Chapter 58

Dom swung the Charger around the corner and cut in between Johnny and Lance causing Lance to hit the side of the car. He flew off the bike and over the hood of the car. Dom jumped out of the car. Dom took hold of Lance's snakeskin jacket and pulled his up from the ground, "Don't ever fuck with me or my family again." With all the force he had Dom pounded his fists into Lance. Flashes of Kenny Lindner and the crash flashed in his memory as Dom unloaded on Lance. He dropped Lance to the ground and drove away to find Johnny.

Brian swerved to avoid the spray of bullets from Johnny's automatic weapon. He had chased him twenty blocks never coming within a few car lengths of the bike. In a moment of desperation Brian hit the nitrous button and flew up past the bike. He pointed his gun out the window and squeezed the trigger. In the side mirror he watched as Johnny lost control of the bike and went down. His limp body floundered and came to rest against the curb.

Brian jumped from his car and weaved his way through the gathering crowd surrounding the body. One look at Johnny Tran's eyes and he knew the man was dead. Brian pulled out his cell phone and made the 911 call. After hanging up the phone he directed the crowd to get out of street and keep a distance from the body. Out of the corner he noticed the black Charger parked beside the Supra. Dom gave him a nod and took off up the hill away from the scene. Brian darted across four lanes of traffic to get back to his car and give chase.

They ended their run at Dom's favorite drag strip back in high school. "That railroad crossing up there is exactly a quarter mile. On green I'm going for it."

Brian nodded his head and got set for the most intense ten seconds of his life. The light turned green and the Charger leapt off the line. Brian watched as Dom pulled away; he pressed his thumb to the nitrous the button and held on as the Supra came even with the Charger. Just as they neared the crossing a train appeared in view. Without fear Dom stomped his foot the accelerator and sped toward the crossing. Brian couldn't show fear in front of the guy he had become to feel like his brother. He pushed the pedal and the nitrous. Both cars made the jump just as the train made it to the crossing.

Both were laughing at the fact they had cheated certain death. Dom didn't see the semi coming into the intersection. He hit the front quarter and the sent the Charger into the air. The car hit hard and fell back on its wheels. Brian rushed to Dom's side to help his friend from the car. "That's not what I had in mind." Dom slid out of the car holding his left arm. "Poetic justice I guess." Sirens blared in the vicinity. Dom accepted his fate and leaned back against the car. Brian took the keys to the Supra out of his pocket and held them out. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"I owe you a ten second car." Brian handed the keys over and watched his friend drive away.

The ceiling fan spun at full speed, but only managed to move the hot, humid air around. Sky rose up from the bed and tried to get her bearings. Her head throbbed and she wasn't aware of her surroundings. The room would to spin with the slightest movement. "Hello. Can anyone hear me?"

Vince rushed in the room at the sound of his cousin's cries, "I'm here. Are you ok?"

"V where are we?"

"Baja, we made it to the safe house."

"Is everyone here?"

Vince avoided her gaze and got up from the bed. He didn't want to tell her the truth, but knew that she would see through any lie he told, "Me, you, and Mia are the only ones so far."

"How long have we been here?"

"We've been here a couple of days."

"What? Where is everyone at? They all should've been here by now."

"They might be laying low until the border patrol cools off."

"Nah, something's wrong."

"They'll be here before you know it. Go back to sleep, you need the rest."

After a few hours of rest Sky felt more like her self with the exception of her broken leg. She took the crutches from beside the bed and hobbled out of the room. Mia slept safely in Vince's arms on the couch. Sky took a moment to make sure that Vince was sound asleep and then headed for the front door.

The tiny house was situated on the beach miles from the nearest town. This was how she and Dom had decided it should be. They had picked the safe house because of its secluded location. Without access to a car she started to make her way to the road.

It was a long haul to the town taking her three hours to get there on crutches. The town was deserted. Alone on a corner sat the only payphone available for thirty miles. Ten seconds was all she would have to find out as much information she could get. More than that and the feds would know their location. One call to find her family, she picked up the phone and dialed the number to Hector's house.

"This better be good at three o'clock in the morning."

"Yeah matter of fact it is. I need to know where the team is."

"Shit I was wondering when one of you was gonna call. Look here's what I know. Dom made it out of town. Don't know where he went though, just that he made it past the county line. Jesse's in jail and Letty and Leon are critical."

"What? What do you mean that Leon's critical?"

"Tran shot him."

"I got to go." Sky slammed the handset on the receiver. She made her way to the small bar in town and offered five hundred to the first guy who produced a set of keys to a working car. Within ten minutes she was on the road back to L.A.