I know, I know. I haven't posted in a while. I have an excuse this time! I was out for the whole weekend that I meant to write. My friend's moving away, so she had a party, and I also went out with a bunch of people that I hadn't seen in ages (okay, a month and a half). Anyway, I've got the chapter and the shout outs out and ready to be read, just for you!

Ooo, can't forget this: my friend just started writing in the Pirates of the Caribbean fandom. Her pen name is Xx Frbdn Angel xX- check her out, she's a great writer!

Shout Outs:

Tempest- this is your chapter! Sorry about what happens tho… L but I've got a plan for ya!

Foxyboxer- That's be cool if you e-mailed me! Oh, and that's not my homepage, it's my friends, lol.

Fallen Angel- Thanks for saying I'm a great author! OO, poor Chris, having to deal with a vicious Kat!

Mmmmocha- Yepyep, Vince is a player! Lol

CiCi- the dates! Oooh, I have to plan those…hmm, maybe I'll have them next chapter! Lol

Lazy Slothy- hey girl! Haven't talked to you in a while! Hope you had a nice trip! Thanks for reviewing!

DomLetty4Eva- hola! Thanks for reviewing!

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*Kat's POV*

I moaned and turned on my side, groggily reaching out for the shrill ring coming from the phone.

"What?" I growled.

"It's so nice to hear how much you've missed me, Kitty-Kat."

I froze at the familiar voice. "Day… Damien?"

"The one and only, babe."

"What do you want?" I choked to get the words out of my mouth, sorely wishing I were still sleeping.

"I wanted to speak to the love of my life…I missed you during those long, hard nights in prison. Two years is a long time, isn't it? So what have you been up to? When can I see you?"

My voice showed more strength than I held as I answered, "Yeah, but it's not long enough, obviously. You can't ever see me again, Dame, I don't love you anymore!"

His voice blasted through the earpiece like gravel under the tires of a car, catching me by surprise. "I'd think so, considering that YOU'RE the one who got me into the Pen in the first place! Listen to me, you stole years of my life, and I'm going to make sure that I get my revenge- do you understand me? I know where you live; I could even be staring at you from across the street! Watch your back, Kitty-Kat, because one of these days, you WILL find yourself in the ground. Don't worry, I'll make sure that you'll have a closed casket as well."

"Damien, you're a sick fuck, don't play these games with me! You'd better stay away from me, or else! I'm not a scared little girl anymore, and for your information, I'm not the one who put you into jail. I never said anything to anyone! Just stay away from me!"

"Good night, Kat. Sleep tight." I heard a click and his voice was gone like snow under the sun.

I shivered and placed my head into my hands. Why me? Why now? I felt a warm hand clasp my shoulder as the body lying beside me stirred. I turned to see Jesse's slate-blue eyes gazing at me lovingly.

"Kat? What's wrong, girl?"

I shrugged and lay back down, saying, "Wrong number, that's all."

"Oh. Um, you just sounded a little freaked out, I wanted to see if you were okay. You look like you've seen a ghost- are you sure you're alright?"

"Jesse, I'm fine. Can we please go back to sleep now?" I snapped, pulling my blankets tighter around me.

His voice was sad and he was visibly shaken with my tone- I'm generally soft-spoken around him. He lay down beside me and placed a cautious arm around my waist, moving closer to me when he saw that I didn't shrug him off. I glanced at the discarded clothing around the room, both his and mine, wondering whether it was a good choice to get so close to him so soon. The only person I'd ever been with was Damien and I'd ended up badly hurt, both by what he'd done and by his constant abuse.

Damien.

He was out of his prison in Miami, and he was now in Los Angeles. When he'd told me not to tell anyone about the shooting, I'd listened and kept my mouth shut. If I even looked at him the wrong way, he'd hit me- hard. He never stopped dealing, either. I knew he'd just go back to the same life when he hit the streets again, so I moved.

I squeezed my eyes shut again as I felt Jesse rub my back from behind, loosening the tense muscles that had knotted up in my back. I'd talk to the others tomorrow. Maybe they have advice as to what I should do.

~ ~ At The Garage (next day) ~ ~

*Dom's POV*

"Dom, Vince! We're going to the shop for lunch today! I'm sick of pizza," Letty called from the back bumper side of a bright pink Honda S2000. The owner –some girl named Suki- had actually smashed it into a phone pole during a race. The whole rear end was screwed up. Stupid Miami racers- they think everything's a party down there. Act like they've got money coming out of the ass… Us LA racers are SO much smarter than them. I brought my attention back to Hector's piece of shit. He'd completely thrashed the floor of his car, God knows how.

"Who's gonna be there?" grunted Vince as he reached for a tool.

"Who's usually there?" I asked sarcastically, looking at him oddly.

"I'm just saying…I was wondering if the new part of our team will be there."

"Depends on if they want free food or not, bro," I chuckled.

"That's true. So, are you actually going to stick with the rest of us this time or are you ducking out to some quiet place with Mel?"

"We don't do that," I scoffed as I felt my neck burn up a little bit. Of course we did that. So did Leon and Letty…only not at the same time as us, obviously.

"Yeah? Then where were you yesterday? Mel wasn't there either."

"She wasn't?"

"Naw, man, she went out somewhere and came back a few minutes before you did. She looked a little secretive…I thought you two had planned something, you know what I mean?"

Why wasn't Mel at the shop? I brushed that off and stood, rubbing my hands clean on a rag. "Come with me, Vince, I wanna show you something."

"What about the cars?"

"The three cars that we can finish up this afternoon? Come on, business is slow today, let's go."

He snorted and stood up, stretching his neck and sore muscles while I went to change quickly. I climbed into my Mazda and waited for him to walk out, fully dressed, and sit on the passenger side.

"So, where are we going, Dom?"

"Bank."

~ ~ ~

We pulled up outside the bank and strolled in. My fingers played along an envelope containing money from the last races we'd been to- money that I'd won, half for the bills and groceries, and half for purposes that I'd be revealing to Vince as soon as the porky man in front of us was finished.

"May I help you?" The mousy-looking woman standing on the other end of front desk sniffed. By the looks she was giving us, she probably thought we were bank robbers for sure.

"Yeah, you can. I need to deposit this into my bank account," I replied in my most imperial don't-think-that-you-know-me voice.

"May I see your ID, please?"

I passed over all of the necessary information and handed over the money, taking back the paper that had all of my account information on it. I showed the number to Vince.

"Shit!"

"I've been saving this money for a long time, V. Four months after I met Mel. 1, 200,000 dollars, and do you know what it's for?"

"New house?"

"Not just that. I want to marry Melanie. I want to give her the perfect wedding, even though I know she won't expect me to have the money for it. Whatever's left will go to starting our family, whenever that is. She's going to have the best dress, the best ceremony, the best everything. That why I've been saving up, and I'm going to add the money that I have from my share of my grandfather's will, as well as the trucks, to this account."

"Whoa…never expected you to pull something like this, brotha…you got a ring yet?"

I glanced at my feet. All of this planning and I didn't have a ring yet. "Nope."

"What? What the hell where you planning on doing? Just telling her to close her eyes and driving her to the ceremony? It's been four years! Buy the ring!"

"I will!! I just haven't gotten a chance yet!"

"Waiting for a billion to show up in that account of yours?"

"No! I've just been busy, that's all! Why do you care so much?"

He hit me on the head, emphasizing his point. "Because, once you're absolutely off the market, all of the ladies will go to me. Can't you see? I will be the NEW available Sex God!!! Girls in and out of my room…can't wait, brotha!"

"That's why you want me to get married? So you can have MORE sex? Dawg, you need a girl!"

"That's the plan," he replied breezily, grinning like he'd won the lottery.

"I meant ONE girl."

"I meant more! Come on Dominic, I'm hungry after all of this relationship crap…time for lunch!"

I sighed and shook my head as the man-whore in front of me ran to the gleaming red car ahead of us. Mel was right…he needs a girl. Or at least a life outside of whatever the hell he's doing now.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"So he just called and then hung up like that?" Melanie stared at Kat, as she, Mia, and Letty found out about the strange phone call from the previous night.

"I've never been so scared in my life," Kat whispered, shuddering despite the sunny California heat.

"How did you meet him? What happened between you two in the first place?" Letty asked as she walked back to the little group, passing out a bottle of iced tea to each of them.

"We started dating when I was young…maybe 15, 16… he was 18. Anyway, I was from this rich family in Key Biscayne, Florida. I'd never met anyone quite like Damien, but he gave me such a thrill every time I saw him. He was a bad boy, and I loved being his one and only. Anyway, when I was 17, I lost my virginity to him, and I guess that's when he became a little possessive, and most likely, that's when I started to notice the drugs. He hated it when I spoke to other guys, and he always seemed a little spaced out, if you know what I mean. I went with it though, because I loved him."

"When I turned 18, I moved in with him, and then one year later, I had to go with him to this empty street where I saw he was selling drugs. One guy came up and they started to yell at each other. In the end, Damien shot the other man twice in the leg and warned me not to tell anyone about it. My best friend, Rome, found out about how Damien hit me daily, and reported it to the police. They saw the proof in black and blue on my body and stormed in one night when we were fighting. They found drugs and took him to prison, where he's been for the last two years. I've been moving around the country a lot recently. I left Miami about a month after Damien was incarcerated."

"Oh, Kat, it must have been awful, I'm so sorry," cried Mia, pulling Kat into a hug.

"Yeah, it sucked. Not to mention that the day I left was the day that I found out that Rome had been shot down and murdered by one of Damien's friends."

"That son of a bitch," whispered Letty, as she and Melanie followed Mia's suit and embraced Kat.

"He'll pay for what he's done, Kat- don't worry, we've got your back," said Melanie, glancing at the door as though expecting Damien to walk in any minute.

The door opened quickly and a figure walked in, followed by four others. "Hey girls! What's for lunch?"

Mia pulled away and glared at Brian. "We were busy- if you want food, come back here and make your own sandwich!"

Brian grinned a sly little grin at his girlfriend. "I'll have tuna, no crust, babe. Thanks."

Vince sat down next to Brian and slapped his back. "Listen, man, you've already got her- don't try to fake that you actually enjoy those things."

"I do enjoy them," said Brian, giving both Vince and Mia a puppy-dog look.

Mia kept her glare and said, "Not now, Bri."

"What's up with her?" Brian whispered to Melanie as she passed by him to greet Dominic.

"She was fine a minute ago, must've been something you did," she said while she wrapped her arms around Dom's neck. "Hey, Dommy. What did you want for lunch?"

"Just one thing today," he answered in a low, gravelly tone.

"Just one? And what would that be?"

"You," he said, pulling her to the office in the back.

Brian blinked as he watched the short exchange and turned to Letty. "When are there hands ever off each other?" he joked, laughing slightly as he tipped back a Corona.

Letty swiped his beer and replied, "When are your hands ever off of Mia? You know, you can be such a hypocrite sometimes."

Brian whipped his head around to Leon and Jesse, who had appeared at his sides. "Why are they all being so mean today?? What did I do? It's like they're ganging up on me," he whined, trying to get his half-empty beer bottle from Letty.

Jesse chuckled as Letty gave him the beer and Kat hugged him from the side. "It's 'cause no one likes you, Arizona."

Brian's jaw dropped as he nearly yelled, "You've got to be shitting me! I didn't do anything!"

"No, you didn't," Letty agreed. "It's just funny as hell to bother you. Even the dog gets in on it. You stepped on…oh wait; Mia, Kat, you have to hear this! Brian nearly lost his balance when he almost stepped onto this wrench, and his foot shoots back and lands on poor Fernando's tail! Ferny barks, leaps up, and bites Brian on the ankle, causing him to land flat on his ass! It was so funny, I wish I'd had a video camera!"

"You see what they put me through? Then I come to eat and you're mean to me! Can you please make me a sandwich, Mi?" Brian pleaded, his hands up in pitiful supplication.

"You know what Bri? You whine way too much, just go back to the garage okay? I can't deal with you right now.

"Can't I at least have a bag of…"

"No! Brian you're giving me a headache! I'll talk to you tonight, all right?"

"But…"

"OUT!!" shouted the remaining people in the store, gleefully watching the poor man walk out.

"He he he…pobresito… I don't think I've seen him this upset since you made him clean the whole living room, Mi," laughed Letty.

"I know, I know…bring him a sandwich when you go back, okay? Just so that he doesn't starve," Mia snickered, pulling a plate of sandwiches out from behind the countertop.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I can't do this anymore, Miss Lee," said Tempest, looking at the ground.

"WHAT!" yelled Natsuko, nearly choking on her glass of champagne.

"I don't want to kill them, they're good people. Haven't you ever heard that two wrongs don't make a right?"

"Of course I've heard of that! It doesn't change my plan, however. Toretto and the others will pay with their lives for what they did to me! You want out of this, Tempest?"

"Yes, please. Let me go, I promise I won't breathe a word of this to anybody. You can trust me," pleaded the girl.

Natsu arranged the fur coat that Johnny had once given her and brought her stare to meet Tempest's eyes once more. "I can trust you? I can trust the person who I hired on a contract based completely ON trust, only to have them quit on me? What makes you so sure of your honesty?"

"Please, Miss Lee! I'm a good person; I haven't done many things wrong in my life! Give me another chance and let me go! Please!"

Tempest held her breath as Natsu took another long sip from her glass. "All right, fine. You may go. Do not forget, however, that if I ever see you again, I'll consider it hunting season…"

Tempest breathed a sigh of relief and turned to walk away when she felt the wind rush past her and the wall ahead exploded with a sickening crush. The sound and feelings were similar to those provided by a bullet. Tempest turned around and stared at the front of a smoking gun.

"Tempest, sweetheart," Natsu cooed, changing her voice to a harsh tone. "I don't lie, like some people. I won't miss next time."

Tempest ran out of the mansion as fast as her shaking legs could carry her, not once looking back.

From behind the luxurious couch where Natsu was lounging, the sound of clapping broke the silence. Natsu craned her head around to see what the noise was coming from.

"I love a woman with good aim," said the man, walking over to sit by the surprised Natsuko.

"Really? I love a man who speaks his intentions on the spot. Who are you and what do you want? Better yet, how'd you get in here?" she questioned, astounded by his current actions.

"My name is Damien Carter, I want to join you in your little 'Team Vengeance' operation, and I pulled a gun on the guards outside. One flew like a bat out of hell, the other willingly showed me where you were," he replied smoothly, pulling the aforementioned gun out of his coat pocket and setting it before Natsu.

"Impressive. Why do you want to be a part of my plan?"

Damien sighed and ran a hand through his curly black hair as a glint flashed in his sparkly green eyes. "Personal reasons. A woman I once trusted stabbed me in the back, and I'd like to get a chance to stab her myself. Good enough intentions?"

"Perhaps. Who is she?"

"Most call her Kat. I'd like to call her dead. You give me the chance to destroy her and I will help you in anyway I can, whether you need hired criminals or cars…anything your lovely evil heart desires," he whispered as he pulled her hand to his lips.

Natsu laughed and pulled her hand back from Damien, running her fingers through his mass of curls. "You're in, Mr. Carter. Welcome to the 'team'."

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Ooo…one member of Team V gone, and an even worse person replacing her…what now?

A/N: If anyone took offense to that Miami comment, I really didn't mean any- I thought it sounded funny ^_^. Oh, and I do like Brian, I just needed to pick on someone for this chapter. :-D