, Dom, to you? Do I matter anymore?" The tears rolled down her cheeks so slowly and his heart started to break. "You told me to make a choice, I told you to come home and do whatever you wanted to me. Let's go in the bedroom or shower or front lawn -- just not in here." "You're gonna let me do whatever I want -- anything I want to you?" She nodded her head. "Why would you do that?" She stood up so quickly that the rocker fell over. She screamed right into his face, right up against him. "Because maybe it will bring you back to me!!" He was shocked by the sheer force of her anger and stepped back. If anyone had told him three months ago, three years ago that there would be this much anger between them, he wouldn't have believed a word they said, probably hit them if it had been a guy. If God Himself had told Dom this, he would have called God a liar. "I'm not going to touch you, Nikki, but I do want you to come out of this nursery and down to the kitchen with me. I told you I had something to show you." "A blonde?" "No, an auburn haired goddess." She looked at him, wondering what he was talking about and followed him down to the kitchen. She noticed then he was carrying a manila envelope. Nikki sat down at the table and Dom got both of them a beer, taking her empty bottle and throwing it away. "Well? Where is she?" Dom opened the envelope and the pictures scattered all over the table. "Right there -- my own incredibly stunning auburn haired goddess fucking Jimmy Tran." He was calm for the first time in weeks. "Look all you want, they ain't gonna change. I want a divorce, Nikki, I want the girls. You can have visitation and I'll make sure you are taken care of financially, but I want you out of this house." She was ignoring him, shocked at what she was seeing. She had never met Jimmy Tran in her life but it was .... she looked a little closer and then a lot closer. "I'll be right back." Much to his surprise she didn't try and deny anything, didn't beg for forgiveness, she just ran up the stairs to the office and came back down with a magnifying glass. "I almost forgot we had this." She looked closer at the pictures. "Dominic, I need to ask you a question -- when did you get these?" "Three months ago -- your lover left them on my windshield." "And how many times have you looked at them?" She was calm and it flustered him and made him angry. "Thousands, but I don't think that is the fucking point, Nikki. You are fucking ..." "No, I'm not." "I even took this to an expert at Computer Land who told me that this was real and not some image cooked up in a computer." "Well, he's a moron and I think you might be too." Dom stared at her -- he was so angry but her sense of absolute relaxation threw him. "Come here. Dominic -- come here!" He walked over slowly. "So I assume you noticed my white ..." "Yeah, the white panties he seems to love." "No, honey, the white bikini bottoms that you love -- the white lacey bikini that you always attack me when I'm wearing because it is so small on my breasts. Look at it -- you can see the lace and that it is the bikini and not a pair of panties. God, I thought you were smarter than this." Dominic looked closer than ever at the picture and then grabbed the magnifying glass from her. Holy shit, he thought, she was right. It was the bikini and he should know -- he put his hands in those bottoms more times than he could count. "Now look closely at this one -- with my arms supposedly around Jimmy's neck -- Dom -- you can see part of Glory's leg -- I was holding her in the air when this was taken. All of these were taken when I was in the backyard getting some sun with our babies!!" She screamed at him and threw the beer across the room where it shattered. Dom grabbed the picture -- she was right -- he could see Glory's leg -- he could even make out the little heart shaped birthmark -- he had been so busy looking at Jimmy that he couldn't see anything else. "But the bed ..." "Fuck, Dominic -- I was laying in the sun -- you know I spread my legs a little bit to tan the insides of my thighs. I must have had one leg up -- probably Daisy was sitting just below it. And obviously these guys had a high powered digital camera and some good computer work and if some "expert" as you put it tells you that this is real -- you are the one who got fucked, Dom, not me." She stormed out of the room and upstairs to the bedroom. Dom looked again at each picture and could see so much more of what he had missed in his anger -- the yard was theirs, part of the back of the house, part of the lawn chair she liked, even part of Daisy's hand. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have thought this about his own wife?? He ran up the stairs to find her on the phone, an pile of clothes in her arm. She saw him and went into the bathroom, locking the door. She had never done that before -- not even when she had the worst morning sickness in the world and was basically covered with puke. He listened and realized she was talking to Mia. "What day are you coming home? No, I'm glad. Everything's not okay, but it will be, sis. I love you too -- kiss my little girls. Bye, sweetie." Nikki came out of the bathroom, having changed into jeans and a sweater and walked right past him, opening the closet and pulling out a suitcase. She pulled out the white bikini and threw it at him. "You know what you can do with this." She went back to pulling her clothes out. "Nik, wait -- oh God, please wait -- I'm so sorry -- I don't know what came over me, I don't know why I believed this or why I didn't ask you first. I know you love me and would never do this to me and I just went crazy. God, Nikki, forgive me." She kept packing as he begged. "You want a divorce, you're taking the girls??? FUCK YOU, DOM!" She was throwing her clothes into the suitcase. "How could you do this -- how could you do this to our love?? You threw it all away -- you've been throwing shit in my face for three months over something that would have been fixed in a day and you know what, Dom? You fucking lost to the Tran family tonight -- Jimmy may have lost that race to you and that money but you fucking lost your wife because he won the game he decided to play. I don't stay with the losing side, babe, and you should have known that when I told you about my past. I leave the losers." She picked up the suitcase and he grabbed it. "What are you going to do now -- hit me, throw me against a wall or the shower doors -- rape me -- make me feel like your whore? You wanted me to make a choice tonight, Dominic -- I made one -- now I want you to have the blonde, I want a winner and you are a loser." "I'm not letting you go, Nik. I won't -- I fucked up -- how can you not forgive me?" He had tears actually running down his cheeks and she felt no sympathy for him. He had made her cry hundreds of tears in the past three months. "Because I am Nikki Toretto and we get vengeance -- haven't you heard that about the Toretto clan, Dominic? You picked me because you saw that I am tough and hard just like you." "You aren't anything like me, Nikki -- you've never been hard a moment in your life. Don't leave me -- can't we start over -- can't you help me? Please help me, baby, please." Now that got to her --- almost. "Take those pictures and study them real good, honey, because that is the last time you will ever see me in a position like that." She started out of the bedroom and he grabbed her around her waist. "Let me go. Keep my clothes -- keep everything. If you think you are getting those girls, Dom, you are dreaming. I'm leaving you." "No -- we have to find a way to work through this. You said you wanted me back to myself -- you said that the choice was for me to come home so I'd come back to you -- I'm back to you, Nikki, you made that choice and I'm back." She struggled but there was no point -- he was too strong. "I love you with all of my soul -- I swear to God, Nikki, if you left me I would have nothing left to live for. I'm not playing with you -- there would be no reason to live. No one needs me but you and those girls -- you are the reason I am alive." She was breathing so hard but it was slowing down a bit. He loosened his grip on her a little. "Don't leave me, baby, please. I was lied to, I believed what I was told instead of what was in my heart. I need you, Nik." She had been silent too long -- he prayed she was listening to him. "Okay -- we'll talk. Stay up here and unpack my stuff and I'll get us something to drink without the alcohol that neither of us needs. I'm going to make a pot of coffee." She didn't smile at him but he thought her eyes looked softer and she had dried tears on her face. He leaned in to kiss her and she moved her head back. "I'll be up in a few -- unpack, okay?" Dom agreed and went into the bedroom. Suddenly he heard a motor start up. "Shit!" Dom ran down the stairs but Nikki was already out of the driveway in her Benz. He couldn't find his keys and then noticed the keys to the race car on the couch. He grabbed them and tried to find her. She must have taken some quick turns because she was no where. He went to the garage, the store, everywhere that she went, he even went to Jesse and Leon's new apartment to see if she was there and talked them into letting him search it for her. He told them he had to talk to them, to apologize but had to find his wife first. He drove back home, thinking she might have snuck into Mia's house but it was totally locked up and obviously hadn't been opened. He drove to Vince and Letty's -- he hated to do that, not wanting to add any stress to Letty after what he had already done, but he had to know. Vince said no at first and Dom told him that Nikki had split and he had to find her. Letty looked out from behind Vince and motioned Dom in. He hugged her for a long time, apologizing and swearing to her that he would never yell at her again, that he had never been angry at her and that everything was his fault. She hugged him back and whispered 'beach' to him. Dom looked deep into Letty's eyes. "You're such a smart girl, sweetie -- you know where she is. I do love you, my other sister." He kissed her and hugged Vince, telling him he wanted to talk to both of them after he straightened things out with Nik.
Dom sat in his car and opened the envelope again -- he didn't even know how many times he had looked at these pictures, sure they weren't real. Now they most probably were. It was Nikki -- in every single shot -- and she was with a man that Dominic knew well -- Johnny Tran's younger brother Jimmy. She had on nothing in most of the pictures except a pair of tiny white panties, her arms were wrapped around his neck, he had his face buried in her breasts, he was on top of her and one of her legs was wrapped around his naked ass. Dom was so tempted to rip them into shreds but he couldn't for some reason. He did know, however, exactly what he was going to do. He was going to start racing again, beat Jimmy Tran in a race, and then eventually kill him. No one would find out -- he'd be smart about it -- this wasn't like the time he snapped and beat that guy that killed his father. This was different -- Dom was going to plan it all out, exactly what he was going to do and how and when. And when he killed Jimmy, when he snapped his neck with his bare hands, he would remind him of how he had fucked Nikki and that had been a mistake. But what could he do about her? She was the mother of his children and he loved her still, with every part of his soul. But he couldn't be with someone who had betrayed him. He'd divorce her and take the girls. She could visit but that would be it. And if she didn't like it, he'd take them and move out of the country. He'd give her enough money to live on and live well. And that would be it. No more women who spent more than a few hours in his bed -- he would never marry again, never fall in love. You lose your heart and soul to a woman and all it does is fuck you up. Dom sped out of the parking lot and toward home. He had to get dressed for the race tonight and he was going to tell her with a vicious joy. He knew she didn't want him racing although she always proclaimed that she wouldn't stop him. Every time his heart tried to get the best of him, remind him of his love for her, he would force himself to think of those pictures, of his wife having sex with Jimmy Tran, and the love, while it never left, at least felt like it faded. Dom walked into the house and slammed the front door hard. She was home -- he saw her Benz in the driveway. He turned on the stereo as loud as it would go and ran up the stairs. He didn't know where she was in the house and tried to pretend to himself that he didn't care. Rap music was shaking the walls of the house and he attempted to pump himself up for this race. He had enough NOS in the new car to blow himself off the planet, much less win a race and he was going to win. He heard the shower running and stripped off his clothes and slid the door open. "Dom, you're letting all the cool air in." "Move over, Nik -- I'm going out tonight." He got into the shower and turned on the other jets. He didn't speak to her but couldn't resist her, as much as he wanted to. He reached over and grabbed her around the waist, letting his free hand roam her body. "You feel sexy, were you thinking about someone, darling?" He had a tone in his voice that she didn't like. "Dom, I don't want to do this like this. What do you mean you're going out and who am I thinking about? What is going on?" Nikki tried to move away from him but it was impossible, he was too strong for her and was gripping her too tightly. "You don't want to do it like what, Nik -- in the shower? We've done it in the shower thousands of times, I'd guess. Hell, Glory could have been conceived in here, couldn't she? Although, at this point, I'd be a fool not to use protection with you." He was being mean and knew it and his heart tried to stop him. He ignored it. "You'd be a fool -- Dom, stop!" He got out of the shower and opened a drawer and got out a condom and got back in. She backed up against the tile. "I said no, Dominic, I mean it." He touched her the way she always loved to be touched but didn't kiss her and it wasn't working for her and he knew it. "You always want me, Nikki, don't pretend." "You're like a different person. Stop touching me like that." She tried to move from him and slipped and almost fell but he grabbed her and stood her up straight. "I could have gone right through those shower doors, Dominic -- first the wall and now this -- are you trying to hurt me?" She got out of the shower and he stood wondering what the hell he was trying to do. He showered and came out, a towel draped low around his waist. She was sitting on the bed, drying her hair with a big fluffy towel. "Look, I wasn't trying to hurt you, Nikki, I was just horny. Why can't you do your wifely duty and take care of me?" "Take care of you sexually, you mean, because you won't let me take care of you in any other way." She gave him a dirty look and he dropped the towel. "That's exactly what I mean. I've got a race tonight and I want to be pumped up -- a little attention from you and that smart mouth of yours might give me some luck." Her head was spinning -- he was being cruel, talking about sex like it was something so dirty between them, and now he was racing again? "You've got a what?" "A hard-on." "I can see that. Not as impressive as usual, though." He felt like slapping her -- he wondered how much she enjoyed Jimmy Tran's body. "You said you are racing tonight?" "Yep -- you heard me. Got a sweet little car all ready to go and I'm gonna be seeing lots of old friends -- there will be a party back here tonight, by the way. I'm betting one hundred large on this cherry and only one person out there is stupid enough to take the bet. Old friend of yours, in fact." Nikki looked at him in confusion. She knew no one from the racing circuit. "What are you talking about? Who?" "Don't play with me Nikki -- unless you're gonna play the way I want it, but obviously you're too busy talking to do anything constructive." He walked away from her and got dressed as she watched. "Dom, what friend -- why are you playing these head games with me?" He started laughing. "Oh no, you were the one who wouldn't play head games, Nikki. At least not with me." Dom walked back into the bathroom and she followed him. "I want to go with you." "Absolutely not and don't plan on making calls to find out where I am -- I already warned everyone we know that if you show up at that race, I'll be fucking bashing heads in." "You threatened our friends?" He pushed past her back into the bedroom. "You know something, Nik -- I just can't believe this. NO kids in the house, just us and a big bed and you're being a frigid little witch. I don't have time for you right now but when I get home, I'll let you make the choice." "What choice?" "When I win, I always get laid, honey. You or someone else -- take the choice." He walked away from her down the stairs. "Oh, and honey, when I get home, I have something interesting to show you." Dom slammed the front door and Nikki heard the engine roar and the squeal of tires as he floored it out of their driveway. What was wrong with him, she wondered to herself. He was actually talking about sleeping with another woman? This can't be -- none of what has gone on in the last three months could be happening. She thought of Letty -- locked up in that psych ward for all those months and wondered if this is what it felt like? Maybe none of this was real. Nikki shook her head at the ridiculous thought although it did give her some comfort -- being insane would be better than living life like this. Nikki turned off the stereo and sat down on the couch. No more tears -- she couldn't even cry any more tears. She picked up the phone and called Jesse and begged him to come over to the house. He showed up ten minutes later. He hugged her for a long, long time. "Jesse, what is wrong with him -- is he on drugs?" Nikki was totally serious -- maybe he was doing steroids -- she had heard of some sort of rage. Maybe it was speed or X or Special K -- she used to see all that stuff back in her days in Jersey and New York. Hell, she had been addicted to speed herself at one point long ago. "No, Nik, I don't think so. I don't know what's wrong with him -- I've never seen him like this. Never. Even when his dad died, he wasn't like this. I wish I could help you -- shit, I'm afraid if he finds me here, he'll beat the hell out of me." "He'd never ...." Neither one of them said anything because neither one of them knew the truth. Would he hurt Jesse or one of their friends? They didn't know. "Where is the race?" "No way -- I'm here because I love you but I am not a fool. He meant it when he said not to tell you." "All right, tell me this -- who is he racing -- he said it was only one guy and was for a lot of money." "Hundred grand. He's racing Jimmy Tran." Nikki's heart stopped -- he was obviously related to Johnny. She still shuddered when she thought about the night she stabbed him. "Who is he? Dom seems to think I know him." Jesse looked at her strangely. "I mean, he is related to Johnny, right, but I only knew Johnny and his cousin." "He's Johnny's little brother but I don't know why Dom would think you'd know him -- he just moved back into LA three months ago. He had been living in Washington for the past ten years or so. Yeah, he's only been back three months." "When Dom changed." "Yeah, you're right. Maybe something went down between the two of them?" Jesse was thinking and Nikki looked at him. "But if that is true, why would Dom be so mean to me? Why would he be so cruel to his friends and family?" "I don't know, Nik. Look I'm going over to the bar -- there's a party there tonight." "Wait -- Dom said it would be here." Jesse stared at her. "Honey, are you sure you are hearing everything right -- are you feeling okay? You can't know Jimmy, there is no party here. Where would all the booze and food be? Nikki, I'm worried -- about Dom, about you. Maybe I should stay?" "No, go to the bar. Call me if he's okay, all right?" "Absolutely. And don't worry -- he will be. No one drives like Dom." Jesse kissed her goodbye and Nikki sat on the couch. Dom did say it was an old friend of hers that he was racing and he did tell her he was having the party there. In fact, he made that comment about getting laid. Was that what he was doing? This was giving her the worst headache and she walked out into the kitchen and got a bottle of ice cold beer out of the fridge. This was the first beer she had had in a long time -- with two little babies, she didn't want to lose a moment of control, even to one beer. Nikki's cell phone rang and she grabbed for it. It was Jesse with a lot of noise behind him. "He's fine, Nik -- he won!! Everyone is totally psyched." "Is he there?" She asked but what she was really thinking was "is he with someone?" "No, I don't know where the hell he is -- after he collected his winnings from Jimmy, he told everyone he was done racing, the car was up for sale, and split. I'll talk to you tomorrow -- it'll be okay, Nikki." Nikki thought about what Jesse said -- that Dom won, that he wasn't there at the party for him, that he quit racing after coming back for this one race. That everything would be okay. Would it, really? Suddenly her cell rang again and she expected Jesse but it was Dom. "Make a choice now cuz I'm looking at a blonde." His voice was deep and resonated through her. Part of her wanted to scream at him to fuck the slut and leave her and her children alone, but most of her wanted him to come home. "Hurry up, Nikki." "Come home, alone, and do whatever you want to me, Dom. I don't care anymore." She hung up on him.
CHAPTER 7
Dom knew beating Jimmy would be easy but didn't think it would be this easy. Victory also didn't taste as sweet as he hoped it would. He was too angry -- he wanted Jimmy's blood, not his money. He didn't even bother with the party -- who cared. Everyone was cheering and yelling his name and he told them all it was his last race and his car was for sale. He got into the car and took off, driving around, thinking about what to do. He couldn't get his mind off those pictures -- how could she do this to him? After all they had shared and meant to each other? They had those two beautiful children and all that love that seemed to keep growing and she fucked another guy? The guy who's brother she nearly killed to keep from being raped by? So Dom called her, lied to her, and when she told him to do what he wanted to her and that she didn't care anymore and hung up on him, everything sort of hit him at once. He almost lost control of the car he had just won one hundred thousand dollars in. He decided to go home, to put the pictures in front of her, let her tell him why and then tell her he was divorcing her and taking the kids. No amount of asking for forgiveness would fix things either. Dom thought to himself that it was ironic -- he cheated on Letty constantly, and knew that she had on him but hadn't cared. But Letty had cared -- it had helped break her and she was still broken thanks to him. Maybe this was some sort of karma -- a royal payback for what he did to Letty. Dom parked on the street and walked slowly up the stairs to the house. The truck and Benz were in the driveway. It was dark except for the light coming from the nursery. The babies weren't home -- why was she in there? He walked inside and up the stairs, stopping only to take off his leather jacket and to walk into the office, open a locked drawer and take out the manila envelope. He walked into the nursery. Nikki was sitting in the rocker with a beer in her hand. She was in one of his tee-shirts that was way too big for her body and covered with a blanket. She was rocking back and forth slowly but looked as though she was ready to fall asleep. She didn't even hear him come in. His heart started to go to her and he clutched the pictures. "Hey, Nik." "Hi." "What are you doing in here?" "Missing our girls. Did you make it okay?" "I told you I won." "That really isn't what I was asking, but I guess congratulations are in order." "What were you asking?" "Does it matter, Dom, to you? Do I matter anymore?" The tears rolled down her cheeks so slowly and his heart started to break. "You told me to make a choice, I told you to come home and do whatever you wanted to me. Let's go in the bedroom or shower or front lawn -- just not in here." "You're gonna let me do whatever I want -- anything I want to you?" She nodded her head. "Why would you do that?" She stood up so quickly that the rocker fell over. She screamed right into his face, right up against him. "Because maybe it will bring you back to me!!" He was shocked by the sheer force of her anger and stepped back. If anyone had told him three months ago, three years ago that there would be this much anger between them, he wouldn't have believed a word they said, probably hit them if it had been a guy. If God Himself had told Dom this, he would have called God a liar. "I'm not going to touch you, Nikki, but I do want you to come out of this nursery and down to the kitchen with me. I told you I had something to show you." "A blonde?" "No, an auburn haired goddess." She looked at him, wondering what he was talking about and followed him down to the kitchen. She noticed then he was carrying a manila envelope. Nikki sat down at the table and Dom got both of them a beer, taking her empty bottle and throwing it away. "Well? Where is she?" Dom opened the envelope and the pictures scattered all over the table. "Right there -- my own incredibly stunning auburn haired goddess fucking Jimmy Tran." He was calm for the first time in weeks. "Look all you want, they ain't gonna change. I want a divorce, Nikki, I want the girls. You can have visitation and I'll make sure you are taken care of financially, but I want you out of this house." She was ignoring him, shocked at what she was seeing. She had never met Jimmy Tran in her life but it was .... she looked a little closer and then a lot closer. "I'll be right back." Much to his surprise she didn't try and deny anything, didn't beg for forgiveness, she just ran up the stairs to the office and came back down with a magnifying glass. "I almost forgot we had this." She looked closer at the pictures. "Dominic, I need to ask you a question -- when did you get these?" "Three months ago -- your lover left them on my windshield." "And how many times have you looked at them?" She was calm and it flustered him and made him angry. "Thousands, but I don't think that is the fucking point, Nikki. You are fucking ..." "No, I'm not." "I even took this to an expert at Computer Land who told me that this was real and not some image cooked up in a computer." "Well, he's a moron and I think you might be too." Dom stared at her -- he was so angry but her sense of absolute relaxation threw him. "Come here. Dominic -- come here!" He walked over slowly. "So I assume you noticed my white ..." "Yeah, the white panties he seems to love." "No, honey, the white bikini bottoms that you love -- the white lacey bikini that you always attack me when I'm wearing because it is so small on my breasts. Look at it -- you can see the lace and that it is the bikini and not a pair of panties. God, I thought you were smarter than this." Dominic looked closer than ever at the picture and then grabbed the magnifying glass from her. Holy shit, he thought, she was right. It was the bikini and he should know -- he put his hands in those bottoms more times than he could count. "Now look closely at this one -- with my arms supposedly around Jimmy's neck -- Dom -- you can see part of Glory's leg -- I was holding her in the air when this was taken. All of these were taken when I was in the backyard getting some sun with our babies!!" She screamed at him and threw the beer across the room where it shattered. Dom grabbed the picture -- she was right -- he could see Glory's leg -- he could even make out the little heart shaped birthmark -- he had been so busy looking at Jimmy that he couldn't see anything else. "But the bed ..." "Fuck, Dominic -- I was laying in the sun -- you know I spread my legs a little bit to tan the insides of my thighs. I must have had one leg up -- probably Daisy was sitting just below it. And obviously these guys had a high powered digital camera and some good computer work and if some "expert" as you put it tells you that this is real -- you are the one who got fucked, Dom, not me." She stormed out of the room and upstairs to the bedroom. Dom looked again at each picture and could see so much more of what he had missed in his anger -- the yard was theirs, part of the back of the house, part of the lawn chair she liked, even part of Daisy's hand. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have thought this about his own wife?? He ran up the stairs to find her on the phone, an pile of clothes in her arm. She saw him and went into the bathroom, locking the door. She had never done that before -- not even when she had the worst morning sickness in the world and was basically covered with puke. He listened and realized she was talking to Mia. "What day are you coming home? No, I'm glad. Everything's not okay, but it will be, sis. I love you too -- kiss my little girls. Bye, sweetie." Nikki came out of the bathroom, having changed into jeans and a sweater and walked right past him, opening the closet and pulling out a suitcase. She pulled out the white bikini and threw it at him. "You know what you can do with this." She went back to pulling her clothes out. "Nik, wait -- oh God, please wait -- I'm so sorry -- I don't know what came over me, I don't know why I believed this or why I didn't ask you first. I know you love me and would never do this to me and I just went crazy. God, Nikki, forgive me." She kept packing as he begged. "You want a divorce, you're taking the girls??? FUCK YOU, DOM!" She was throwing her clothes into the suitcase. "How could you do this -- how could you do this to our love?? You threw it all away -- you've been throwing shit in my face for three months over something that would have been fixed in a day and you know what, Dom? You fucking lost to the Tran family tonight -- Jimmy may have lost that race to you and that money but you fucking lost your wife because he won the game he decided to play. I don't stay with the losing side, babe, and you should have known that when I told you about my past. I leave the losers." She picked up the suitcase and he grabbed it. "What are you going to do now -- hit me, throw me against a wall or the shower doors -- rape me -- make me feel like your whore? You wanted me to make a choice tonight, Dominic -- I made one -- now I want you to have the blonde, I want a winner and you are a loser." "I'm not letting you go, Nik. I won't -- I fucked up -- how can you not forgive me?" He had tears actually running down his cheeks and she felt no sympathy for him. He had made her cry hundreds of tears in the past three months. "Because I am Nikki Toretto and we get vengeance -- haven't you heard that about the Toretto clan, Dominic? You picked me because you saw that I am tough and hard just like you." "You aren't anything like me, Nikki -- you've never been hard a moment in your life. Don't leave me -- can't we start over -- can't you help me? Please help me, baby, please." Now that got to her --- almost. "Take those pictures and study them real good, honey, because that is the last time you will ever see me in a position like that." She started out of the bedroom and he grabbed her around her waist. "Let me go. Keep my clothes -- keep everything. If you think you are getting those girls, Dom, you are dreaming. I'm leaving you." "No -- we have to find a way to work through this. You said you wanted me back to myself -- you said that the choice was for me to come home so I'd come back to you -- I'm back to you, Nikki, you made that choice and I'm back." She struggled but there was no point -- he was too strong. "I love you with all of my soul -- I swear to God, Nikki, if you left me I would have nothing left to live for. I'm not playing with you -- there would be no reason to live. No one needs me but you and those girls -- you are the reason I am alive." She was breathing so hard but it was slowing down a bit. He loosened his grip on her a little. "Don't leave me, baby, please. I was lied to, I believed what I was told instead of what was in my heart. I need you, Nik." She had been silent too long -- he prayed she was listening to him. "Okay -- we'll talk. Stay up here and unpack my stuff and I'll get us something to drink without the alcohol that neither of us needs. I'm going to make a pot of coffee." She didn't smile at him but he thought her eyes looked softer and she had dried tears on her face. He leaned in to kiss her and she moved her head back. "I'll be up in a few -- unpack, okay?" Dom agreed and went into the bedroom. Suddenly he heard a motor start up. "Shit!" Dom ran down the stairs but Nikki was already out of the driveway in her Benz. He couldn't find his keys and then noticed the keys to the race car on the couch. He grabbed them and tried to find her. She must have taken some quick turns because she was no where. He went to the garage, the store, everywhere that she went, he even went to Jesse and Leon's new apartment to see if she was there and talked them into letting him search it for her. He told them he had to talk to them, to apologize but had to find his wife first. He drove back home, thinking she might have snuck into Mia's house but it was totally locked up and obviously hadn't been opened. He drove to Vince and Letty's -- he hated to do that, not wanting to add any stress to Letty after what he had already done, but he had to know. Vince said no at first and Dom told him that Nikki had split and he had to find her. Letty looked out from behind Vince and motioned Dom in. He hugged her for a long time, apologizing and swearing to her that he would never yell at her again, that he had never been angry at her and that everything was his fault. She hugged him back and whispered 'beach' to him. Dom looked deep into Letty's eyes. "You're such a smart girl, sweetie -- you know where she is. I do love you, my other sister." He kissed her and hugged Vince, telling him he wanted to talk to both of them after he straightened things out with Nik.