Chapter 26

The next morning, Vince and Leon were up early talking about Dom's reappearance. It had shaken the pair of them and they were both shocked by the depth of their hatred for the man. He'd been so important to them for so many years but seeing him the previous night had made them realise that they didn't need him to be a success, all they needed was themselves.

"Hi babe, you ok. You look a bit rough." Leon was shocked to see the state that Chloe was in. It was obvious that Vince not sleeping was starting to affect her as well.

"I'm alright Sweetie, just need some coffee and I'll be alright." In reality Chloe knew that it would take a lot more than coffee to make her feel better, she was exhausted and if she didn't get some sleep soon she was going to fall asleep behind the wheel.

"I'll get your coffee babe; sit yourself down on your man for a few minutes." Leon practically pushed Chloe at Vince as he walked past her to go and get her some coffee from one of the concession stands.

Vince wrapped his large arms around Chloe's slender frame and rested his chin on the top of her head. He knew that it was his fault she was so tired but he didn't know how to make it up to her. He knew that she wouldn't get any sleep until he did and he wouldn't until he spoke to Dom. He decided that when Leon came back he'd ask him to watch over Chloe whilst he went and saw Dom.

When Leon came back Chloe was fast asleep on Vince's lap. He wasn't far behind but he knew that he had to talk to Dom or this would be the only rest she'd be getting for the next few weeks.

"Can you take her for me Lee? I'm gonna go and talk some shit out with Dom." It took a few minutes to transfer Chloe over into Leon's arms and get her settled but she was soon fast asleep again, only this time it was Leon's arms wrapped around her. Snuggling in closer she murmured "I'm still not gonna kiss you" before she fell back to sleep.

"YO! Dominic, I want a word with you." Vince wasn't looking forward to having this conversation but he knew that it was better to get it over and done with.

"What's up V? Where that little hot head of yours?"

"I'm not here to talk about Chloe, Dom; I'm here to talk about me and you." Vince knew that he had to keep his temper under control; he'd promised Leon that he wouldn't start any shit without him there and as Leon was looking after Chloe he had to keep himself under control.

"The way she was talking last night, there is no you and I. What's she gonna think when she finds out you've come over to see me?" Dom was curious to find out what the deal was with Vince and Chloe. Last night she'd seemed to be the one in charge of the team yet Vince was now standing outside the Team Toretto trailer chatting as if nothing had happened. Of course, Dom was the only one who thought that the two old friends were having their usual conversation. It was so long since he'd actually paid attention to anything Vince had to say that he was missing all the subtle signs of a man barely managing to keep himself from killing someone.

"Like I said Dom, I'm not here to talk about Chloe so back off alright. I don't want to fall out with you any more than we already have but if you start talking shit about her then we'll do more than just fall out." Vince was trying so hard not to shout at Dom, he just wanted to say his piece and leave, if only Dom would shut up long enough for him to get his words out.

Dom was surprised by Vince's response – he'd never taken orders from a woman before and he couldn't understand why he was starting now. "Come on V, what's the deal with you two? And why's she draped all over Leon?" Dom had seen movement coming from the R.O.A.M. camp and when he looked up he'd seen Brian moving one of the large umbrellas so that it was covering Leon and Chloe, protecting them from the already burning sun.

"She's mine and I'm hers, that's all you need to know. Her and Leon bonded when he came back to find out about Jesse." Vince didn't feel right talking to Dom about Chloe and Leon, it was their business, hell even he didn't know exactly what they talked about when they disappeared for hours but he did know that Leon was almost back to his old self and a lot of that was down to Chloe. Samantha hadn't seen Leon when he first came back and Leon didn't want to talk to her about how he was then. It was a black time for everyone and no one liked to talk about it more than necessary.

"Look Dom, I've got some shit to say then I'm gonna leave ok. Just let me get this over with then I'll leave you alone." Vince was rubbing his arm self consciously, he'd seen Dom staring at the scars but he didn't want his pity.

"When Chloe turned up at the hospital I didn't know what the hell was going on. I didn't know anything about Jesse or where you all were, I didn't even know if I was going to be arrested. The police questioned her for 2 hours before they let her in to see me, she lied at every step and never once gave us up, even though she knew where you'd gone. She stayed with me for the whole 3 weeks and she did everything for me, and I mean everything. To start with I could barely move without help yet she had me up on my feet and walking by day 5. I mean, have you seen the size of her? She supported me very single fuckin' step of the way and I was a complete stranger. She gave up everything for me Dom, I do mean everything. Her college, her house, and her privacy, everything and she's never asked for anything in return."

Dom was starting to realise that things weren't going to go according to plan. Sure he'd got a couple of new team members but he'd come to Race Wars with the intention of getting Vince and Leon back on the team.

"We're a true team now Dom, we've got identical cars, we race when we want to and we split the winnings 50/50. Half goes to the driver and half into the team funds. We're happy man and while Lee and I are grateful for everything you've done for us we're nowhere near ready to forgive you. You split the team Dom, not me, not Leon and certainly not Brian, you."

"So its Brian now is it? He's a goddamn cop Vince, or have you forgotten that? He tried to send us down?" Dom was confused by Vince's change in attitude towards Brian, he'd always hated him yet he now raced with him and, from what Hector had said, co-owned a house and business with him.

"He saved my life Dom, and he came back for Jesse's funeral even though he expected me to beat the crap outta him." Vince didn't like thinking too much about his friendship with Brian, he hated being wrong more than anything else and he'd certainly been wrong about Brian.

"Goodbye Dominic, thanks for everything but it's time to leave our friendship in the past now." Vince turned on his heel and walked away from Dom. It hurt more than he thought it would do but he was glad he'd done it. He couldn't get back involved with Dom after everything that'd happened.

Brian and Vince got the cars ready for the morning's races while Leon was trapped under a sleeping Chloe. Vince didn't want to disturb her so he told Leon to just "sit back and enjoy it brotha" while he and Brian did the final last minute adjustments to the cars.

Samantha and Katy were working in her Dynamite tent but had promised they'd be there to watch the team racing.

An hour before she was due to race Leon woke Chloe up. "Come on babe, time to wake up sleepy head." Leon hated to wake her, he knew how tired she was but he wanted her to have a chance to have a shower and something to eat before she raced.

Chloe was ready with 10 minutes to spare; Vince and Brian had checked her car and had it waiting in the queue ready to race. Race wars was set up a little differently this year, there was a competition for overall team as well as King of the Desert.

The races went as smoothly as they'd all hoped they would, no last minute problems or unexpectedly close races and by the end of the day it was down to just Team Toretto and R.O.A.M. in the overall team competition. Dom had got two new drivers, Toby and Matt and Mia had taken Letty's place as Dom's right hand woman.

The team competition was set to be decided at 9pm so at 8.45 all the cars were lined up at the track. Mia nearly started crying when she saw 'mad scientist designs' on the back of the cars and for a moment Chloe felt sorry for her. That was until she remembered that she'd run off and left Jesse to die alone and had tried her best to prevent Leon from returning home.

Before they knew it, it was time for Mia and Chloe to race. Both girls pulled their cars up to the start line and waited for the 'go' signal. Mia was worried, she'd seen Chloe racing earlier on in the day and she couldn't help but think she was out of her depth. She was already outclassed by the car and she was worried that she was outclassed by the driver as well. Dom would never forgive her if she lost her race – 'Toretto's don't lose'. She'd gone to sleep hearing his words in her head every night for as long as she could remember.

When the starter dropped his arms, Chloe shot forward, easily taking first place from Mia. Chloe lead for the entire race, even Mia's shots of NOS weren't been enough to overtake Chloe. As Chloe neared the finish line she hit one of her NOS buttons. She didn't normally bother if she was already winning and the other car had used both shots of NOS but she wanted to make the winning margin as large as possible.

Vince was waiting for Chloe when she brought the car back to the start line.

"You won baby, I'm so proud of you." Vince had grabbed Chloe the instant she stepped out of her car and lifted her clean of her feet. She didn't have any choice other than to wrap her legs around his waist and hook her arms behind his head.

"Are you gonna kiss me or do I have to get Leon to do it?"

"Ya know, if I was the jealous type I'd have to wonder what the two of you get up to and talk about when you're alone." Vince was only joking but he couldn't help wish that Chloe would tell him what they spoke about – he felt as if it was a part of Chloe's life that she was keeping him away from and if he was honest with himself he didn't like it.

"I don't talk baby, he does. I just listen." Chloe knew that Vince was just curious but she'd always promised Leon that she'd never repeat what he said to her. He was worried about appearing weak in front of the others and he knew they had enough of their own demons to deal with; they didn't need his as well.

"V, can I talk to you please?"

Vince looked over Chloe's shoulder to see Mia standing there. She was looking at him the same way that Chloe looked at him only he knew that Mia was faking.

"What do you want Mia?" Vince really wasn't in the mood to talk to Mia, Brian was due to be racing one of Dom's new guys in a few minute and he wanted to be able to give Chloe a long, hard kiss before watching Brian race.

"Can we talk somewhere more private please V? I don't want to say this in front of everyone." Mia knew it was going to be difficult to convince Vince that she did love him, she'd spent so many years pushing him away and now that she was all alone she wanted Vince.

"Put me down baby, maybe I can get Mia to understand that you're not interested anymore." Chloe's feet had barely touched the ground before she swung round and punched Mia right in the middle of her face. The loud crack and pouring blood made it obvious that Chloe had broken her nose.

"You fuckin' bitch, I told you before V, keep your woman under control." Dom was furious – Chloe had actually hit Mia and not just a girly slap either. A full on, broken nose punch that Dom knew would have hurt Chloe as well, even though she showed no sign of it. "God, Mia are you alright, let me look at you?"

"He's mine for life Mia, so either you accept that and move on or get used to having your nose broken. No one fucks with what's mine and gets away with it. He loves me Mia and I love him, so walk away now while you've still got most of your dignity intact." Chloe really hadn't wanted to hit Mia, she hated having to resort to physical violence but subtle hints hadn't worked so more direct action was needed.

"Come on Bri, you're up man. Do us proud." It was all Vince could do not to applaud Chloe's outburst. He'd have been very surprised if Mia had made it through the weekend without being hurt and he was just grateful that Chloe had waited till she'd finished racing before she'd hit her.

Brian won his race, as did Leon which left just Dom and Vince to race. R.O.A.M. had already won the overall team title and if Vince beat Dom and was quicker than Leon had run he'd be the King of the Desert.